The first leg of our tour saw us at the centre of Nigeria's thriving tech ecosystem. On 10 November we hosted just over 80 entrepreneurs, investors, UK and Nigerian government representatives, and media at KongaPay's auditorium on Victoria Island, for a jam-packed afternoon of 11 pitch showcases, networking, and speeches 🔥.
We were honoured to have keynote addresses from Obi Asika, Director-General of the National Council for Arts and Culture of Nigeria, and Dr. Ebere Njoku, Director-General of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) to kick us off, as well as presentations from our four esteemed judges:
🌟 Charles Uche Emembolu, FNIEEE, FNCS, PMP®, Chairman of the Board at Innovation Support Network (ISN) Hubs
✨ Taiwo (Kamson) K.., Principal at EchoVC Partners
💫 Tochi Ginigeme, Founder of Mesh Venture Partners
We also had a virtual panel of high-profile investors and judges including Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, Mobolaji Adeoye, Olufemi Oyinsan, Fanta Traore, among others.
The competition was hot. And it was close. But, after a thorough grilling from our judges in the room and online, three startups emerged victorious:
🏆 1st Place - Feegor, expertly pitched by Ugonna Ginigeme. The company aims to overhaul MSME procurement in Nigeria and across Africa by directly connecting suppliers to retailers across the country
🥈2nd Place - MyFoodAngels, pitched by Olapeju Umah. The startup is tackling huge rates of post-harvest loss and food waste in Nigeria through its subscription boxes, which delivers produce directly from farmers to consumers.
🥉3rd Place - Sussflow Reusable, pitched by Olabisi Emmanuel, who is ending reliance on harmful and polluting single-use period products in Nigeria with unique, reusable and safe menstrual products.
❤️ Audience Favourite - Sussflow Reusable won again! The pitch won the hearts of our audience members and the second award was given to the team with huge applause 👏
A massive congratulations to our winners as well as all the other teams who participated and made it such a strong contest - RaizeHQ, Blueroomcare Business, Gallivanter Africa, Sharesell, FroNet Wireless, Kuraway, Feedbag Agrihub and Payscribe 🎉. We can't wait to follow along your journeys.
Lastly, a HUGE thank you to all of our friends and partners who helped us so much along the way (and gave us an amazing welcome to the city), including Banji Ajilore, Oluwajoba Oloba, Tochi Ginigeme, ThankGod Egbe, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, Chisom Amadi, Michelle Edosomwan, Ashwin Ravichandran, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, and many others.
We'll be back soon 💚🤍💚
Comentários