Ventures Platform Foundation (VPF), the social impact arm of Ventures Platform Hub, has launched its latest incubation programme, Gov Labs — a 12-week programme for tech solutions implementing accountability and transparency within the Nigerian government’s COVID-19 response.
Ventures Platform Hub presents itself as a catalyst for innovation & entrepreneurship across Africa. The platform is known to provide smart capital through its early-stage fund, Ventures Platform Fund, and infrastructure to nurtures communities of entrepreneurs and innovators through Ventures Park. It builds pipelines by providing capacity and ecosystem support through its not-for-profit – Ventures Platform Foundation.
Created with support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Ventures Platform’s Gov Lab will support Civil Society Organizations from across Nigeria as they build innovative solutions promoting good governance and wide-scale access to public services.
From the pool of applicants, five organisations will be selected and will each receive a $2,500 grant as well as access to mentorship, technical support and networking opportunities. During the 12-week period, participants will also work alongside key experts in policy advocacy, citizen engagement and public sector reform as they build scalable and easily adaptable solutions which target the pain points of the Nigerian government’s COVID-19 response.
According to Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), there were over 100 incidents of human rights violations within the initial lockdown period alone. To curb the impact of the coronavirus, Nigeria has imposed stringent and severe measures on its citizens, most notably around the freedom of movement and assembly. However, this has often corresponded with a notable rise in unlawful arrests and detentions, extra-judicial killings and sexual & gender-based violence (SGBV) amongst other issues.
If you are a social entrepreneur with a tailored solution, start your application process for Ventures Platform’s Gov Lab via the website. Applications close on Saturday, February 6, 2021.
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