ACE Startup Academy Completes First Training of Trainers Program for Nigeria's Startup Mentors

ACE Startup Academy has completed its first Training of Trainers (ToT) program, designed to build a sustainable mentoring base for Nigeria's startup ecosystem.

The program is being conducted as part of the "Project for Establishing a Startup Digital Innovation Academy to Support Youth and SME Innovation Growth in Nigeria," supported by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The project is being implemented by a consortium consisting of Soongsil University, Maincontents, and Eduniety Lab.

The ToT program was built on a clear premise: an academy is only as strong as the people who teach in it. Rather than delivering training to aspiring entrepreneurs alone, ACE chose to develop a local pool of mentors capable of carrying the curriculum forward independently, so that the capability remains in Nigeria well beyond the life of the project.

Participants were trained in both the craft of mentoring and the substance of the curriculum. Sessions addressed the role and responsibilities of a startup mentor, how to structure a coaching conversation, how to deliver feedback that moves a team forward, and how to assess the progress of early-stage ventures objectively. Teaching methodology and curriculum delivery were covered alongside the subject matter itself, with participants conducting practice sessions and receiving direct feedback from the program's instructors.

The business model (BM) track was delivered by Maincontents Co., Ltd., the consortium member responsible for ACE's entrepreneurship education curriculum. The track covered problem definition, customer validation, value proposition design, revenue models, and financial planning, following the same curriculum that the mentors would later use with their own trainees.

The artificial intelligence (AI) track was led by a specialist from Eduniety Lab. Participants worked through practical applications of AI and digital tools in a startup context, from data-driven decision making to the use of AI services in building and validating a minimum viable product, so that mentors could advise teams on technology adoption from first-hand experience.

Mentors who completed the program have since taken up roles across ACE Startup Academy, supporting the business model education program for aspiring entrepreneurs and assisting in the operation of the ACE pitch competition.

Lim Han-kyu, the expert who led the business model education, stated, "What we set out to transfer was not only the business model framework itself, but how to teach it. A mentor has to be able to sit with a founder, identify the weakest assumption in the model, and ask the question that makes the founder see it."

He added, "The mentors who completed this first program are already working alongside us in the academy and the pitch competition, and they will form the core of the local teaching capacity ACE is building together with SMEDAN."

Meanwhile, ACE Startup Academy aims to support innovation-driven growth for Nigerian youth and SMEs while establishing a sustainable digital startup ecosystem through the ACE operational model.