10 Nigerian innovative startups to secure N10m seed investment on TAP show

U.S-based Digital Marketing Agency, AIS Media, recently announced that the Amazon Project (TAP) will provide up to NGN10 million in seed capital and business incubation support to 10 Nigerian participants, who can demonstrate their superior abilities as entrepreneurs,

The premiere season of The Amazon Project (TAP) which is a 13-week television production aims at selecting and investing in the brightest entrepreneurs and business ideas in Nigeria.

AIS said the programme will be aired on terrestrial and satellite television channels towards the end of the first quarter of 2017 to an expert panel of carefully selected judges and, ultimately, the viewing audience.

TAP judges are Foluso Phillips, Chairman of Phillips Consulting; Funke Bucknor, CEO of Zapphire Events; Anne Agbakoba, Founder, Numeris Media Group; and Wole Faroun, CEO, NetPlusDotCom. There will also be guest judges throughout the season.

Wole Faroun, CEO of the project said: “Doing business in Nigeria in a recession is a like wading through the famous Amazon rainforest where only the toughest and smartest survive. This project will reward entrepreneurs that can prove they have what it takes to make it in Nigeria by applying innovation and smart economics to meeting needs and solving complex business problems.”

Segun Lawal, the creative anchor and lead producer of TAP, said: “The Amazon Project is ‘entrepretainment’ at its very best. In this intense reality TV show, business meets entertainment in a manner tailored to the Nigerian environment, and geared at promoting local industry and innovation.”

TAP is sponsored and supported by a leading telecommunications firm and a foremost commercial bank. Both institutions are ideal partners for this project, having demonstrated a strong commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses over the years.
The show will be produced by Ultima Studios, and the episodes will be recorded at their studio complex in Lagos.

To ensure the integrity of the contestants’ selection process, both short listing and voting will be overseen by a leading entrepreneurship and capacity building organization, in collaboration with a major consulting firm in Nigeria.