BETA LIFE

Nigeria ranks 3rd in global internet crimes. Every Year more than 87,000 arrests are made in Lagos alone and 56% of these persons commit yet another crime in just 18 days of release. 85% of these fraudsters are either youth-at-risk, Unemployed or Young People not in education aged between 15 and 35 years.

Usually, when ex-offenders are released from prisons, there is no arrangement or provision for them by the government to ensure their smooth transition into the society because our system is broken. These ex-offenders have nothing to fall back on, hence to return into the society and become worse than they were.

BETA LIFE is a social enterprise that harnesses the various opportunities that abounds in the Nigerian Mobile-Telecommunication Industry and create a decent living and better life for ex-offenders and at-risk youths. Creating a society where no young person feels that crime is their only option for survival

Nigeria ranks 3rd in global internet crimes and 6th in the highest amount of prisoners in Africa. Trapped young people need credible options and a way out. Employment is the single most effective option in preventing and reducing offending. Good employment gives people good choices.

PROBLEMS WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE

1. We help to reduce poverty and unemployment through our mobile phone structured employability programs which helps ex-offenders, at-risk youths and Young people not in school build adequate skills and capacity that would ensure a smooth transition into the labor market.

2. We are helping at-risk youth to break down their attitudinal barriers to employment and also help them realize decent income, belonging and self-worth gained through legitimate work.

3. We solve reference related problems by signposting these youths for further employment and training opportunities and provide job references for them.

4. We are Creating a society where no young person feels that crime is their only option for survival

1. Ex-Offenders

2. At-Risk Youth

3. Young People not in school

Many of these ex-offenders in our society are pushed into crime to provide for their families because our system is broken one. These Trapped young people need credible options and a way out and that is where we come in.

We enroll these ex-offenders and at-risk youths and then train them on how to repair all brands of mobile phones and other soft skills giving them the opportunity to learn a lucrative skill through which they can make a decent living. We also strive to reduce skills-based barriers to work, paving the way for their transition to employment.

The Fourth Industrial revolution also known as the Digital Revolution
gave birth to one of the largest industry known to man: The Mobile Telecommunication Industry.  It is estimated that Nigeria has around 21 to 40 million Mobile Phone users with more than 141 million SIM subscribers. And every single day, more than 12 million people presents their phones for repairs in Nigeria. The various opportunities that abound in this Industry are limitless. 

At BETA LIFE, we; 

1. We deliver mobile phone repair employability programs for young offenders, youth at-risk and young people not in education, employment or training.

2. We enroll these ex-offenders and at-risk youths and then train them on how to repair mobile phones and other Soft Skills giving them the opportunity to learn a lucrative skill which they can fall back on and make a decent living for themselves. We also strive to reduce skills-based barriers to work, paving the way for their transition to full employment.

3. We carry out practical mobile phone safety workshops and repairs from regular pop-up super markets, government offices, clinics and large workplaces. That means that customers never need to trek through their streets to repair their phones or send your phone away to get a repair.

4. Beneficiaries are given adequate exposure to the numerous opportunities abounding in the mobile-Telecommunication industry

5. We also signpost these youths for further employment and training opportunities and provide job references for them.

Usually, when ex-offenders are released from prisons, there is no arrangement or provision for them by the government to ensure their smooth transition into the society. These ex-offenders have nothing to fall back on, hence they return into the society and become worse than they were. These Trapped young people need credible options and a way out. 

What makes BETA LIFE innovative is that; We enroll these ex-offenders and at-risk youths and then train them on how to repair all kinds of mobile phones and other Soft Skills giving them the opportunity to learn a lucrative skill which they can fall back to and make a decent living for themselves. We also strive to reduce skills-based barriers to work, paving the way for their transition to full employment.

Also we issue a Receipt and warranty to all our customers after our services. This is what they don't ever get from roadside phone repairs. 

We Create a society where no young person feels that crime is their only option for survival

We are basically using mobile Technology and mobile Apps. through our App, customers can book for our services to repair their mobile phones either in their offices or homes. That means that our customers never need to trek through their streets to repair their phones or send their phones away to get a repair.

