International Breweries Plc. is pleased to announce that the sixth edition of the Kickstart Awards Ceremony, headlined by Mrs. Jumoke Adenowo, Principal Architect, AD Consulting Ltd, will hold on Tuesday, November 9, 2021. The event will host major stakeholders from the Office of the Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund among others.

Kickstart is a youth empowerment initiative by makers of Trophy, Budweiser, and Hero lagers, International Breweries Plc, a proud part of AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer with over 400 beer brands.

The initiative creates a culture of entrepreneurship in young people (aged 18 —35years) and empowers them through Training, Capital (Grants) and Mentoring. This year, applicants whose businesses centre around Agriculture, Modular Retailing, Circular Packaging (Recycling), Technology, Water Stewardship and Renewable Energy will emerge winners. All the winners will receive a combined grant of 60 million naira to set up or scale their business.

According to Peter Bamkole, Chairman, Advisory Board, International Breweries Foundation, “As a social investment scheme, Kickstart Initiative has been at the forefront of entrepreneurship promotion and offering the much-needed business support through training, mentorship, and provision of start-up capital grants for the creation of new businesses and expansion of existing ones. We are delighted to be hosting yet another edition of the Kickstart Awards Ceremony for enterprising young Nigerians, but we are even more excited because our vision to see more people conquer the twin challenges of unemployment and poverty is yielding positive results.”

In partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University, 500 applicants were shortlisted for the Kickstart Online Training from the over 6,000 applications received. The courses taken include Customer Service, Marketing Management, Sales, Financial Management, Leadership Essential, and Operations Management. After the online training, 103 applicants underwent a knowledge-based bootcamp where they were taught courses such as Strategy and Innovation, Public Speaking, and Business Plan Development, to support and build their businesses.

Legal and Corporate Affairs Director, International Breweries Plc, Temitope Oguntokun stated that the Kickstart programme has successfully held five previous editions and is currently in its sixth year. Through its domino effect, the initiative has been empowering start-ups to become employers themselves, thereby further extending its value chain as it trickles down to impact the lives of more people directly and indirectly.

“Kickstart is an intervention that contributes to Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and Goal 1 (No Poverty) of the UNSDGs. It also aligns with the vision of the Nigerian government on reducing the youth unemployment burden, as reflected in the country’s Economic and Growth Recovery Plan. Kickstart also connects with the African youth development agenda in line with the 2063 Plan. We are happy that an impact assessment exercise conducted to assess the impact of the programme on the 2016 – 2018 beneficiaries recorded a 96% success rate,” she said.

In the past editions, over N325 million has been given out in grants to kickstart businesses across the nation. This has recorded over 2,000 direct and indirect beneficiaries whose businesses cut across Agriculture, Manufacturing, Fashion, Technology, and Beauty amongst others.

About International Breweries Plc.

International Breweries Plc (IBPLC) is a proud part of the world’s largest brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, (AB InBev), the world’s largest brewer with over 400 beer brands.

In Nigeria, IBPLC is the proud producer of Trophy, Hero and Budweiser beer brands, including Beta Malt & Grand Malt.

International Breweries was established in 1971 and was listed on The Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1995. The company, AB InBev consolidated its business stakes in Pabod Breweries Limited, Intafact Beverages Limited into its majority ownership of International Breweries Plc in a merger that was concluded in December 2017.

As a global brand, International Breweries has a dream of bringing people together for a better world through the building of great brands that stand the test of time.