By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The founder of Teezee Elderly Care, Mr Adausu Emuobo Taiwo, has been given N15 million by Heritage Bank after emerging as the winner of The Next Titan Season 8.
The expert in elderly care competed with four others in the final; Joy Badaki, Dolapo Quadri, Esin Mariah and Victor Emaye, to win the foremost entrepreneurial reality TV show tagged The Uncaged.
During the premiere of the show, over 20,000 participants applied but 75 made it through auditions from six major cities in Nigeria which are Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Ibadan, and Lagos and was further trimmed to 18.
After the Boot Camp the 18 who qualified made it into the Titan House for 10 weeks to compete against top-notch young entrepreneurs.
Heritage Bank said it supported the programme as part of its continued supports to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The MD/CEO of Heritage Bank, Mr Ifie Sekibo, while speaking at the grand finale. stated that the partnership with entrepreneurs and MSMEs show the focus and strong belief of our enterprising brand in the strength of youths to possess the capacity to build a robust economy in Nigeria.
“The programme easily aligns with the primary focus of the management of Heritage Bank to promote every laudable entrepreneurial idea meant to broaden economic the horizon of the country for the benefit of citizens and other residents,” he said.
Mr Sekibo, represented by the Acting Group Head, Corporate Communications, Ms Ozena Utulu, assured the contestants of Heritage Bank’s readiness to leverage seamless support to the growth of their businesses.
He indicated that as a catalytic institution in the empowering of entrepreneurs in the MSME sector, Heritage Bank has continued to make relentless efforts in this space to empower entrepreneurs in Nigeria through championing several empowerment initiatives.
The MD also encouraged the contestants to explore the eNaira option as it is something to look out for in the business world come 2022.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Producer of The Next Titan, Mide Akinlaja commended the headline sponsor, Heritage Bank, and others for their partnership and support which have positively impacted the generality of young people who have shared their testimonies regarding the programme causing a paradigm shift in their mind-sets to moving from Jobs -Seekers to Jobs-Creators.
The programme was panelled by technocrats with a perfect blend of entrepreneurial requisite skills trained each participant on enriching, rigorous and intellectually learning journeys to equip them with the fundamental competencies required of seasoned entrepreneurs.
The weekly boardroom judges were from different spectrum of entrepreneurial fields – Kyari Bukar Founder/CEO Trans-Sahara Investment; Lilian Olubi, CEO, EFG Hermes Nigeria; Chris Parkes, Chairman/CEO, CPMS Africa and Tonye Cole, Founder, Sahara Group and a guest judge, Mrs Olatorera Oniru, CEO, Olatorera Consultancy Ltd are top business personalities.
Meanwhile, the top 1000 contestants with good business ideas, and those whose businesses are already registered, have been shortlisted for N3 million in funding from the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMYSD).
