Reckitt Nigeria has announced a N6.3 million seed funding to local social entrepreneur to scale up their solutions in addressing access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in communities.
Speaking about the programme and its significance for Nigerian entrepreneurs and the local WASH ecosystem, the General Manager of Reckitt in sub-Saharan Africa, Akbar Ali Shah, said social enterprises have the potential to solve problems in real time, thereby harnessing the power and efficiencies of businesses and delivering impact for a social purpose.
He said the traditional models for scaling access to hygiene and healthcare to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 and 6 have shown to be insufficient, which triggers the need to change the way the firm is supporting communities.
He said the firm understands the power of business to change the world for the better, adding that the most impact can be achieved when the firm acts as a catalyst for innovation. Shah said this is why the firm is accelerating access to health and hygiene for millions of Nigerians by catalysing social entrepreneurship.
“With our entrepreneurial spirit, coupled with our people’s passion to do the right thing, we can provide the support to help these young businesses thrive, accelerate growth, achieve scale to reach more people and have a greater social impact,” he said.
He said the social entrepreneurs selected to be part of the fight for access accelerators in Nigeria will receive tailored support, capacity-building mentorship and practical guidance from Reckitt experts and industry professionals.
He said other support includes network access with fellow social entrepreneurs in the WASH sector and local industry experts who will collaborate and create a systems-based approach to fight for access to WASH, as well as seed funding of N6.3 million for each social business.
“Applications are being accepted until August 7, 2023. This is an opportunity for local social entrepreneurs to contribute to the positive development of the country by scaling their solutions,” he added.
