A total of 26 start-ups were on Monday unveiled as qualifiers to participate in the Accelerator Stage (physical bootcamp) of the second edition of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Prize for Innovation (NPI 2.0).
The 26 start-ups were shortlisted from the initial 100 that registered in the two-part accelerator phase following a rigorous evaluation and due diligence carried out on over 7,000 early-stage businesses that entered for the competition.
Out of these, and following additional screening, organisers said the 26 start-ups drawn from multiple sectors of the economy have been directed to proceed to the physical bootcamp stage of the competition.
They include Magic Carpet, Materials Pro, Jump n Pass, Awacash, VPay, Betalife, Centio Healthcare, Yalo, Pocket Lawyers, Doktorconnect and Trashcoin.
Others are: One Health, Redease, VPD, Kunda Kids, Agroxchange Technology, Sycamore, Passcoder, Earlybean, Powerfull, Adashe, Cash Africa, TownHall, Sakula, Pave, Tribapay.
While at the physical bootcamp, a statement on Monday by the NSIA spokesperson, Joyce Onyegbula, said these businesses would be exposed to interactive training sessions, networking opportunities with other innovators and tailored workshops.
Onyegbula said the week-long physical bootcamp would culminate in a mini demo day where the start-ups would pitch their solutions before a panel of judges drawn from the technology and business ecosystems.
Successful participants would have a chance to proceed to the Demo Day to vie for a total combined prize value of $220,000 with an all-expenses paid five-week training at Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA.
Commenting on the development, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the organisation remains focused on leveraging the NSIA Prize for Innovation to propel socio-economic development, especially by catalysing the technology ecosystem, encouraging youth entrepreneurship, advancing innovative solutions to everyday challenges and positioning Nigerian tech talents for global relevance.’
The NSIA Prize for Innovation is NSIA’s multi-year commitment to identify and nurture early-stage businesses with potential for transformative impact in Nigeria.
Currently in its second edition, NPI has garnered significant attention as high-quality applications from interested businesses grew from 2,000 in the maiden edition to over 7,000 in 2024.
“NPI aligns with NSIA’s ongoing commitment to catalyse the technology ecosystem by identifying and rewarding Nigerian innovators, equipping them with the right tools to scale product – market fit, connecting start-ups with potential investors and delivering a robust community of technology innovators and entrepreneurs,” Umar-Sadiq said .
NPI is a phased competition broken into Pre-selection stage: where innovators submit their application through the application portal; Accelerator stage: where the top finalists participate in a virtual and in-person training bootcamp; Demo day: where the top ten finalists pitch their solutions to a panel of technology and business leaders, and Post demo day stage: where the top ten finalists participate in an all-expense paid training programme in Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA.
The NSIA is an investment institution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, established by the Nigeria Sovereign Wealth Act (2011), to manage and invest in a diversified portfolio of medium and long-term funds.
The Authority’s mission is to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians through building a savings base for the Nigerian people, enhancing the development of Nigeria’s infrastructure, and providing stabilization support in times of economic stress.
NSIA operates three distinct funds, namely the Stabilization Fund, the Future Generations Fund, and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund.
