Firm dangles N50m for winners at FUZE 3.0 talent show

The quest to spur talent discovery among Nigerian youth has seen Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers dangle a whooping fifty million naira in prize money for winners in its talent hunt programme, the FUZE Talent Show 3.0.

The firm announced the kick off of the show with the unveiling of its panel of judges at a ceremony in Lagos affirming that the youth-centric talent discovery platform will hunt for innovations across fashion, technology and music.

Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers, Olumide Oyetan disclosed that the 2024 edition with the theme: ‘Light it up’ encapsulates the show’s mission to illuminate and celebrate Nigerian youths’ boundless creativity and talent.

He affirmed the transformative power of the FUZE Talent Show stating “Each season, we’ve witnessed this platform’s ability to uncover, foster, and propel young talents into the spotlight; giving rise to new stars who now shine across the realms of music, dance, fashion, and technology”.

The firm head of Business Development, Kenneth Omeogu told journalists that the 2024 edition had attracted a large number of youths who showed interest in the competition from across Nigeria, a figure he revealed doubled the entries from Lagos state.

On her part, Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Executive Director of Business Development, Nike Bajomo explained that the show will celebrate fashion, music, dance and technological innovations among the teeming youth who have been shortlisted to participate with the aim to empower them via the coaching and lessons they will learn during the duration of the show.

She revealed that the winner will chart home the sum of N7.5 million with the first runner-up pocketing N3 million, just as the second position gets N2 million.

The star-studded judging panel for FUZE 3.0 unveiled at the event included Funke Adepoju, a celebrated Nigerian fashion designer and the founder of Funke Adepoju Couture, Director of Engineering at Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), Akinwande Akinsulire who is bill to lead the technology category in identifying ideas in the tech space.

The rest include DonFlexx for the dance category while Nigeria music sensation and song writer Korede Bello will lend his musical prowess to identify the next big stars in the music category.

Olumide called on Nigeria’s youths to seize this opportunity: “To our participants, let your creativity flow freely; your passion ignites the spark within; and your talents illuminate the stage. You are the heart and soul of the FUZE Talent Show, and we’re here to celebrate each of you.