The Social Innovators Programme & Awards (SIPA) is LEAP Africa’s platform for showcasing, empowering and equipping young Nigerian change makers with requisite skills and effective tools for building sustainable enterprises. Over the past four (4) years, LEAP Africa with the support of Union Bank Nigeria and other corporate sponsors throughout the years, have enabled up to 60 young changemakers (SIP Fellows between the ages of 18 and 35) transition their social change ideas into scalable social enterprises.
The applications for the 2018/2019 programme are currently open and those who meet the criteria below should consider applying to benefit from the series of training sessions, mentorship, local & international funding and partnership opportunities.
An ideal SIP fellow should be:
Youth between the ages of 18-35 years, whose ideas and initiatives offer effective solutions to challenges in local communities across Nigeria.
Initiators/co-founders of a social-focused project/venture/enterprise/ Foundation,
located in Nigeria.
Applicants who have been involved in operating their project/enterprise beyond 12 months prior to the commencement of the Fellowship.
LEAP will support successful applicants scale their social enterprise through:
Provision of local and international opportunities: support fellows with opportunities to get access to grants, trainings, workshops, organized by partners both locally and internationally. Fellows have been able to access grants from international grant-giving organizations through their participation in the SIPA.
Publicity for Fellows: During the course of the fellowship year, LEAP leverages its various online media platforms to showcase the innovative work done by fellows to the online community.
Creating local partnerships for Fellows: LEAP provides the opportunity and recommendations for fellows to partner with organizations who will support with project implementation and support services.
Selection Criteria:
Level of creativity/innovation applied in their entrepreneurial approach towards social change.
Experience mobilizing people and resources to achieve set goals.
Motivation for application: Applicants must give compelling reasons why they would like to participate in the fellowship programme and also show a strong desire to increase the impact of their change initiative.
Demonstrate a passion for social change and active participation in community building.
Applications must be received by July 31, 2018 to be considered for the programme.