Lion's Den Business Pitch Competition
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Lion's Den is a startup pitch competition, organised by the African Professional Network of Ireland (APNI) in collaboration with our partners. The goal of the initiative is to promote black businesses and provide the support and guidance needed to grow these businesses.
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The Lion’s Den competition is a platform to inspire, encourage and support founders/entrepreneurs along their journey. The inaugural edition took place in 2017 and the second annual edition in 2018.
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APNI decided to take a break from this initiative in 2019 and intended to hold another edition in 2020, however, this was not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lion’s Den business competition relaunched in 2022 and 2023 in partnership with Dublin City Council.
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2024 Edition is back and bigger! With a combined cash price of €10,500 Access to tailored Masterclass and Accelerators with furthr.ie for the shortlisted 6 businesses. The Top 3 business winners will also gain access to venture capitalists, marketing support and lots more. Applications are currently ongoing and clo on May 6th, 2024 .
How It Works
1
Applications Submission
Any business or start up based in Ireland with at least one founder of African descent or Afro-Irish submit their business idea and pitch deck to participate in the Lion's Den competition.
2
Panel Evaluation
An independent committee of VCs, industry experts review and assess the business idea and pitch deck and choose the top 6 with the best idea, solution, business model and potential to scale.
3
Public Voting System
The shortlisted 6 businesses undergo further scrutiny through public voting, involving the APNI community in the selection process.
4
Top 3 Selection
The top 3 businesses emerge from the public voting phase.
5
Final Pitch To Panel
The final 3 contenders pitch their business in front of a live audience and a panel of judges for evaluation and selection of the ultimate winner. APNI & Partners award the top 3 businesses with cash prizes, access to mentorship, accelerators and VC network.
Members Spotlight
From March to July 2022, Salesforce through #Boldforce X African Professional Network of Ireland ran a mentorship program. Both teams, through competent people like EYERUSALIEM (Yoursalem) GHEBREZGHI, Fanta Traore, Emily Keep, Lynn O., Edima Inyang and many more, shared a lot of value. They sacrificed their time and energy for the program. I am forever grateful to both teams for having granted me and many others the opportunity. To the teams at Salesforce and African Professional Network of Ireland, I thank you.
Samuel kaburu
APNI Member
African Professional Network of Ireland was thankfully one of the first professional networks I learned about when I moved to Dublin from California. Their website announced a Boldforce Mentorship Program through Salesforce and I eagerly applied. Fast forward 3 months, I am exiting the personal development programme with an amazing mentor Sandra Elias who equipped me with practical recruitment tools and helped me recognize my potential . So grateful to APNI for organizing things like this that help me find my footing and build my network in the IE!
Ngozi Elobuike
APNI Member
From March to July 2022, Salesforce through #Boldforce X African Professional Network of Ireland ran a mentorship program. Both teams, through competent people like EYERUSALIEM (Yoursalem) GHEBREZGHI, Fanta Traore, Emily Keep, Lynn O., Edima Inyang and many more, shared a lot of value. They sacrificed their time and energy for the
program. I am forever grateful to both teams for having granted me and many others the opportunity. To the teams at Salesforce and African Professional Network of Ireland, I thank you.
Samuel kaburu
Participant
APNI Lion's Den Numbers
39
Business Signed up
3
Finalist
1
Winner
€7,000
Total prizes won