The Nest is a TechBiz platform that seeks to support emerging tech innovation, creating a sustainable business environment through Foundry (The Nest initiative).
In its vision to support emerging technologies and businesses, the Foundry initiative has been a strategic tool for the massive empowerment of more than 500 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), empowering 40 startups by awarding grants to SMEs in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.
The Foundry program provides the opportunity for smart and efficient entrepreneurship, as it delivers business solutions and access to funding. The Nest, through its Foundry platform, is currently extending its reach to provide tech solutions and business aid to 5,000 Small and Medium Enterprises and 200 startups in Africa before 2026.
The program offers expertise mentorship from a network of successful entrepreneurs and corporate experts in industries. Aside the access to quality entrepreneurial mentorship, selected SMEs would receive digital tools to improve business processes.
The PITCH is a sub-platform designed to connect SMEs to funding opportunities. In 2021, the PITCH-night event featured business presentations and opportunities with 10 relevant startups. This year’s program would also present innovative TechBiz opportunities, as it engages participants to win a grand prize of $2,500 to facilitate business operations.
This year’s foundry SMEs program marks the 6th edition, which kickoffs with a 2-week program to educate ready-investment owners, as the right skillset would be taught to enlarge their entrepreneurial knowledge and capacity.
Foundry has recorded some level of success; here is one of Foundry’s benefactors; Greenbles, a Lagos-based agritech startup, was selected among Foundry’s SMEs program in 2021, to connect people to farmers with the aim of making the food supply from local food farmers more accessible.
According to a study reported by Emongor, a researcher on “Food Price Crisis and Food Insecurity in Kenya,” he attributed poor market access in the region as one of the causes of food shortage. Recognizing this, Foundry aimed at enhancing food flow.
Greenbles now employs an electronic service portal to solve one of Africa’s major problems (food shortage).
Foundry aims to foster growth in various sectors using technology, but comparing its success so far and the reach to rural settlements preoccupied with virgin business opportunities and food availability, much has not been achieved.
The high illiteracy level in rural areas makes it more difficult to introduce tech innovations through TechBiz initiatives like The Nest; what solution can be administered to solve this problem? How can TechBiz initiative get to the unreached, often characterized by tech illiteracy in a typical African region?
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Photo by The Nest
