Trinidadian rapper and singer-songwriter, Nicki Minaj has been named a jury for the Trump administration’s Patriot Pitch Competition, which will award $1 million to five small-business finalists.
The competition’s live finale takes place September 18 in Washington, D.C., where Minaj will join Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone on the judging panel, with actor Dean Cain hosting.
Organised by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the competition began in May as part of the agency’s Freedom 250 celebrations.
The five finalists are Compotech, Inc., Plas-Tech Tooling, Red River, VetPowered LLC and Winton Machine.
The $1 million prize pool will be divided among the finalists, with $400,000 going to the winner, $250,000 to second place and $150,000 to third.
The fourth- and fifth-place finalists will receive $125,000 and $75,000 respectively. Clover, a point-of-sale technology company, is providing the prize money.
Minaj expressed enthusiasm about her involvement in the competition following the announcement.
“This is a major, MAJOR KEY
“Sooooooooooo looking forward to this!!!
“Imagine being a part of the Trump Administration’s initiative to support small businesses. Let’s GO!!!!!!!!!!”
