By Bassey Udo
Ten young Nigerian innovators were on Saturday unveiled in Abuja as the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) hosted its third Demo Day Prize for Innovation (NPI 3.0).
The NPI is a multi-year initiative by the agency to identify and showcase early-stage Nigerian innovators developing creative solutions with the potential for transformative impact to address some of the country’s most pressing challenges.
During the event, all ten finalists were given the opportunity to pitch their innovative solutions before a capacity audience and an expert panel of judges from the business and technology ecosystems of the Nigerian economy.
The finalists were shortlisted from the 25 who participated in an in-person boot camp attended by 150 candidates involved in the accelerator stage of the programme, drawn from over 5000 innovators who submitted applications for initial screening.
Although the organizers at the end of an intense pitch session declared all ten finalists winners, one, however, was judged overall winner of a total prize of $115,000, while two others who emerged first and second runners-up received total prizes of $85,000 and $55,000 respectively.
The final results certified by Deloitte & Touche (Nigeria) as compliant with stipulated international standards and criteria named the overall winner as D-Olivette Labs, developers of smart AI (artificial intelligence)-powered bio-digesters capable of converting farm and food wastes into clean energy and organics fertilizers.
Led by Tunde Adeyemi as the Founder/CEO, who clinched a combined prize of $100,000 from the NSIA, in addition to $15,000 as Cascador Impact prize.
Cascador, which is a partner in the programme, is a transformative accelerator programme that equips mid-stahe African entrepreneurs with skills, mentorship and resources to scale their businesses and deepen their impact.
The first runner up position went to Promise Point, a cassava processing solution by Bukola Farinde, the Founder/CEO of the fully-automated facility sited on over 1,500 hectares of owned farmland and a network of over 2,000 small holder farmers within its value chain.
Farinde, who said she was inspired to embark on the search for the invitation as a result of her determination to find a lasting solution to the poverty ravaging the Nigerian populace, received a $70,000 prize from NSIA, in addition to the Cascador Impact Prize of $15,000.
GeroCare, which emerged the second runner up, is a pioneering health tech platform with Dr. Ebinabo Ofrey as co-Founder/CEO, It is focused on restoring dignity and improving care outcomes by positively transforming elderly care in Nigeria. It won a combined prize of $50,000 from NSIA and $5,000 as PVAC (Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain) Healthcare Innovation Prize.
PVAC is a government-led effort to position Nigeria as a hub for healthcare manufacturing by boosting local production, enhancing access to quality care, and fostering regulatory reform and economic growth.
Besides, Mediverse, a Nigerian-built laboratory automation platform that combines a cloud Laboratory Information Management System, an electronic Lab Notebook and a small onprem IoT application to provide a pioneer Level 2 lab automation software, also won the $5,000 PVAC Healthcare innovation prize.Its co-Founder/CEO is Ayokun Abioro.
Similarly, Sosocare, a low-cost health insurance platform by Nonso Opurum designed to further unlock access to optimal healthcare through access to health insurance for Nigerians, also won $5,000 PVAC Healthcare Innovation Prize each.
FriendsnPal, Africa’s first predictive AI-powered mental health platform with Esther Eruchie as Founder/CEO was created to help deliver 24-hour anonymous emotional support. The innovation won the $15,000 Cascador Impact Prize.
Other categorized and recognized as joint fourth winners without any prize money included Crop2Cash, an innovation that turns any basic phone into an on-demand agronomist input shop and micro- bank by Michael Ogundare and Soso Care; Medverse by Ayokun Abioro, and Flowers, a pioneering climate-tech start-up revolutionizing how vulnerable communities and economics across adapt to climate change induced disasters, by Abubakar Bashir.
Other joint fourth winners included Fertitude, a digital health platform that bridge critical gaps in reproductive care for women across Africa by Dr. Kieva Chris-Amusan, and FriendnPal by Esther Eruchie.
The only finalist that did not feature in any of the winning categories was Integrated Aerial Precision, an AI-precision pioneering agritech company revolutionizing African agriculture through drone technology and data-driven precision farming, founded by Femi Adekoya, also known as The Flying Farmer.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, who delivered the keynote address urged Nigerian youths to embrace innovation, assuring them of government continuous support.
“The President and his team recognize that 65% of the population in our country is under 30 years. By 2050, Africa will be the global growth hub. Innovation is therefore where the future lies, and our youth must be empowered to drive it,” the Minister said.
He applauded the NSIA and its partners for focussing on healthcare, education, and agriculture, describing those areas as critical for national development.
“We need new ideas and methods, especially in agriculture to boost food production to fight against hunger in our country. Our productivity is still low, and we must do something to catch up with the rest of the world,” he added.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the programme was designed to identify those innovative solutions capable of catalyzing economic growth, enhance productivity and create jobs for Nigerians.
Umar-Sadiq said the NPI 3.0 focused on agriculture, healthcare and education as priority sectors from where young Nigerian innovators and founders were identified and rewarded.
“The NSIA Prize for Innovation exemplifies our commitment to nurturing homegrown solutions with the potential for transformative impact. This year, we have partnered with PVAC and Cascador to expand the opportunities for participating startups and further propel innovation, youth entrepreneurship and meaningful solutions that drive positive socio-economic outcomes,” he said.
While congratulating all the finalists and winners, the MD reaffirmed the NSIA’s dedication to driving innovation, creating jobs, and repositioning Nigerian entrepreneurs for global relevance.
He said the NPI aligned with the 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.
Other speakers at the event included the deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan, Hitoshi Kozaki; Economic Counsellor of the aUS Embassy, Joseph Giblin, and the National Coordinator, PIVAC, Abdu Muhktar as well as the Programme Director of Cascador Nigeria, Amanda Etuk.
They all commended NSIA and its partners for the initiative and congratulated the ten innovators for their achievements.
The MD announced that all the top ten finalists would participate in a post-Demo all-expense paid training programme in Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA that would provide them the opportunity to meet, interact and showcase their innovations before potential investors and other innovators at the international stage.