The Fourth Industrial revolution also known as the Digital Revolution gave birth to one of the largest industry known to man: The Mobile Telecommunication Industry.  It is estimated that Nigeria has around 21 to 40 million Mobile Phone users with more than 141 million SIM subscribers. And every single day, (29%), that is, more than 12 million people presents their phones for repairs in Nigeria which is a very huge market. The various opportunities that abound in this Industry are limitless. 

BETA LIFE harnesses the various opportunities that abounds in the Nigerian Mobile-Telecommunication Industry and create a decent living for ex-offenders, at-risk youth and young people not in school by empowering them with a major skill set which is mobile phone repairs and other soft skills. 

Trapped young people need credible options and a way out and decent Employment is the single most effective factor in preventing and reducing offending. Good employment gives people good choices.

in the last one year, we have been able to train 270 At-Risk Youths  on how to repair mobile phones of any brand giving them the opportunity to learn a lucrative skill through which they can make a decent living. we have also amassed 462 loyal customers. All of our skilled technicians are young people turning their lives away from offending or unemployment, and into work. 

currently, we are have 172 ex-offenders and at-risk-youths undergoing our structured employability programs which helps ex-offenders, at-risk youths and Young people not in school build adequate skills and capacity that would ensure a smooth transition into the labor market.

in the next FIVE years we want to have 8000 trainees (ex-offenders and at-risk youths) making decent living through our program by serving more than 15000 customers.

Our goal is to Create a society where no young person feels that crime is their only option for survival

In the nest 1 year we want to have more than 600 at-risk persons making a decent living through our structured program

in the next FIVE years we want to have 8000 trainees (ex-offenders and at-risk youths) making decent living through our program by serving more than 15000 customers.

Adequate space for training. we need a bigger space that can accommodate more trainees (ex-offenders and at-risk youths). 

We are also having problems with effective partnerships. We work with various partners in the field to help spread awareness about the importance of realizing decent income, belonging and self-worth gained through legitimate work.

We also work with partners that have last mile access to our end customers and beneficiaries. Our business thrives on strong partnerships with individuals and organizations that work in the field of social community services.

We are promptly planning to get a bigger training space in order to increase our training capacity.

We have also partnered with the Lagos State Prisons Board to help ensure efficiency and smooth transition of ex-offenders in to our program. We are looking to connect with more of these partnerships to help us scale-up.

5 FULL TIME

2 CONTRACTORS

I am a YALI Alumnus, and an Ashoka ChangeMakers Fellow. I have a MASTERS Degree in ICT-4-Development from the University of Torino Italy with a Certificate in Business Entrepreneurship from EDC of the Lagos Business School. I am a Tech GURU.

My first co-founder is an ex-offender who understands clearly what ex-offenders go through. My second co- founder is a mobile Phone engineer and Technician who spearheads most the training.

Our contractors are both certified psychologists who help to manage and monitor the psychological welfare of our trainees. Our advisory boards are business experts who have more than SIX years’ experience about the Nigerian Mobile Telecommunication industry and also understand how to tap into its various opportunities. 

1. Lagos State Prisons Board

We have also partnered with the Lagos State Prisons Board to help ensure efficiency and smooth transition of ex-offenders in to our program. We are looking for more of these partnerships to help us scale-up.

1. We generate revenue majorly by carrying out mobile phone repairs from regular pop-up super markets, government offices, clinics and large workplaces. That means that our customers never need to trek through their streets to repair their phones or send their phone away to get a repair. We also give warrantees and receipt which is what they don’t ever get from road side repairs. 

2. We also make money by out-sourcing our staffs to organizations who are in need of our services. All of our skilled technicians are young people turning their lives away from offending or unemployment, and into work. 

3. We also make money by partnering with State Governments, NGO's and other Organizations who plan to carry out social services and projects in different communities specifically focusing on social projects targeted to impact At-Risk youths, ex-offenders and youths not in school.

We carry out mobile phone repairs from regular pop-up super markets, government offices, clinics and large workplaces. We achieve financial self-sufficiency through the sales of our services. 

We also ensure financial sustainability by out-sourcing our staffs to organizations who are in need of our services. All of our skilled technicians are young people turning their lives away from offending or unemployment, and into work. 

We also plan to partner with others State Governments, NGO's and other Organizations who plans to carry out social services and projects in different communities.

