We all have ideas every wake of our lives, some implementable and some a complete illusion. However, it is not always up to you to differentiate the two. This is why Your idea might just be 'The Next Big Thing' thanks to Nation media's 'Next Big Thing competition'.

Now in its 4th Edition, the competition is about helping you make your idea come to life through support, sponsorship and mentorship. 10 great ideas will be picked by a panel of experts who will then guide you on how to present your idea to the business gurus and investors.

As an interested party, you will be expected to go to www.nextbigthingbd.com and create a profile with their bio and contact details. The idea 'details' will be given as per the evaluation criteria. Judges will later access the ideas and grade them accordingly and even put in comments; include a comment section for the judges.

With supportive patners and sponsors to see through implementation of ideas for ultimate winners, The Next Big Thing' will shed light on the various ideas which means exposure to the respective industries and markets.

The competition runs in three stages;

Stage 1

As a (Kenyan) participant, you'll need to sign up on this web site and use the platform to submit the idea(s) that you have. This will be done as per the criteria set out so as to make it easy to pick out key points. Each idea must have an accompanying image or video link, and your profile details must be filled in before the deadline.

A panel of judges selected from different areas of expertise and a team from the Business Daily will select and shortlist the best ideas. The applicants who submitted those ideas will then be contacted and informed that they have qualified to move to Stage 2.

Stage 2

When your idea has been selected to move to Stage 2, you will be granted access on your profile allowing you to add a Business Plan based on the details below:

  • Proof of the concept or idea
  • Patent details
  • Details of a Marketing plan
  • The financials of the idea
  • The competitive analysis

Face to face interviews will be done for all the finalists emerging from Stage 2. There will be a further shortlisting to the final 20 who will be selected to move to Stage 3.

Stage 3

The 20 Finalists will then undergo training and preparation for the presentation. They will be guided on how to present their idea to the potential investors. The training will be done by the knowledge partner/sponsor. Finalists will make the presentation to the top business gurus and venture capitalists on the selected dates. The Final 20 Innovators will be published two to three weeks after the presentation day in the Business Daily.

Participants' ideas have to be in relation with the 12 categories provided to be in the competition; Agribusiness and Agriprocessing, Business and Professional Service, ICT, Manufacturing and Construction, Transport and Logistics, Tourism and eco- tourism, Sports, leisure and entertainment, Health and nutrition, Renewable Energy, Media, Water and Sanitation, Environment.

The main prize for this competition is a chance to pitch ideas to investors for mentorship, support and investment. This opportunity will be awarded to the top 10 finalists picked by a panel of experts.

The Business Daily will award a cash prize of USD 3,000 to the best idea in the Media and Entertainment category. Winners in the Agribusiness, Renewable Energy, and Water & Sanitation categories may also receive (where necessary) a proof of concept grant of USD 25,000 from the Kenya Climate Innovation Center.

Interested parties will be expected to drop their applications before 5th of February 2015