The CVC_AEIS Innovation Challenge is in line with the CVCNU Innovation direction to deepen and amplify technology solutions to create employment through bankable cohorts of businesses who are from the university system. Innovators will be from the university system in Nigeria and provide unique impact solutions to the focus challenge areas of this competition.
The Challenge shall recognise the top 20 innovators from across the country and the top three (3) winners shall get cash prizes from the CVCNU.
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All participants with viable innovation shall gain a 100% scholarship to product-lab and enterprise-lab training as well as full access to tech events, innovation acceleration and global investors
Only solutions from these four areas will be accepted in this challenge edition.
- Agriculture: Prioritise yield improvement, storage, processing, and cut down post-harvest losses. Target crop value chains are – maize, rice, cowpea, soya bean, and aquaculture.
- Environment: Your solutions should deploy renewable energy, creatively impacting a large market in Nigeria & climate action in the delivery
- ICT (emerging tech & IoT): To be considered, your submission must solve a Nigerian or African problem leveraging emerging technologies and the IoT’s massive complex of solutions.
- Security: Nigeria faces a myriad of security challenges relating to different sectors.. Pick one and work on a viable solution.
Innovators will be from the university system in Nigeria and provide unique impact solutions to the focus challenge areas of this competition
Only the Top 300 most innovative solutions from across Nigeria will get into the program. If your application to the challenge is successful, you will receive an email from the organisers. If you do not get an email, it means your application didn’t meet the requirements to join this challenge. However, you will be part of the CVC Ecosystem Tech Conference so watch out for that email.
Application timeline
The application portal opens – on July 4, 2022
The application portal closes – on August 4, 2022
Successful candidates will be contacted on or before August 18, 2022.
Benefits
The Challenge will recognize the Top 20 Innovators from across Nigeria. The reward for the Top 3:
- First – ₦3,000,000
- Second- ₦2,000,000
- Third – ₦1,000,000
All winners, runners ups and participants with viable innovative solutions will gain the following benefits from the competition sponsors and other stakeholders in this challenge.
- 100% scholarship for all participants to product-lab training in your solution/startup of choice.
- 100% scholarship for all participants to enterprise-lab training incubating your solution/business of choice.
- Free access to Nationwide Conference and Tech Ecosystem event which shall bring together university functionaries, innovation experts, applicants, public and private government, agencies and investor groups from across Africa
- Access to innovation acceleration, investment readiness training programs and funding linkages
Nationwide visibility for your business/solution. Access to development and networking support - Access to Pan-African and global investor cohorts during; and post-competition regardless of rank in the competition
Eligibilities
The CVC_AEIS Innovation Challenge is in line with the CVCNU innovation direction to deepen and amplify technology solutions, to create employment through bankable cohorts of businesses who are from the university system. Innovators will be from the university system in Nigeria and provide unique impact solutions to the focus challenge areas of this competition.
- Your solution must come from any of these four areas or a hybrid of them, namely: Agriculture, Environment, ICT (emerging tech & IoT); and Security. Only solutions from these four areas will be accepted in this challenge edition.
- Individual applications will be disqualified. The application must be as a team (not less than 2 founding members). Student-staff innovation collaboration is allowed. Any team that is applying must comprise students and university staff. The team must also contain at least one female founder or co-founder. Ideal Team = Univ staff + University (undergraduate or postgraduate) where one of the core team leaders is female.
- The application will consider equal representation from the six (6) geo-political zones of Nigeria.
- Solutions in the MVP and Post-MVP stage will be considered. Early-stage innovation solutions with a clear pathway to profit will also be considered. However, MVP and Post-MVP solutions stand the highest chance of scaling through to the top. Get creative! Get Innovative!
- All solutions must be an inclusive business that puts women and youths (18-35) at the forefront and must have a core team comprising up to 40% women.
Application Process
- Check the eligibility criteria to make sure you are fit to apply.
- Click on the application link
- Review your application carefully with your team again, and click submit
Looking for fully-funded opportunities, install the Youth Opportunities Android or iOS App here.
Application Deadline: August 4, 2022
Application ClosedOfficial link
