The companies are an edtech media company called Kunda Kids, a peer-to-peer lending fintech platform called Sycamore, and an ecosystem for learning and careers called PaveHQ.
A multi-year project, the NPI program seeks to uncover cutting-edge technology solutions created by Nigerian tech entrepreneurs.
The initiative, which used a four-stage competition process, was centred on technology-enabled firms in industries such financial services, manufacturing, e-commerce and marketplaces, agriculture, health, education, and logistics.
Ten finalists were selected from a pool of 7,000 submissions at the conclusion of the rounds to make a pitch on “Demo Day” in order to compete for prizes. After presenting their concepts to a knowledgeable panel of judges on Demo Day on July 19 in Lagos, the three startup companies were chosen as the winners from among the ten finalists.
According to the online national stories, Sycamore was awarded the $100,000 star reward, with Kunda Kids coming in second place with a prize of $70,000 and PaveHQ coming in third place with a $50,000 prize. Along with the money, the winners received a five-week trip to Draper University in Silicon Valley, California, which was paid for in full.
The event aims to bring together the ecosystem of regulators, financiers, and idea generators in order to produce something exceptional and not just to give out prizes, according to NSIA’s managing director (MD), Aminu Umar-Sadiq.
Umar-Sadiq stated that even if the monetary awards were valued in USD, the distribution: “Is going to be in naira.”
Furthering, he said: “But in addition, we are not giving out any amount. We are investing the amount. So it is actually equity that NSIA will take in these businesses.”
WHY NSIA IS INVESTING IN TECH
He underlined the vital role technology plays in bolstering a number of other economic areas, including infrastructure, agriculture, and healthcare.
Strong technology is necessary to increase productivity in these sectors, according to the CEO of NSIA, making sector investment imperative.
He had this to say: “If you look at our demography, you look at the kind of breakdown of who Nigerians are. A lot of focus alongside the creative space is also in the technology space. So it is extremely important that NSIA is invested in it.”
Continuing: “A lot of capital does not go into the startup SME space. I think the more that NSIA can mobilise capital and channel that to the tech space, the VC space, particularly the early stage VC space, I think the economy will be better off in terms of wealth creation, in terms of job creation, in terms of connectivity within sectors and I think this is essentially the first phase in doing so,” he disclosed.
According to NSIA’s Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer, Kola Owodunni, the program’s goal is to boost Nigeria’s startup scene.
In order to help them obtain the funding required to expand throughout Africa, he continued, it aims to present these portfolio firms to investors inside the ecosystem.
However, the Chief Executive Officer of Sycamore, Babatunde Akin-Moses, thanked NSIA for the award chance and assistance. He stated that, seeing this as a beginning point, his objective is to increase the company’s presence in further African nations and, eventually, in Europe and North America.
