A tech-enabled hybrid venture capital firm, Thescathcompanies (TSC), has urged governments to support innovative ideas among youths, especially in underserved areas to ensure inclusive development.
Ms Yetunde Aisha, Head of Programmes and Partnerships of TSC, said this in an interview in Abuja on Friday.
She said Nigerian youths had the capacity to be part of solution to many sectoral problems.
Aisha said with the support of the government which should involve building an enabling environment for innovation to thrive, young innovators could develop market-fit-products.
According to her, the firm has Innovative Pitch Contest (IPC), a platform which it use to encourage secondary school students from the northern part of the country to develop innovation ideas.
“Partnerships with the Ministry of Education can scale this initiative as a broader contest on a national level which will help identify innovation at its earliest stage.
“Identifying them at the early stage will be from a practical perspective where ideas are submitted, vetted, presented, pitched then picked.
“The innovators will get to win prizes and go on to build their ideas by being paired with firms that have incubation programmes and their growth measured as national development,’’ she said.
Recalling the first edition of their IPC in December, Aisha said it was important to identify and groom young ideas at the early stage.
The students who participated in the first edition, she said, were on a three-month hybrid incubator programme where they learnt to develop product-fit-for-market concepts.
She further said they learnt how to build and refine ideas, understand a certain level of business models and innovation, draw up pitch decks, pitch and how to communicate their ideas better.
The best pitch, she said was rewarded with cash prize of N1,500,000, adding that another edition of the event would hold in December.
She said the enrolment for the pitch contest was already open and urged schools and individuals to participate.
She also said that the IPC was designed to equip participants with foundational knowledge on idea development, crafting pitch decks and preparing for real-world challenges.