The Innovation Fellowship for Aspiring inventors and Researchers Program 2023 for Inventors and Entrepreneurs

Welcome to i-FAIR; the program for entrepreneurs and innovators. i-FAIR is an initiative of the Embassy of the State of Israel in Nigeria in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

With the mandate to empower INNOVATORS, INVENTORS, ENTREPRENEURS, and VENTURE CREATORS in Nigeria, i-FAIR was born out of the need to tackle local challenges with innovative made-in-Nigeria solutions; for the overall goal of inspiring Nigeria to become a start-up nation.

Through the 6-month program, i-FAIR provides participants with the necessary resources and support to transform their ideas into innovations and sustainable ventures that can create jobs and generate wealth for Nigerians and Nigeria.

We have successfully implemented 2 editions of i-FAIR, with a total of 63 FELLOWS and 56 PROTOTYPES DEVELOPED. This was achieved in over 1,300 mentorship hours, supporting over 100 ideas and witnessing inspiring success stories of i-FAIR Fellows who have transformed their ideas into ventures such as Thinkbike, Soilless Farm Labs, Quadloop Africa, Eco Circular Solution, who have gone ahead to attract investment and become successful enterprises.

We understand the challenges facing the innovation ecosystem in Nigeria and have identified them as an opportunity to provide relevant, beneficial, and unique support systems to our Fellows.

At the heart of i-FAIR is Innov8 Hub, the implementation partner of i-FAIR, which provides access to their innovation hub, facilities, cutting-edge technology, mentorship and expertise. Selected Participants arrive at i-FAIR at different stages. Some haven’t started developing the product yet, and others have an initial prototype or have been launched for a year or more. Whatever stage a startup is at when they arrive, our goal is to help them to be in significantly better shape 6 months later: to have a better product with better market fit, and to have more options for raising money.

At i-FAIR, we are committed to supporting innovation and empowering aspiring inventors and venture creators in Nigeria, to transform their ideas into Inventions.

Who should Apply?

We are looking for Solutions which:

• Have a clear concept & valid value proposition
• Have completed their initial market validation process
• Will benefit from hands-on support on their product development
• The solution would ideally include a hardware component (not a must) 
• In case of an established business-it must be African-owned, majorly-Nigerian-owned business, currently or intending to operate in Nigeria
• Address one of Africa’s challenges and fall within one of our areas of focus

Areas of Focus

FOOD SECURITY (Agriculture and Food Technology)

Solutions that increase productivity as well as address challenges around food processing and supply chain.

HEALTH/MEDICAL DEVICE:

Solutions which will increase the accessibility to proper advanced health care.

EDTECH

Solutions which increase access to proper education suited to the local content and learning environment, including AI in education, learning tools and more.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Solutions that reduce or eliminate waste, from product design to its end of life. For example, utilizing waste by turning it into useful products.

CLEAN ENERGY

Solutions that serve rural and/or peri-urban communities not adequately served by the national grid, addresses a real energy-access issue across any part of the value chain.

MANUFACTURING

Solutions that improve manufacturing/small scale manufacturing capacity.

INFRASTRUCTURE MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE

Solutions that will solve challenges in infrastructure and maintenance, including quality assurance.

OTHERS

If the idea you are passionate about does not fall into any of the above, but has a proven need/demand, please feel free to apply. We know that passionate entrepreneurs with surprising ideas may be the greatests.

Process

1. VC, Hub or an innovation & entrepreneurship program are invited to nominate candidates by filling our short nomination form. Once the form is filled in, It will provide a link to share with the candidates where they will find the application form which they should fill in.
2.  Screening process
3. Online pitching competition- Shortlisted candidates will pitch to our selection committee which includes investors, stakeholders and experts. Candidates will be assessed based on their value proposition, market needs,  entrepreneurial and technical skills.
4. Selected teams will enter our product development journey which includes:
   • Online office hours and workshops with experts from Innov8 Hub and from our network aimed at validating/improving product market fit & value proposition , providing hands-on support on product development, from product design to production. 
   • Bootcamps at Innov8 Hub Abuja: depends on stage and  readiness – participants will be invited to 1-2 product development bootcamps at Innov8 Hub, which is equipped with high-end technology, machinery and the expertise needed for prototyping and product development, from product design to fabrication. 
   • Depends on readiness- Access to potential partners for piloting/testing
5. Showcase event – exhibition of prototypes/MVPs/products, pitching to investors and potential partners.
   • For all in-person bootcamps- travel expenses are sponsored and accommodation and feeding provided. 

Benefits

Benefits to Participants

Benefits to Nigeria

 Successful applicants are entitled to the following benefits:

• A unique platform to transform ideas into inventions and develop working prototypes;
• Free access and membership to a modern innovation center where they can work on and develop their prototypes/products with hands-on support of technical experts ;
• Access to a special certificate course and mentoring by accomplished inventors, innovators, and researchers from Nigeria and the State of Israel;
• Exposure to R&D processes and procedures of leading international institutes.
• The opportunity to pitch inventions and prototypes to investors for possible adoption, patronage and partnership;
• For the in-person bootcamps in Abuja, transportation and accommodation will be covered.
• i-FAIR’s support does NOT involve any equity, shares or IP rights on your developments.