From Learning to the Final Pitch: Celebrating the LCAP Blueprint Entrepreneurial Journey

Oct 2

4 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Every entrepreneurial journey begins with an idea. But turning that idea into a viable business requires learning, guidance, persistence, and opportunities to test and refine what you are building.

Over 10 weeks, our entrepreneurs embarked on a journey designed to strengthen their skills, develop their businesses, and give them practical tools to move their ideas forward. Through 08 training modules, learned on a self-paced on the yam Platform, our scholars explored key areas of entrepreneurship, including business development, leadership, and business model development. They worked on their Business Model Canvas and applied the lessons from the program to their own ventures.

A Journey Supported by Mentors and Guest Speakers

Throughout the program, 08 mentors supported participants as they navigated the different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Through guidance and mentorship, they helped participants reflect on their business ideas, identify areas for improvement, and approach the challenges of building a venture with greater clarity. Besides, the learning experience was also enriched by guest speakers, who brought different perspectives, experiences, and practical insights from the world of entrepreneurship. Their contributions gave participants an opportunity to learn beyond the training modules and hear from people with experience in building businesses and navigating the realities of entrepreneurship.

Bringing It All Together at the Final Pitch

After weeks of preparation, Ten entrepreneurs took the stage to present their businesses before a panel of three judges. It was an opportunity to bring together the knowledge, tools, and lessons gained throughout the program and communicate their businesses with confidence.

The pitching session was not simply about presenting an idea. It was about showing how far each entrepreneur had come, explaining the value of their business, and sharing their vision for where they wanted to go next.

The panel of judges brought their expertise to the session, listening to the pitches and assessing the entrepreneurs as they presented their ventures. Their participation provided another valuable learning opportunity for the participants, exposing them to a pitching environment where clear communication, business understanding, and preparation mattered.

Celebrating the Winners

Third Place: Noel Roy Denj

First Place: Lydia Figuereido

Second Place: Habiba Issah

The final pitch also provided an opportunity to recognize three entrepreneurs whose presentations stood out during the competition:

First Place: Lydiana Imagination Solutions
Lydia Figuereido
Lydiana Imagination Solutions is a women-led weaving cooperative in Malowa Village, Malawi, turning a traditional craft into a source of fair income and environmental restoration. Its 11 weavers have skills passed down for generations, yet they used to sell their baskets to middlemen for almost nothing, earning around $48 a month despite long working hours.

The cooperative's innovation is to weave with purpose. Members harvest invasive reeds that choke local waterways and turn them into coloured, high-quality baskets for homes, hotels and tourists. They also produce biodegradable planting baskets for tree seedlings, shared with households in the village to help restore the forests the community has lost. Weavers receive fair pay, design training and direct access to buyers, with collective bargaining power replacing dependence on middlemen.
Second Place: Fresh Harvest Innovations
Habiba Issah
Fresh Harvest Innovations, based in Tamale, Northern Ghana, is an agribusiness tackling one of the most costly problems for tomato farmers and traders: post-harvest losses. Without affordable storage, many tomatoes spoil within days because of heat, moisture and oversupply at harvest time, forcing producers to sell quickly at low prices or lose their produce altogether.

Its innovation is an eco-friendly, reusable tomato preservation container that extends the marketable shelf life of fresh tomatoes without relying on electricity. Built from sustainable, locally available materials, it gives farmers and traders time to store their harvest and sell gradually, protecting both the quality of their tomatoes and their income. The product is being refined through field validation and direct feedback from users.
Third Place: AfriBooks
Noel Roy Denj AfriBooks, based in Lilongwe, Malawi, is a technology venture helping small businesses and institutions turn their financial records into information they can trust. Many of these organisations still rely on paper records or spreadsheets, while international accounting platforms are often too complex or poorly suited to their needs. AfriBooks offers a practical middle ground: a modular financial-management system covering sales, expenses, cash flow and reporting, configured around each customer's actual workflow and delivered with setup, training and ongoing support.
Its innovation lies in combining accounting expertise with software and systems thinking. Rather than piling on features, AfriBooks builds tools that fit how small organisations really work, then turns the custom features customers repeatedly need into standard modules, including a future component for fee management and reporting in private schools.

They have been awarded with some seed funding, giving them additional resources to continue developing their businesses and taking their ventures to the next level. Their recognition represents not only the outcome of the final pitch, but also the work, preparation, and growth demonstrated throughout the program.

The End of a Program, the Beginning of a New Journey

The closing of LCAP Blueprint does not mean the end of the journey for these entrepreneurs. The program may be over, but a new chapter is beginning, one filled with opportunities to continue learning, building, connecting, and growing. Participants will have access to continued mentorship, additional pitch opportunities, visibility opportunities, and potential funding opportunities, creating pathways for them to keep moving their ventures forward.

For the 59 entrepreneurs who took part, LCAP Blueprint was a space to develop skills, strengthen ideas, meet mentors and fellow entrepreneurs, and take meaningful steps toward building their businesses.

The final pitch marked the end of the program, but it also marked the beginning of something new.