GANTA CITY STARTUP INITIATIVE
@ Ganta Youth Center Conference Hall | October 27 - 29, 2022
This project is funded through the Reciprocal Exchange Component of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. The Mandela Washington Fellowship is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Are you between the ages of 18 and 30 and interested in learning how to use technology to start your own business? Apply for the the Ganta City Startup Initiative, a free-of-charge 5-day educational initiative where Gantian youth will meet with expert mentors and facilitators to learn essential skillsets like digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
Funding for the Ganta City Startup Initiative is provided by the U.S. Department of State.
Digital Literacy and Technology
with Jeremiah Cooper, New Breed Technology Lab
October 27, 2022
Get introduced to the other students in the cohort while learning what the following four days will be like on Monday.
- Thursday, October 27 (10:00 - 16:00): Orientation, welcome, and Introduction to basic technological skills and social media marketing (Facebook and WhatsApp)
Startup Marathon
with Nick Chagin, The Startup Bug
October 28-29, 2022
You will work with a team to actually start a business during this immersive 3-day experience. You will create a business model by talking to customers, creating a prototype, working with local mentors and entrepreneurs, and designing a pitch.
The program ends on Friday with an official pitch that you will present in front of a panel of local entrepreneurs and investors (like Shark Tank!).
- Friday, October 28 (10:00 - 17:00): Learn about brainstorming, pitch ideas, form teams, create your first business model, talk to customers and develop a prototype
- Saturday, October 29 (10:00 - 17:00): Learn about finding your market, meet and work with local mentors, and spend the rest of the day preparing your final pitch with your team. Finish the program strong with your final pitch followed by networking.
MEET THE TEACHERS
JEREMIAH COOPER
Founder, New Breed Technology Hub
Ganta, Liberia
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NICK CHAGIN
Founder + Lead Facilitator, The Startup Bug
Chicago, Illinois USA
Nick is an American entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership educator. He has worked with 1500+ aspiring entrepreneurs through various Department of State U.S. Embassy initiatives, 20 universities, and several high schools spanning 12 different countries.
His infectious facilitation style has been best showcased in a video series for the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) network, a multi-national entrepreneurship exchange launched under the Obama administration in 2015.
He strives to equip innovators with the tools, mentors, and confidence to explore their entrepreneurial potential. Aside with The Startup Bug, Nick currently works to do this with TiE Young Entrepreneurs, a global program aimed at fostering entrepreneurial skillsets in high school students and with Productable, a seed-stage startup that develops software for organizations like the United States Air Force to help them enable intrapreneurs to pilot and scale internal innovations.
