Leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, has launched an entrepreneurial initiative tagged ‘Catapult-a-Startup,’ a platform which will inspire innovation and assist mobile app developers in actualising their dreams of making it big.
With this initiative, Airtel is offering opportunities to budding mobile app developers to receive advanced mentoring from industry veterans, funding, marketing, and also hone their skills to become successful using their creativity.
To participate in the programme, interested start-ups can submit their ideas and presentations online on www.cas.ng, the Catapult-a-Startup website for evaluation. After the initial evaluation, selected start-ups will be invited for an in-person pitching where they will be required to present their ideas to a panel of esteemed judges who will then do a thorough evaluation and select the best start-ups
Those selected subsequently will be provided with a cash prize of one million naira, mentoring, funding, marketing and a chance to integrate their developed apps and services with Airtel network and have direct access to the large customer base.
Speaking during the launch of the initiative in Lagos, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, explained that Airtel as an innovative and caring brand initiated the programme in line with its vision to encourage innovation and empower young Nigerians by creating opportunities for them to bring their business ideas to fruition.
He said: “At Airtel we are passionate about building a community for young talented Nigerians. We know that there are thousands of young people who are blessed with the skills to develop relevant apps, but most of them do not have opportunities to showcase or develop their skills. So through the Catapult-a-Startup programme, we will not only be able to identify the talent, but also encourage local content through this initiative. The apps and services developed by these start-ups will ride on Airtel’s superior 3.75G network in Nigeria and the large customer base. Airtel will continue to go the extra mile to empowering them to succeed in their respective endeavours.”
According to the Telco, the Catapult-a-Startup initiative is uniquely geared towards empowering Nigerians especially those with superior business acumen and it is open to all tech-savvy apps developers across Nigeria.
Airtel Nigeria in pursuance of its vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians has been in the forefront of providing enriching platforms to empower Nigerians to accomplish their dreams.
It would be recalled that early this year, Airtel in partnership with Google, sponsored the Google Cloud Developer Challenge which provided opportunities for thousands of young Nigerians to improve their skills in Apps development. The Google Cloud Developer contest saw the emergence of three winners who developed creative Apps with distinct features. They were rewarded with exciting cash prizes to enable them to further improve their skills and become entrepreneurs.
