Legatum Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT),United States (US), has supported Nigerians to establish ventures and businesses that have made real economic impact in the country and the rest of the world. DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Sounded in September 2007, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Legatum Center, United States (US) has served as a launch pad for a new generation of entrepreneurs, who want to acquire skills necessary for innovative businesses. The center focuses on entrepreneurship to foster prosperity in low-income countries.
The centre achieves this through its renowned fellowship—the Legatum Fellowship, which is for incoming and current MIT students, committed to developing for-profit enterprises in developing countries. While the Center has had fellows from around the globe, it has supported enterprising MIT students from Nigeria, who work on innovative ventures. Many of them have gone on to become great entrepreneurs. Adetayo Bamiduro and Chinedu Azodoh, cofounders of MAX Delivery Nigeria, are some success stories from legatum. They are fellows of the centre. They both found out that delivering a package in Lagos was a herculean task, considering its notorious gridlock.
As a result, they established Max.ng , an online delivery startup, to help residents send packages to any part of Lagos seamlessly. The founders promised package delivery in three hours. The project was a success. So far, Max.ng has made over 40,000 deliveries. To use Max.ng, one simply make a pickup request via the website or the mobile app.
Once the order is packed and ready, it is picked up by a Max.ng champion and starts the journey to its destination. The package gets delivered speedily in top shape and one pays the appropriate charges.
Another fellow is Isaiah Udotong. Udotong is Chief Executive, Releaf, established for agribusinesses to use to connect with reliable buyers and sellers of their agricultural commodities. There are two other co-founders, they include Chief Operating Officer Ikenna Nzewi and Chief Technical Officer Uzoma Ayogu. The business has signed up about 1,000 African businesses since its public launch in Nigeria on August 3.
A serial entrepreneur, Mobolaji Finnih, is a legatum fellow. Finnih has started seven businesses during the last 13 years. He has established TechPreneur initiative.
It is a business incubator exclusively for technology-related start-ups run by undergraduates, interns and young graduates in Nigeria.
TechPreneur adopts start-ups with significant potential and provides infrastructure, legal, marketing, business coaching, mentorship, and project management support services with a goal of creating sustainable world-class businesses.
Globally, MIT Alumni-founded companies have created 4.6 million jobs, generating nearly $2 trillion in annual revenues. MIT underscores the substantial economic impact of the Institute’s alumni entrepreneurs, whose companies have created millions of jobs and generate annual revenues of nearly $2 trillion — a figure greater than the gross domestic product (GDP) of the world’s 10th-largest economy. Normally, the center invites applications for its fellowship from prospective applicants, who are committed to pursuing a startup in a low-income country after graduating from MIT. Fellowships are available for students enrolled in MIT graduate degree programme or a current sophomore, junior or graduate students at MIT.
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