MTN Nigeria has officially announced the launching of the Blow My Hustle campaign aimed at supporting young Nigerians by providing empowerment through grants and capacity building.
The MTN Pulse Blow My Hustle initiative will drive youth employment in Nigeria whilst also bolstering the capacity of entrepreneurs. Through the initiative, MTN Nigeria will support qualified youths involved in scalable businesses with grants worth up to 150,000 USD.
Nigeria is the most populous black nation, and according to a 2021 report by Fate Institute the country is dominated by youths as 67% of its citizens are aged 18 to 35. Due to the economic situation of the country, most of these youths have resorted to side hustles in order to make ends meet.
MTN Nigeria understands for a fact that the rate at which entrepreneurship is growing in the country is high, but entrepreneurs often face issues relating to financing. The company wants to help these entrepreneurs through its initiative as they seek to support the overall productivity of the youths in the country.
“The hustle spirit amongst Nigeria’s young people is truly inspiring as they are innovative and entrepreneurial. MTN is here to support that hustle so that their dreams can become reality,” Adia Sowho, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Marketing Officer said. “Young business owners have told us what they need, and with MTN Pulse Blow My Hustle, we will share business skills from experts in relevant fields and create access to financial grants. We look forward to the transformation that this initiative will propel.”
Youths who are MTN subscribers and aged 16 to 30 can participate in the Blow My Hustle initiative by submiting a video pitch stating their kind of business and how the grant will help their hustle. 100 young Nigerians will be shortlisted and MTN will provide them grants and exposure to a 2-week intensive virtual training from industry leaders.
The top 20 contestants will then be selected based on their performances after the two-week training period as finalists and will receive varying amounts in grants based on the quality of ideas and presentation made to the panel of judges.
