On Wednesday, 14th November, GEN SL in partnership with the British Council is organizing the Get in the Ring competition. Get in the Ring is a global startup competition that looks for the most promising startups in 3 different weight-classes. Based on their pitches, scores are allocated based on the startups’ teams, achievements, business model & market and their financials. Through winning at the event, startups can proceed to the Global Final where the global winners will be announced.
The British Council’s vision across Sub-Saharan Africa is to focus on creating opportunities and enabling young people to fulfil their potential; improving their employability, resilience and networks. Given the significant employability challenges faced by many countries in the region, including Sierra Leone, they want to contribute to this agenda by investing significant resources in Skills and Enterprise programs, with a focus on Social Enterprise and Creative Entrepreneurship.
Sierra Leone’s demography offers it a great opportunity to make rapid economic and social progress. The country’s population is one of the world’s youngest, with a median age of just 18.3 years (for comparison, the median age in the United Kingdom is 40.2 years). Sixty-three per cent of Sierra Leoneans are aged 24 or under (more than twice the corresponding proportion in the UK). As these young people reach working age, they will swell the size of the workforce.
These demographic trends could transform Sierra Leone. Energetic working-age people with fewer dependents to support can invest their time and resources in setting up businesses, employing others, buying others’ products and services, saving for the future, and investing in their health and in the health and education of their children. The East Asian tiger economies are examples of countries that have benefited greatly from a combination of favorable demography and a policy environment that promoted education and job creation.
Subsequently, a partnership of GEN SL, The British Council and other players in Sierra Leone’s entrepreneurial ecosystem opens up exciting possibilities to offer skills, networks and access to finance for Sierra Leone’s Next Generation Entrepreneurs.
The Get in the Ring event will be hosted at the British Council and will entail; a startups expo, a pitch training of startups that will be participating in the competition, a speed Networking session of startups and potential investors, mentors, experts, and partners, the live battles of the selected pitches and networking and refreshments at the end.