- After graduating over 5,300 small and medium-sized businesses from Africa, Google Hustle Academy has selected 15 SMEs in Nigeria to receive support from the ₦75 million Hustle Academy Fund.
- The beneficiaries of the Fund, which does not demand an equity return, include Ifeoma Augusta Anselem of Rae’s Clothing, Nafisa Abdulrazaq Sabo of Pinch N’ Dash, John Samuel Andefiki of Kita Farm, Aminu Abdulkarim of A.A.K. Shoes, Anita Aletor of Rotela Business Synergy, and Ojo Femi Christopher of Foodlane Ventures.
- The winners were chosen from among the participants of the company‘s academy for small business owners.
- Financial support, mentorship, and business tools will also be available to SMBs.
Google Hustle Academy on Thursday awarded 15 small business owners in Nigeria with N75 million under its funding initiative.
Over 5,300 entrepreneurs across Africa graduated from the Google Hustle Academy, designed to address specific challenges faced by small and medium-sized businesses(SMBs).
According to a statement made by Google’s West Africa Country Director, Olumide Balogun, this year’s graduation builds on the momentum forged with last year’s 5,000 graduates.
“The passion and resilience shown by these SMBs are truly inspiring. The Hustle Academy is a testament to what focused training and resources can achieve. We are not just celebrating their graduation today; we are recognizing their potential to reshape and invigorate the Nigerian business landscape,”
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In his remarks, Mr. Olumide Balogun stated that the initiative aims to provide a combination of financial assistance, mentorship, and business tool access to small businesses.
According to him, the graduation marks a continuation of the program‘s impact, with over 10,300 entrepreneurs having participated since its inception in 2022.
“Google as a company is always very interested in how we organise the world’s information. We make it universally accessible and useful. And what we are doing today is the Hustle Academy which was started in 2022, to help small businesses access the skills and the mentorship and most importantly the funding that they need to be able to scale in a way that grows their business where they can start to not only sell locally, but also export and also create jobs for the economy and for the country.
“Today, we’re excited to be announcing 15 recipients of our very first possible academic fund, as well as graduating the class of 2023 for the Google Hustle Academy.
“The passion and resilience shown by these SMBs are truly inspiring. The Hustle Academy is a testament to what focused training and resources can achieve. We are not just celebrating their graduation today; we are recognizing their potential to reshape and invigorate the Nigerian business landscape.
“The motivation for us is that in any country or in any community that we are, we want to be responsible contributors supporting businesses there to grow by giving them the skills that they need.”
He also explained that one of the most important priorities for the company is using technology to help catalyze growth for people and businesses.
Small Business Owners to Get Regular Support
Affordability and accessibility are said to be the two significant funding obstacles that African SMEs must contend with.
Accessibility is the capacity of SMEs to secure financing, and it is often challenging for unregistered, informal businesses to do so. The cost of capital, or how much it costs a business to obtain a loan or an investment, is referred to as affordability.
Fact is; informal retailing makes up over 50% of sub-Saharan Africa’s total official GDP, according to a report by Euromonitor International, demonstrating the sector’s broad significance.
The International Labour Organisation estimated that informal employment accounts for over 80% of total employment in some sub-Saharan African economies.
The inability of small and medium-sized businesses to obtain financing is a significant barrier to employment, economic growth, and shared prosperity in sub-Saharan Africa.
It is also crucial to note that small and medium-sized businesses in Africa face significant challenges due to limited access to financing.
There are over 44 million micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in sub-Saharan Africa alone; nearly all are micro. These companies require access to funding to grow, add jobs, and boost the economy.
51% of these essential companies need more capital than they can get.
In his remarks, Charles Odii, the director-general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) said that the initiative was in line with the mandate of SMEDAN to boost job creation, poverty alleviation, livelihood enhancement, and rural industrialization.
He also explained that the agency is currently empowering small business clusters in local government with finance for equipment and working capital.
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List of the 15 Google Hustle Academy Award Recipients and their Businesses
Here’s the full list of the 15 Google Hustle Academy award recipients and their businesses:
- Ifeoma Augusta Anselem – Rae’s Clothing
- Femi Bolaji – Wauley Projects Limited
- Nafisa Abdulrazaq Sabo – Pinch N’ Dash
- Funmilola Moronke Agbayewa – Segunfunmi Foods Nigeria Limited
- Chigozie Bashua – The Nut Place Limited
- John Samuel Andefiki – Kita Farm
- Hussaini Aliyu Baba – Lead Way Family Poultry
- Aminu Abdulkarim – A.A.K. Shoes
- Constance Ufuoma Edesiri – Stance Fashion Empire
- Chikere Onyinyechi Breakthrough – Clozetsales
- Anita Aletor – Rotela Business
- Synergy Ojo Femi Christopher – Foodlane ventures
- Angela Jidechukwu Nwabueze – Jelapetra Farms Ltd
- Eniola Robert – Ennie Wears
- Blessing Akpan – Inyene Agro Processing Factory Ltd
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