The annual Chase Bank Enablis ILO Business LaunchPadCompetition 2011 is Kenya’s biggest and most exciting business plan competition for entrepreneurs. The competition is an initiative of the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network East Africa, made possible by the participation and support of Chase Bank, Safaricom Foundation, East African Cables, Access Kenya, Nation Media Group, Inoorero University and Kenya ICT Board.

The Competition aims to create an opportunity for anyone with a business idea or existing business, and who finds it difficult to secure conventional commercial funding, to be considered for access to start-up or expansion funding. The competition process evaluates all the entries and scores them on the basis of their business viability and suitability in terms of the funding criteria of the competition's funding partners. The process of entering the competition often assists the entrepreneur to refine and focus their business idea, which in itself is a valuable step.

The aim of the competition is to promote entrepreneurship by:

• Encouraging people with great business ideas to turn these into thriving businesses;
• Encouraging entrepreneurs to sharpen their business acumen, improve their business plan thinking and develop their business writing skills;
• Facilitating the provision of funding to entrepreneurs who meet the criteria of the competition’s funding partner;
• Creating opportunities for gainful employment and furthering the country’s economic growth.

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