I would love to network and learn from other participants and mentors. I will love to learn from their journey, their stories, their successes, their failures, their experiences and their mistakes. I also love to receive feedback about my startup and grow from the feedback received.  

1. SDG ADVOCATE

As an SDG advocate, I constantly avail myself  to targeted actions that would help to improve my approach in several ways in-order to effectively serve as an innovative and socially responsible leader which is my major motivation for applying. This Organization, with its pedigree has proved to help social entrepreneurs like I to achieve maximal impact through several of the services it renders

2. NETWORKING

Since this program will parade some of the best brains from different countries around the world, it is an opportunity for me to meet, network and interact with diverse personalities, share ideas, learn best practices and increase my network base for better productivity.

 3. EXPERIENCE

I appreciate professional experience a lot because it is something they don’t teach you in the classrooms and also it’s something you just can’t buy in the market. I believe this program is another perfect place to acquire more knowledge and experience needed to help perfect our current project.

4. CAPITAL

The capital is also very important to what we are doing, this will help us scale our business very quickly. we would obtain a larger space to accommodate more trainees and also purchase more training kits and instruments for phone repairs

BETA LIFE is a social enterprise. And we are here to do good.  by harnessing the various opportunities that abounds in the Nigerian telecommunications  Industry, we create a decent living for ex-offenders, at-risk youth and young people not in school. Creating a society where no young person feels that crime is their only option for survival

The GM Prize will be judiciously used to scale our business. Trapped young people need credible options and a way out and Employment is the single most effective factor in preventing and reducing offending. 

We will use the GM Prize to get a bigger space that can accommodate more trainees (ex-offenders and at-risk youths), and also purchase more training kits and instruments for phone repairs. 

With this Prize, We would deliver phone repair employability programmes for more young offenders, youth at-risk and young people not in education.

Our mission is to use mobile phone repair to create opportunities for at-risk youth to break down their attitudinal barriers to employment and also help them realize decent income, belonging and self-worth gained through legitimate work. 

Nigeria ranks 3rd in global internet crimes and 6th in the highest amount of prisoners in Africa. 85% of these fraudsters are either youth at-risk, unemployed or young people not in education aged between 15 and 35 years. Many of these ex-offenders in our society are pushed into crime to provide for their families because our system is broken one. 

Trapped young people need credible options and a way out. Employment is the single most effective option in preventing and reducing offending. Good employment gives people choices.

At BETA LIFE, We help to reduce poverty and unemployment through our structured employability programs which helps ex-offenders, at-risk youths and Young people not in school build adequate skills and capacity that would ensure a smooth transition into the labor market.

The Morgridge Family Foundation Community-Driven Innovation Prize, will be used to set up Community REPAIR BOOTCAMPS across the country where young people will receive mobile phone repair tuition from our experienced technicians. they will also develop core employability skills through our bootcamp workshops and team challenges. At the end of these bootcamps, they will receive their own tools and access to our helpline to help them run their own repair stalls in their various communities. We also signpost these youths for further employment and training opportunities and provide job references for them.

If young people have lucrative skills such as mobile phone repairs and with the right support, they tend to make good choices because they have something to fall upon

In Nigeria, Gun Violence is a major problem this is because our system is a broken one. The major reason for Gun Violence in our community is because of the high level of poverty and economic disparity. Employment is the single most effective option in preventing and reducing Gun Violence. Good employment gives people good choices.

BETA LIFE, Through our our structured mobile-phone employability programs, help to reduce poverty and unemployment among at-risk youths and Young people not in school who are mostly the culprits to Gun Violence by helping them build adequate skills and capacity that would ensure a smooth transition into the labor market.

With the Everytown for Gun Safety Prize, we will organize Community REPAIR BOOTCAMPS across the country where young people will receive mobile phone repair tuition from our experienced technicians. they will also develop core employability skills through our bootcamp workshops and team challenges. At the end of these bootcamp, they will receive their own tools and access to our helpline to help them run their own repair stalls in their various communities. We also signpost these youths for further employment and training opportunities and provide job references for them.

If young people have lucrative skills such as mobile phone repairs and with the right support, they tend to make good choices because they have something to fall upon. Eventually, this will effective help in reducing Gun Violence in our communities.