The Aso Villa Demo Day Report

Upon conclusion of #AVDD2016; the good, the bad and the unsaid, the organisers have deemed it necessary to present the public with a report on the events that made up potentially one of the most iconic tech events of the current government’s almost 2years in office.

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In fulfillment of its commitment to boost industrialization and encourage entrepreneurship, the Presidency through the platform of “Aso Villa Demo Day” invited all Nigerians to submit their innovative business ideas. Over 4000+Nigerians home and abroad responded to the call. The Pitches held in Lagos on June 23^rd (Landmark Event Centre), in Abuja on June 25^th(The Ventures Platform) and in Port-Harcourt on June 29^th, 2016 (with a second Lagos pitch in July)

Each applicant was assessed by a minimum of four judges and some of the criteria used in assessing were:

• Can this idea make money? 
• Has a revenue model been defined and is it realistic? 
• What is the value proposition to customers? 
• Is there a functional product? 
• Does it deliver a compelling and captivating user experience?  
• How resource intensive is the idea?
• Is this idea scalable?

Collation of results from the four Pitch sessions began immediately. Details were extracted and compiled and the 30 highest average scores were identified.

Announcement of the 30 Winners

On the 4^th of August, 2016, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice-President on Media, Laolu Akande, issued a press release ‘’THIRTY NIGERIANS PICKED TO PITCH INNOVATIVE TECH IDEAS AT ASO VILLA DEMO DAY, AVDD –Outcome of the selection events in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt’’ .

The press release was sent to print, electronic and online media across Nigeria.

Upon the release of the 30 names, the AVDD team reached out to each finalist to send a one-page profile that itemized a description of their business, some of the challenges they faced and their expectations at the Aso Villa Demo Day Finale.

An audit of those documents were carried out and a reoccurring issue was financing. Each business or idea was unique in their requirements for the next stage. It became apparent that the finalists had to participate in a pre-event Bootcamp.

We also immediately began social media interviews (Twitter and Facebook) with the 30 finalists using #AskAVDDFinalists, to expose their ideas, innovations, products and businesses to the public. The general public and specific investors reached out to a few of the 30 during this period.
Between August 8^th–August 30^th, 2016, social media interviews were conducted.

Arrival in Abuja

The 30 finalists arrived in Abuja from different parts of Nigeria and were lodged at The Transcorp Hilton on the 30^th of August, 2016.

The Boot Camp

The Boot camp commenced on the 31^st of August at the Ventures Platform. The goal of the AVDD Bootcamp was to prepare the AVDD finalists to engage intelligently and favorably with potential investors and with President Muhammadu Buhari. A second goal was to select three finalists from each business level category, to pitch at the Aso Villa Demo Day, and to receive cash prizes. The Bootcamp lasted for two days, from Wednesday, August 31st to Thursday, September 1st, 2016.

Day One (Wednesday, August 31^st, 2016)

This comprised of both plenary and breakout sessions. Plenary sessions focused on teaching finalists on basic pitching techniques and handling Q & A from potential investors. Plenary Sessions were facilitated by Bunmi Otegbede – Managing Director Generation Enterprise and Michael Oluwagbemi, Chairman, Afrilabs. The breakout sessions comprised mostly of mock pitching sessions where finalists were provided feedback on pitching style and delivery. There three breakout sessions according to business stages of finalists, i.e. Idea stage, MVP stage and Growth stage. In addition, the 30 finalists in tranches did a 30-second pitch video recording and had their pictures taken, for use post-event.

Day Two, Thursday, September 1^st, 2016

The second day focused mostly on competitive pitching sessions with the aim of selecting the Top 3 finalists that would represent all 30 finalists at the Aso Villa Demo Day on September 2nd. The Panel of Judges comprised of: Jola Aderemi-Makinde, Google Industry Manager; Tonye Cole – Sahara Group, Intel, Lanre Osibona SSA ICT – The Presidency.

The Bootcamp ended with a Fireside chat & cocktail event. The chat was themed: “The Role of Government, Startups, Hubs, and Big Tech Companies in the Tech Ecosystem.” Members of the Fireside Chat panel include: Mr. Tope Fashedemi, Director, E-Government Ministry of Communications, Iyin Aboyeji – Co-founder & Managing Director at Flutterwave, Richard Allan, Vice President, Public Policy Europe, Middle East & Africa Region at Facebook. The panel was moderated by Enuma Okoro.

The Finale – September 2^nd, 2016

The finalists were taken to the Aso Villa, where the three winners –Tracology, Shuttlers NG and Recycle Points – were taken to the President’s Office to pitch their ideas to him and the Vice President. The President then proceeded for pictures with the 30 as a group and individually.

Then the finalists were transported to the State House Conference Center. Here a hall had been earmarked for the event, while a second hall had booths which had been specially prepared for each business to showcase their ideas to guests and investors.

Mark’s visit was planned. The finalists however did not know he would be attending. His appearance at the Aso Villa Demo Day was to speak to and inspire the finalists, and engage with as many finalists as the time scheduled for his visit could permit.

At the event which lasted about 30 minutes, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Mark Zuckerberg gave speeches. A 9-minute documentary listing the 30 finalists and summaries of their businesses/ideas was shown to the audience, which included Mark Zuckerberg and the Vice President.

Departure – Saturday, September 3^rd, 2016

At  the pre-arranged time of 7am, the finalists had a meeting with the organizers. The purpose of the meeting was to get feedback and provide information on next steps. All of the concerns raised by the finalists were penned down. Finalists were also informed that the AVDD team was feverishly working on the next steps and the plans would be revealed when they had crystallized. They were informed that a group would formed on the Slack app to keep everyone updated.

Since tickets had been purchased for those who traveled to Abuja by air, cash refunds were given to the few who came by road.

Media

Since Sunday, the 4^th of September, the Aso Villa Demo Day has promoted the 30 finalists on our social media account, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The finalists have also begun radio interviews in groups.

Going Forward

The AVDD team remains dedicated to the growth and development of the 30 finalists and their businesses, and will, in the weeks ahead, unveil new information along these lines. Against many odds, the Aso Villa Demo Day moved from concept to reality. And useful lessons have been learnt, that will be applied to future editions. The Aso Villa Demo Day will continue to promote technology, innovation and entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

~ The AVDD Team