Savvy, an entrepreneurial support organization, has secured an extra $25,000 in grant funding, which is their second grant for this year. Earlier in the year, Savvy secured $15,000 in grant funding from The Roddenberry Foundation through its Catalyst Award.
Now, it secured $25,000 as one of the 10 winners of the Global South COVID-19 Digital Innovation Challenge organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
According to a Twitter post by Chidi Nwaogu, the Head of Fellowship Program at Savvy, and one of the founders, the new grant will be used “to further make good on our mission to train the next generation of impact-driven entrepreneurs as a way to reduce global unemployment that has been broadened by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Global South COVID-19 Digital Innovation Challenge sought to identify scalable, innovative, digital solutions that will enable countries, societies, communities, institutions, and individuals from the Global South to deal with the cascading effects of the pandemic.
“Aside from the new funding, my team will receive mentorship and training support from ITU, and that’s what I most look forward to,” says Chidi Nwaogu. Savvy was founded to help at least 10,000 young professionals around the world transition into entrepreneurship, equip them with the relevant knowledge and skills to become successful entrepreneurs, as a way to reduce global unemployment thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the program has trained over 4,800 individuals in 143 countries, who have gone on to start over 1,000 impact-driven businesses across diverse sectors in different regions. The Savvy program consists of three components—the learning, assessment, and mentorship sessions, which all take place online.
For 12 weeks, selected participants learn how to start, build, and scale an impact venture. Using visual presentations, Savvy helps them answer all the relevant questions on their mind. They learn how to gain early traction, achieve product-market fit, and scale into newer markets. While learning, Savvy participants are offered mentorship as well, which is a great way for them to have a better understanding of their chosen industry. Mentorship comes in two ways: peer-to-peer mentorship and expert mentorship.
