10 THINGS I GAINED FROM THE AFRICA PRIZE FOR ENGINEERING & INNOVATION COMPETITION
10 THINGS I GAINED FROM THE AFRICA PRIZE
The Africa Prize Innovation and Engineering Competition ended last week with me representing Nigeria until the top 4 and being awarded prize money!
For the benefit of those who may be considering applying, here are 10 things I’ve gained from the 6-month long competition.
Click this link to see everything about me including my pitch video
http://reports.raeng.org.uk/africa-prize-2022-interactive-showcase/crib-a-glow
1. PROFESSIONAL PICTURES AND VIDEOS — As soon as the announcement of the top 16 Africa finalists were announced, I got an email to prepare for a relatable and a detailed photoshoot for my product and myself- that’s why you see beautiful new pictures of me and my innovation out there, these pictures were taken and retaken by the media team from the Africa Prize. When the pictures and videos were out, trust me, I hardly am impressed with media files but these ones, they were lit! So many that I’m yet to exhaust them.
2. MEDIA EXPOSURE- For those who know me and my journey in innovation, it may not be breaking news to be featured on several media platforms but trust me, this was my AHA moment globally! CNN, The Cable News, The Guardian UK Channels TV, African Leaders Magazine and several other global media organizations interviewed and shared our story. At some point I even got overwhelmed with the media requests because I equally had other pressing issues but trust me, being a top 16 at the Africa Prize gave me this one and they hit it on the right spot!
Here are some of the links:
3. INVITATIONS FROM ACCELERATOR PROGRAMS- I noticed that there was a sudden increase visits on my linkedIn profile; my inbox was filled with not just interview requests but with invitations to come and be part of accelerator programs to help my business and possible funding. Trust me! I don’t get tired of them because there’s always something to gain and I have even started one already. I should have added an increase or a sudden boost in my LinkedIn followers but let me not count that as a plus just yet.
4. INTERESTED INVESTORS AND FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS reaching out for possible investment in Tiny Hearts- Ahhhh this one!!! Impact investors, angel investors, well meaning individuals were reaching out through all our social media platforms to ask how they can invest, and I must say that this is a tricky or confusing place to me. This is the point where I invited a finance expert, and a mentor from the Africa Prize to help me with assessments and responses because it was beyond me!
5. FUNDING: 10,000 GBP- Yes, this could have been my top priority, but you know, getting to the top 4 was more crucial to me than the funding itself.
6. MENTORSHIP FROM PROFESSIONALS IN TOP POSITIONS GLOBALLY- I had access to the best hands in areas like marketing, branding, business evaluation and so much more. On one of my mentoring sessions, I cried. Julie helped me dissect and analyze how we could solve the problem of financial records, auditing and inventory all together. My eyes opened to loopholes as well as opportunities and I must say that such services are hardly affordable for startups like mine unless supporting organizations provided it
7. ORGANIZATIONS REACHING OUT TO SUPPORT WITH SOLAR PANELS AND OTHER SUPPORTING ITEMS — One of the things that triggered individuals and organizations to support our work at Tiny Hearts was the way and manner CNN and other media organizations wrote and presented our story. They had me express my in-depth passion about Tiny Hearts as well as put the story out there and that’s how we were opportune to have people and organizations reach out to support us.
8. SUPPORT FROM ALUMNI MEMBERS- Juka!!!! Honestly, I think the Africa Prize team understood my personal and business need before they made us buddies. Just thinking out loud but really, I learned a lot from her- how to survive in the period of the 6 weeks intensive trainings, how to win, what to do if I don’t get to the top 4, how to relate with fellow participants. I even looked further into her business model and technology driven activities and discovered a new way to sole our biggest puzzle in that period- the Bili Jaundice Test Kits. Before the program was over, we had already launched the product.
9. TRAINING — Investment Readiness!!! I think this is the strength of the Africa Prize team, Gushhh! There’s an online platform called the ABACA. The provided this platform for us to upload required documents for investments, the app also helped assess our investment readiness so as it stands, if your documents are complete on the ABACA platform, then you’re fully ready for investments.
10. A PROFESSIONALLY RECORDED PITCH VIDEO — If you didn’t get the chance to watch my final pitch, please watch it here. I was proud of myself! From color choices to lighting, speaking experience and the pitch itself- the Africa Prize team was responsible for that. I had access to a professional who edited my script just as she did with my pitch deck. Her name is Nyambura Ngumba.
See video here:
11. COMING SOON!!!
