Aba, Abia State
Young entrepreneurs in Aba received a major boost as MTN Nigeria brought its youth-focused Pitchathon to the commercial city, offering a total prize pool of ₦5 million to support promising startup businesses.
The competition, held as part of MTN’s youth lifestyle event, The Gathering, attracted innovators and business owners who pitched their ideas before judges in hopes of securing funding to expand their ventures.
Speaking during the event, Nkwanta Iheoma Glory of Blue Caret Consult, one of the organizations working with MTN on the initiative, said Aba was chosen because of its strong reputation for business and entrepreneurship.
“Aba is a commercial hub that is growing rapidly. There is a lot of development taking place here, and we believe there is a need to create more opportunities for young entrepreneurs in the city,” she said.
According to her, the Pitchathon is designed to support businesses with practical ideas capable of creating impact. She noted that the competition’s grand prize of ₦2.5 million could significantly help entrepreneurs who have viable business plans.
“We didn’t hand the money to people without solid ideas. We believe the businesses selected today have the potential to grow, and in the next few years we expect many of them to be doing extremely well,” she added.
Among the participants was Charles Okechukwu, a United Nations volunteer, climate advocate, and Chief Executive Officer of Trashverse Recycling Technology. He explained that his company focuses on tackling waste management challenges while creating economic opportunities for residents.
“Our company collects recyclable waste from people and pays them ₦180 per kilogram. We also educate communities on proper waste management. The waste is processed and exported for recycling into products such as plastics and fabrics,” he said.
Okechukwu revealed that securing funding from the Pitchathon would help his company acquire a waste-crushing machine, which would significantly increase the value of recycled materials.
“At the moment we pay ₦180 per kilogram, but if we can process the waste further through crushing, its value can increase to about ₦1,000 per kilogram. That will help us create more income opportunities for people and expand our operations,” he explained.
The Aba Pitchathon follows the success of MTN’s earlier Lagos edition, where several startups received funding support to scale their businesses. Organizers say the initiative is aimed at helping young Nigerians transform innovative ideas into sustainable enterprises while contributing to economic growth and job creation.
