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Ecobank, Vitamalt tackle unemployment with The Entrepreneur Season 2…Enugu auditions enter 3^rd day

The leading pan-African bank, Ecobank, and the world’s favourite malt drink, Vitamalt have resolved to tackle the rapidly increasing state of unemployment in the country, by heavily investing in Nigerian micro-entrepreneurs with remarkably brilliant ideas in acclaimed Ecobank-sponsored business reality TV series, The Entrepreneur, Season 2.

Speaking on the initiative recently, lead Sponsor, Ecobank’s  Group Head, Brands and Communications, Collette Ochonogor explained that the SME sector accounts for over 75 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, and therefore it became imperative that further collaborations be geared towards the advancement of the sector.  She also noted that support for small and medium-sized businesses, has been noted as a sine qua non for national development. She reaffirmed that investing in social enterprise will contribute to generating employment.

Reuben Onwubiko, the Sales and Marketing Director of Vitamalt Plc., who corroborated this,  emphasized that Vitamalt Plc.’s collaboration in the programme would ameliorate unemployment by creating opportunity for change and demonstrating the company’s belief in Nigerian entrepreneurs, by supporting small and medium businesses, thus actively fulfilling its Corporate Social Investment role and promoting entrepreneurship through investments in innovative, social enterprise.

 Sponsored by leading pan-African bank, Ecobank Nigeria Plc., and Vitamalt Plc., and partnered by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, Growing Businesses Foundation (an NGO), and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the main objective of The Entrepreneur, is to empower small business owners, promote entrepreneurship through investments in innovative social enterprises, educate people on the numerous strategies of pitching business ideas, and contribute to poverty alleviation in the society.

The TV series, last year, injected over N12million into the businesses of the 23 micro-entrepreneur winners in the first season, but has increased the stakes to N15million this year, as promised by Goke Dokun, the Executive Director of IMPC, producers of the reality TV.

Interested participants who wish to harness this opportunity and become successful entrepreneurs can still do so by picking up their forms at any Ecobank branch nationwide, or downloading the forms online at www.theentrepreneurtv.com, which they are to bring to the venue, along with their bank tellers, as evidence of payment.

The Entrepreneur Season 2, which concluded auditions in Abuja last week, is in its third day auditions in Enugu. The Enugu auditions, which saw a large number of people trooping in the Villa Toscana hotel, Independence Layout to register and audition, will conclude on the 26^th of November, 2009. It should be noted that the deadline for registration has been extended from the 23^rd of November to the 3^rd of December, but candidates who register after the 26^th of November will have to proceed to Lagos for the audition.

The zonal auditions for registered participants continue in Enugu, then Lagos to select over 60 people with the brightest ideas who will face the panel of Judges in the Finals in Lagos.