SHE Leads Africa has just opened applications for the 2017 She Leads Africa Accelerator, a three-month programme designed to identify, support and fund the next generation of Nigeria’s brightest entrepreneurs.

The SLA’s 2017 Accelerator will take place in four locations across Nigeria – Abuja, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, and Kaduna.

The 2017 Accelerator will consist of one week residencies in the four locations where entrepreneurs will receive training from the SLA team and business leaders and experts. During these residencies, entrepreneurs will be focused on business strategy, growth, marketing, finance and distribution. They will also receive a host of on and offline training as well as an opportunity to pitch their business to national and international investors.

Angel Adelaja, Fresh Direct’s founder and 2016 class winner, said: “This was like a condensed Masters Program. I am so different now and our company is thinking and strategizing differently.”

The 2017 SLA Accelerator is run in partnership with the Work in Progress! Alliance – a consortium of Oxfam, Butterfly Works and VC4A focused on driving job creation and youth employment in Nigeria. The Kaduna Agribusiness cohort is sponsored by OCP.

Entrepreneurs interested in applying should visit [www.SheLeadsAfrica.org/accelerator] for more information and to apply. Submissions close on June 25, 2017 at 11:59pm WAT.

—  May 15, 2017 @ 20:30 GMT