Mavis wins N5m Next Titan reality show

After hours of drilling  by judges on what it takes to run a business, Marvis Marshal-Idio has emerged winner of the third edition of The Next Titan Entrepreneurship Reality Show.

She beat three other finalists – Sunday Ewolabi, Ronald Ajiboye and Victoria Mamza – at the grand finale of the event held at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos, on Sunday evening.

With the victory, Marshal-Idio,  a mother of one, went home with the star prize of N5m, provided by the sponsor of The Next Titan, Heritage Bank; and a brand new Ford car presented by co-sponsor Coscharis Motors.

Although the finalists had gone through a series of trainings and quizzes during the preliminary stages, the judges, who themselves are seasoned entrepreneurs, again subjected them to an intensive oral test on Sunday.

On the jury were the Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group,  Mr. Kyari Bukar; Chief Executive Officer, Sahara Group, Mr. Tonye Cole; Chairman/CEO,  CPMS Africa, Chris Parkes; CEO Primera Africa Securities Ltd, Lilian Olubi, with  ‘guest judges’ that included Mrs. Celine Loader.

The judges first asked each of the finalists to present their business proposals, after which they were asked to ask one another questions on the proposals.

While Marshal-Idio  presented an idea that seeks to turn waste products into furniture and other interior materials, Sunday spoke on his peanut production. Daniel went into the competition for his dream drone manufacturing business, just as Mamza wanted to fly with her specialised catering services project.

The judges berated all the contestants for what they saw as poor business plans and tardy financials.

Cole, for, instance, said, “At this stage, you are talking about somebody else’s money. Do you really have the right idea? Do you have a sense of value of the money being given? These are some of the vital questions we are asking.”

They were, however, unanimous in anointing Marshal-Idio’s proposal, as they saw her idea as being unique, specific and dependable.

In his speech at the event, the Executive Producer of the Next Titan, Mr. Mide Kunle-Akinlaja, commended the judges, sponsors and the participants for making the edition a success. He said the difference that past winners had begun to make in their business careers attested to its importance.

A top official of Heritage Bank, Orhi Ogba, said the company bought into the project because of the relevance of its focus to economic development.

She said, ‘Despite the fact that we are young as a bank, we know that the wise way to go is entrepreneurship. We are in recession but efforts must be made to build new entrepreneurs. So, it is an exciting period for me watching The Next Titan’ winner emerge tonight.”