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FUTA Alumna Wins 2019 BAT Foundation N5 Million Grant


FUTA Alumna Wins 2019 BAT Foundation N5 Million Grant
 
Taiwo Iyiola, a 2018 graduate of Forestry and Wood Technology of the Federal University of Technology, Akure has won the 2019 Farmers for the Future Grant of the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation. The grant which comes with a Prize of N5 Million including mentorship and training is for the funding and expansion of her bee keeping and honey production business which won her the Award. Iyiola along with several other Nigerian youth involved in small scale business development and entrepreneurship applied for the BAT Farmers for the Future grant which is tailored to improve the skills of smallholding farmers, helping them to build agricultural businesses and assisting them with access to markets for their produce. Out of numerous applications, Iyiola was selected among the first 10 who were invited to present their business idea. At the event, the judges adjudged her business idea and plan for the expansion of her bee keeping and honey production business to be the best out of the 10 selected finalists and she clinched the First Prize worth N5 million. The Presentation ceremony was held on September 24, 2019 at Civic Center, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Iyiola graduated with second class upper division from FUTA and her interest in bee keeping and honey production started after her Industrial Training at Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan. She started on a very small scale in December, 2018 with the help of her undergraduate supervisor, Prof. Shadrach Akindele, a former Dean of FUTA’s School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology.
The Vice Chancellor Professor Joseph Fuwape has congratulated Iyiola describing her as a worthy alumnus who has joined the growing number of FUTA former students flying the flags of the institution proudly at National and international levels