Regional Program

Regional Business Idea Incubation Program 

The Business Idea Incubation Program for University Students will support undergraduate students with viable and bankable business ideas to startup a business. The program will include training and coaching sessions as well as 2 rounds of programs. The program will contribute to the development of small and medium scale manufacturing industries in the country, helping to spur innovation and job creation.  The program will allow students to design and develop prototypes, receive ample support from EDC Ethiopia and the ASTU as well as seed financing to enable them to take their idea and start a business.  The program will play a vital role in enhancing the visibility of the CoEE within the university community and beyond which will generate additional technical and/or monetary support. The program will directly contribute to fostering a collaborative business startup scene by youth to generate employment opportunities.  

Participating students will gain soft and hard skills that will enable to them to be successful in their entrepreneurship venture post-graduation. These include:

·         Strategic thinking and problem solving skills

·         Ability to develop a business model and write a formal business plan

·         Perform market research and feasibility analysis using primary and/or secondary data

·         Understand basic financial analysis principals

·         Effective communication and organizational skills

·         Experience with presentation and public speaking

·         Experience working individually or as part of a team

Approach

The program will be conducted in Adama Science and Technology University. The top three business plans from from ASTU will qualify for the national level program that will organized by Entrepreneurship Development Center (EDC)-Ethiopia. The University level program will be held in in month of November, during the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), while the national program will be held in February. The final program will create wide spread visibility through a nationally televised approach.

Eligibility

The program will be open to any full time undergraduate student registered in the first semester of the 2011 E.C/2018 G.C academic year at Adama University of Science and Technology. The business plan must address one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• • • • •     GOAL 1: No Poverty

        •   GOAL 2: Zero Hunger

        •   GOAL 3: Good Health & Well-being

        •   GOAL 4: Quality Education

        •  GOAL 5: Gender Equality

        •  GOAL 6: Clean Water & Sanitation

        •  GOAL 7: Affordable & Clean Energy

        • GOAL 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth

        • GOAL9: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure

        •    GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality

        •  GOAL 11:Sustainable Cities & Communities

        • GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption & Production

        •  GOAL 13: Climate Action

        • GOAL 14: Life Below Water

        •  GOAL 15: Life on Land

        •  GOAL 16: Peace & Justice Strong Institutions

        •  GOAL 17: Partnerships to achieve the Goal

I.   Program Procedure

In order to successfully conduct the program, the program will be rolled out in six phases which are outlined below.

Phase 1: Call for application:  During this phase, EDC Oromia and the ASTU-EDC  will conduct outreach campaigns to inform the student community about the programs (See Annex 1). The campaigns will be conducted through university outlets such as local press, internet sites, social networks, email, etc.  During this phase, the applicants must complete and submit the application form which will be provided in hard or soft copies. The completed form must be returned to the ASTU-EDC before the deadline.  

Phase 2: Application review: EDC Oromia and the ASTU-EDC will select a committee to review the application using the above mentioned eligibility and judging criteria through a ranking procedure. The top 40 from each University that meet the criteria will be contacted and move on to the next phase of the program.

Phase 3: Training and coaching: The top 40 selected applicants will be provided with training on entrepreneurship competency development, business model/plan development, basic financial principals and idea pitching. This support will be provided to the top 40 students who have successfully passed the preliminary evaluation criteria and who have come up with the feasible and promising business ideas.  Upon completion of the training and coaching, the 40 applicants will have to submit their business plan application form for review. The plans will be reviewed against a set of criteria where the top 10 will be selected to receive pitch training and other business development support to help them prepare for the regional pitch program.  

Phase 4: Regional Program:  The top ten applicants will present their business ideas to a select team of jurors. The jury team will be composed of academics, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders at the regional level. The applicants will be provided with 10 minutes to pitch their ideas which should include the following important aspect of the business idea: description of the innovation, the problem the idea would solve, marketing strategy, competitive analysis, and applicant(s) profile. PowerPoint, videos and other interactive means can be used for the pitch. The jury will use criteria to identify the top three applicants who will be awarded prize money and also be eligible to compete at the national program. (Prize money: First place: Br. 25,000, second Place: Br. 20,000 and, third place: Br. 15,000).

Phase 5: Training and coaching: Applicants who will move on to the national program will receive further support to help refine their business model as well as their pitch to the final jury panel. The support will enable to the applicants to sharpen their business model and also refine their pitching skills in order to convince the national jury members.

Phase 6: National Program: The top three applicants from each university will present their business ideas to the jury who will be composed of academics, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders at the national level. Potential investors, financial institutions, government officials, and partner organizations will be invited to the national program in order to open opportunities for the applicants and foster a networking environment. The jury will use criteria to identify the top three applicants who will be awarded prize money in order to further develop their business plan. (Prize money: First place: Br. 50,000, second Place: Br. 40,000 and, third place: Br. 30,000).

Winner Business idea