IP Skills Acquisition, Learning and Youth Entrepreneurship (IP SALAYE)

Every innovative business has unique challenges that require a tailored intellectual property (IP) strategy – an action plan to identify, develop, protect and leverage a business’ portfolio of IP assets.

IP Skills Acquisition, Learning and Youth Entrepreneurship (IP SALAYE) is a capacity-building project that empowers young Nigerian entrepreneurs in using IP rights for business development and financing strategy. This pilot project will take place from September to December, 2023.

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Join the pilot project! You are eligible if you are:

a young entrepreneur from Nigeria; and
a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program (Batches A and B, Streams I and II) in Abuja

Application deadline is October 20, 2023.

Apply now

How can IP SALAYE benefit my business?

During the project, participants will develop their own IP strategy and its implementation plan, in order to gain competitive advantage and drive profitability of their business. This will be possible thanks to:

One-on-one mentorship with renowned IP expert(s) on how to better use IP for growth
Training opportunities and access to practical tools and services
Peer networking opportunities.

What are the goals of IP SALAYE?

IP SALAYE is an IP awareness program for young entrepreneurs undergoing the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program in Nigeria, designed to:

help young entrepreneurs learn about the use of IP in fostering successful businesses
connect young entrepreneurs with experienced business and IP experts
celebrate success stories of young entrepreneurs that have leveraged IP for their business growth.

How does IP SALAYE roll out?

IP SALAYE is a WIPO capacity-building project modelling IP Management Clinics (IPMC). The project is implemented in four stages.

Stage one: on-boarding of entry-stage teams consisting of four to five team members. This stage includes problem exploration and definition. Participants will identify, with guidance from mentors, local problems and industrially applicable solutions.
Stage two: ideation process during which participants will produce industrially applicable products as solutions to identified problems. This stage includes feasibility planning and business development. IP Management Clinics will be held at this stage of the project.
Stage three: prototyping and testing stage.
Stage four: the final phase that concludes the project with feasibility planning, IP strategy development and a concluding event.

"In today's intricate society, we are met with an abundance of complex challenges that find their solutions through skill mastery and the strategic application of IP knowledge. Enter the IP SALAYE program, a beacon aimed at answering a fundamental question: How can we transform societal issues into viable business prospects by harnessing IP expertise? We firmly hold that this program encapsulates the solution every aspiring entrepreneur and professional requires to initiate their contribution to the much-needed economic revitalization that Nigeria urgently seeks."