26th March 2015 Microsoft has launched a new project, CloudPreneur in Nigeria; the project will provide one thousand entrepreneurs with mentorship and then subsequently provide them with seed capital.
Wemimo Adeniyi, Director, Small/Midmarket Solutions & Partners at Microsoft Nigeria, said to the media that while 1,000 entrepreneurs will begin the journey, only the top 20 will get mentorship and seed capital.
Wemimo is quoted as saying “The CloudPreneurs initiative will identify and develop startups. It will also empower youths that are creative and passionate about technology. It will help to reduce unemployment among Nigerian youths,” She added that the initiative is in line with the company’s 4Afrika initiative’s plan to create one hundred thousand jobs in Africa, adding that it will also raise the level of awareness and education on cloud services in Nigeria.
Microsoft is working in partnership with Mara Mentor and Fate Foundation for this. Fate Foundation will select and interview the applicants for the opportunity which will train selected participants in marketing, skills development and several other areas.
The initiative will be leveraging on Mara Mentor’s platform and Olamide Amosu, head of marketing for Mara Mentor’s platform says “We will be connecting participants to mentors. We are offering mentoring opportunities, and a medium for interaction. We are going all the way with the participants,”
One to three year old early-stage startups are encouraged to apply for this opportunity and online application is in progress for prospective applicants on a platform that will shut down after the 1000th qualified application is received. So get going if you are interested.