Call for Application : Social Innovators Programmes 2018/19 Fellowship and Awards

July 19, 2018 BusinessTrumpet

The Social Innovators Programme & Awards (SIPA) is LEAP Africa’s platform for showcasing, empowering and equipping young 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, have enabled these young change makers transition their social change ideas into scalable social enterprises. During a programme cycle, 20 social entrepreneurs selected from a pool of applicants, participate in activities outlined for the fellowship year. The initiatives of Fellows cover various aspects of the society, such as Agriculture, Youth Empowerment, Education, Science & Technology, Health, Law, Human Rights, among others. Fellows are empowered through series of training sessions (physical and online), mentorship, provision of local & international funding and partnership opportunities. These activities culminate into an award ceremony where outstanding Fellows are rewarded with seed grants and showcased.

Who Should Apply

We are seeking applications from budding social entrepreneurs who would be available and willing to participate in the various activities outlined for the fellowship year.

The 2018/2019 fellowship cycle begins in November 2018 and ends November 2019.

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.

Why you Should Apply

LEAP will support successful applicants scale their social enterprise through:

Provision of local and international opportunities: we support fellows with opportunities to get access to grants, trainings, workshops, organized by our 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

In our review of applications, we will be looking for the following:

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.

Application Documents

Applicants should complete and submit the online application form. Shortlisted applicant will be required to provide the following to make the final list:
i) Valid Government issued identification.
ii) Evidence (photographs, videos, fliers, publications etc.) of past project
implemented by the organization.