Evolve Business Kickstart

According to National bureau of statistics, 6 in every 10 Nigerians are poor with a total of 133 million people experiencing multidimensional poverty. 53% of this number are young people between the age of 16 and 35, making Nigeria the country with the second highest number of unemployed youth in the world.

Some of the factors contributing to this problem among young people include Educational shortcomings and limited economic opportunities. Traditional educational institutions in Nigeria are poor and ill equipped  and hence perpetuate the cycle of producing underprepared graduates who are ill-equipped to compete for jobs and add to the already saturated job market.

Beyond the economic pressure on individuals and families, delayed employment among young people can lead to increased social unrest, crime rates, and political instability, posing a threat to national development. 

Empowering Young People Through TVET and Entrepreneurship

We address youth unemployment and poverty by equipping young school leavers and recent graduates with the skills and resources to become job creators. We achieve this through our Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs and business incubation initiatives.

Hybrid Training for Diverse Needs

Our blended learning approach combines online modules with onsite, hands-on training in practical skills relevant to chosen career paths. This includes options like fashion design, aquaculture, hairdressing, shoemaking, farming and so on. Participants can enroll in either the online or onsite program that best suits their needs and location.

Nationwide Online Reach & Location-Specific Training

The online component of our TVET program allows us to empower young people across all of Nigeria, overcoming geographical limitations. The onsite programs provide targeted training opportunities specific to local industry needs.

Business Incubation and Support

Graduates from our TVET programs and aspiring young entrepreneurs receive comprehensive support through our business incubation services. We guide them in developing investment-ready business plans, offer mentorship from experienced professionals, and assist them in securing seed funding to launch their ventures.

Strong Industry Partnerships

We have partnered with over 40 organisations across various industries. These partnerships enable us to leverage industry expertise in designing and delivering our TVET curriculum.

Our solution directly targets a significant segment of the Nigerian population – young school leavers and recent graduates facing unemployment. These individuals, estimated at over 600,000 graduates annually, often lack the practical skills and entrepreneurial know-how demanded by the job market and around 53% of them remain unemployed. 

Our programs are designed to cater for people in this category and serves as a vocation and entrepreneurship self starter.

We prioritize serving underserved young people residing in poverty-stricken rural areas across Nigeria. These regions often have limited access to quality education and skills development opportunities. Our blended learning approach (online and hands-on training) offers greater accessibility, reaching geographically dispersed communities.

We currently serve over 1,200 young people annually and aim to become the leading platform for empowering young Nigerians with the skills and resources to establish themselves, acquire marketable skills, and launch their own businesses. Our ambitious target is to scale our programs to reach over 200,000 young people per year within the next five years, significantly impacting youth employment and economic prospects in Nigeria.

Our team's strength lies in our proximity and deep understanding of the communities we serve. We are all Nigerians living and working in Nigeria, allowing us to directly connect with the challenges faced by young people. Our Team Lead resigned his day job  to spearhead this project, embodying our unwavering commitment to youth empowerment.

We ensure the relevance of our programs by collaborating with a network of over 40 organizations. These partnerships involve local businesses, industry experts, and training institutions. They play a crucial role in developing our TVET curriculum, ensuring it aligns with local industry needs and job market demands.

We prioritize community engagement throughout the design and implementation process. Our regional representatives and ambassadors serve as vital links between our organization and the communities we serve. They actively engage with young people, state and local authorities, gathering feedback and suggestions that directly inform the planning and delivery of our training programs.

This community-driven approach has yielded positive results. In the past four years, we've facilitated young people in our programs to secure over $1.5 million in funding to launch their businesses and vocations. These success stories showcase the effectiveness of our solution in empowering young Nigerians and contributing to local economic development.

We're in the growth stage in our development, having established a robust foundation for scaling our impact. Here are some key highlights of our achievements:

Functional eLearning Platform: We've built and deployed a fully operational eLearning platform for the past two years. This platform provides learners with a rich learning experience and valuable data insights to track progress.

Extensive Onsite Training Delivery: Our expertise extends beyond online learning. We've conducted over 30 onsite vocational training programs, directly reaching more than 3,500 participants since our inception.

Empowering Young Entrepreneurs: We're proud to support aspiring business owners. Our programs have directly facilitated our graduates in securing a cumulative $1.5 million in funding to launch their ventures in the past four years.

Validation Through Funding: The success of our approach is further validated by over $20,000 in grant and donation funding we've received since launching.

We are looking to gain visibility, access to experts, gain mentorship, access networking opportunities,  partner and secure funding which will help us in reaching out to more youths. 

Our solution tackles youth unemployment and poverty in a multifaceted way:

1. Bridging the Geographical Gap with eLearning:

Traditional Limitation: Onsite TVET programs often have limited geographical reach, restricting access for young people in remote areas.

Our Innovation: We've developed a user-friendly and interactive eLearning platform that transcends location barriers. This platform allows us to reach a much wider audience of young Nigerians across diverse regions, particularly those in underserved rural communities.

2. Empowering Through Blended Learning:

Holistic Approach: We combine the flexibility and scalability of eLearning with the practical value of onsite, hands-on training. This blended approach caters to diverse learning styles and ensures participants gain the necessary practical skills for success.

3. Fostering Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing:

Community Building: Our solution goes beyond skills training. We create a virtual space for participants to connect, share experiences, and learn from each other. This fosters a supportive community that empowers young people on their entrepreneurial journeys.

4. Potential for Broader Impact:

Scalability Potential: Our eLearning platform can be readily scaled to reach a significantly larger population of young Nigerians. This has the potential to create a significant dent in youth unemployment rates.

