Heritage Bank Plc, Nigeria’s most innovative banking service provider, has adopted a focused approach to removing barriers to galvanize critical sectors of the economy around a bold growth agenda with the recent launch of its innovation accelerator programme tagged, HB LAB.
A statement by Fela Ibidapo, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications of the bank, said a total of 154 applications were received in the maiden edition of the 12-week programme expected to provide technology startups with enabling environment, resources and support required to innovate.
Twenty-four of the applicants scored above 60, out of which seven successful applicants will be selected for the finals, from which the team with the most compelling solution will be awarded $25,000 grant. This is however besides access to worksplace and IT infrastructure for solution testing and development for a defined period.
The HB Lab is also expected to accelerate impactful solutions with the potential to radically improve financial Inclusion/Intermediation, agriculture and other related problems affecting critical sectors of the economy.
The statement quoted chief executive of the bank, Ifie Sekibo as noting that in Nigeria, technology startups still constitute a relatively small share of all businesses, which however have an outsized impact on economic growth. This, he continued, is because they provide better-paying, longer-lasting jobs than other start-ups, and they contribute He added that the HB Innovation Lab Programme is open to product development teams and technology driven startups across Nigeria, listing the critical focus areas to include: Fintech, agriculture, education, digital, security and power, whilst noting that the application requirements include names, age, gender, contact number, home and email addresses of the participants.
Meanwhile, for participants who have previously enlisted to participate in any entrepreneurial/innovation programme with a current website or demo reference point, were expected to discuss idea/solution not more than 140-character limit.
Also, such participant discussed problem statement (not more than 140-character limit), ideation/solution stage (not more than 140 characters), target market (Max 150 words), any challenge(s) faced requiring professional intervention (Max. 150 words), introduced its team (Max 150 words) and upload business plan.