Replication Model: Our blended learning approach and focus on community building can serve as a valuable model for other organizations working in the TVET and youth empowerment space.

By combining technology with a community-driven approach, our solution offers a novel way to empower young Nigerians and tackle youth unemployment. Our success has the potential to inspire and guide other organizations working towards similar goals, ultimately leading to a more robust TVET ecosystem in Nigeria.

Long-Term Goal: Reduce youth unemployment and poverty in Nigeria by equipping young people with the skills and resources to become job creators and self-sufficient entrepreneurs.

Intermediate Outcomes:

• Increased access to quality TVET programs: Provide accessible and affordable TVET programs in high-demand sectors through a blended learning approach (online and onsite).
• Enhanced skills and knowledge: Equip participants with industry-relevant technical and vocational skills, coupled with business development knowledge and entrepreneurial mindsets.
• Improved self-efficacy and confidence: Empower young people to pursue self-employment opportunities and navigate the challenges of starting and running their own businesses.
• Stronger business support networks: Establish a network of mentors, investors, and local partners to provide ongoing support and resources to program graduates.

Activities:

• Develop and deliver high-quality TVET curricula aligned with industry needs.
• Offer online and onsite training programs, catering to diverse learning styles and geographical locations.
• Integrate business development training into the TVET curriculum.
• Partner with local businesses and industry experts for training and internship opportunities.
• Provide mentorship and coaching services to program graduates.
• Facilitate access to seed funding and other financial resources for young entrepreneurs.
• Build an online community platform for knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer learning among participants.

Assumptions:

• Young people and especially students and graduates in Nigeria are ill equipped to get jobs or start a business. They are motivated to learn new skills and pursue self-employment opportunities.
• Young people are willing to embrace artistry and entrepreneurship to escape poverty. 
• Partnerships with local organizations and businesses are crucial for program sustainability and impact.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

• Track the number of young people enrolled in TVET programs.
• Measure participant satisfaction and learning outcomes.
• Track the success rate of businesses launched by program graduates.
• Conduct regular surveys and focus groups to gather feedback and assess the program's effectiveness.

Potential Impact:

By implementing this theory of change, we aim to:

• Equip young Nigerians with the skills and resources needed to launch successful businesses.
• Reduce youth unemployment rates in Nigeria.
• Contribute to economic growth and development through increased self-employment and job creation.
• Create a more vibrant and entrepreneurial youth culture in Nigeria.
• Serve as a model for other organizations working in the TVET and youth development space.

Impact Goal 1: Increase Access to Quality TVET Programs

Target: Equip 200,000 young Nigerians with industry-relevant skills through our TVET programs within the next five years.

Measurement: We track the number of young people enrolled in our online and onsite programs annually.

Current Progress: We've served over 1,200 young people in the past year.

Impact Goal 2: Enhance Skills and Foster Entrepreneurship

Target: Increase the business startup rate by 90% among our program graduates within one year of completion.

Measurement: We track the employment status and business startup activity of our graduates through surveys and alumni networks.

Impact Goal 3: Empower Young Entrepreneurs

Target: Facilitate access to $5 million in seed funding for program graduates to launch their businesses within the next five years.

Measurement: We track the total amount of funding secured by our graduates through grants, loans, and investor partnerships.

Current Progress: Our graduates have collectively raised over $1.5 million in funding in the past four years.

Other Considerations:

We conduct regular participant satisfaction surveys to gauge the effectiveness of our training programs.

We monitor learning outcomes through pre- and post-training assessments to measure skill development.

We track engagement metrics for our online platform to understand user behavior and platform reach.

A web based E learning platform for our online programs. 

We also use a variety of apps like Zoom, Teams, Microsoft 365.

We have plans to develop the mobile app version of our service.

Full Time Staff: 4

Volunteer: 4

Partner Organizations: 40

Board Members: 3

We have been working on our solution for 4 years. 

We ensure our team is diverse by hiring individuals from different cultural, ethnic and religious background. 

Our team is made of both male and female with different academic credentials who believe in what we are doing and where we are going. 

We have 60% female workforce and 40% male.

Freemium with Value-Added Services

We offer a free tier of your TVET program. This attracts a wide audience of young Nigerians seeking to develop essential skills for starting and running their own businesses. The free tier could include:

• Training: Full vocational training with complementary business skills like financial planning, marketing, and customer service.
• Self-assessment tools: Help participants identify their entrepreneurial strengths and interests.

Monetization Strategies:

• Premium Subscriptions: Offer advanced training modules in specific business areas like accounting, social media marketing, or business plan development. This is for graduate of our program already doing business. 
• Commission on successful funding: Our students donate a 10% commission on any Grant we help them secure.They only have to donate if the grant application is successful.
• Corporate Partnerships: Develop customizable business training programs for established companies looking to equip their employees with entrepreneurial skills or train them for new ventures within the organization. Leverage your expertise to generate revenue from the corporate sector.

We generate revenue through several key strategies:

• Premium Subscriptions: Offer advanced business training modules for program graduates who are already running their own businesses.
• Success-Based Commission: Earn a 10% commission on grants secured by program graduates (only if the application is successful).
• Corporate Training: Develop customized training programs for established companies, leveraging expertise to generate revenue from the corporate sector.
• Grant Funding: Pursue opportunities from government agencies and donors interested in supporting youth entrepreneurship.
• Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with local businesses, industry leaders, and investors to provide mentorship, networking, and potential funding for graduates.