Two Nigerian startups have won the final awards at #LEAP2023, Saudi Arabia, cementing the country’s position as Africa’s leading startup hub.
Nigeria competed in six categories, winning two of the six globally categorized pitches and placing second in another.
Each winner receives $150,000 to support their startup vision, as well as mentorship and early exposure to larger markets.
The Nigerian delegation to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was sponsored by the Digital Cooperation Organization and was led by Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Applications were submitted by more than 10,000 startups from various nations.
Only 90 companies were chosen from the 220 applicants after thorough review to present their business concepts in the semi-final.
Three of the eight Nigerian startups that competed in the semi-finals advanced to the final round.
A tech-driven agricultural optimisation business called RiceAfrika Technologies offers IoT-enabled harvesters and its FARMEasy smartphone app to smallholder farming communities in Africa.
Africa can feed itself and the rest of the globe, according to RiceAfrika. It won the “The Tech for Humanity Award” category and received $150,000 as the winner on a worldwide scale.
The second winner, Wicrypt – An innovative Tech startup aimed at decentralising the internet globally, has a custom OS and hardware that allows users to share data with people around them and charge an affordable rate.
The firm also won 150,000 dollars after he was announced as the global best in the ‘The Into New World Award’ category.
Around 90 startups from around the world competed to be one of the 15 startups chosen to present their ideas to a panel of judges that included Ghazal Alagh from Shark Tank India, Baroness Karren Brady, Alan Sugar’s assistant from the business reality show “The Apprentice,” Tala Al Jabri from Saudi Arabia, James Caan, and Steven Bartlett from Dragon’s Den.
The prize pool for winning startups at LEAP23, billed as the most innovative and valuable technology event in the world, is $1.54 million USD.
Numerous international celebrities and leaders in the tech sector attended the event, including music star will.i.am, Carles Puyol, CEO of Aramco Amin H Nassr, and Oracle CIO Jae Sook Evans.
LEAP23 held from February 6-9 at the Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Centre and hosted the inaugural LEAP Rocket Fuel Startup Pitch Challenge, powered by Saudi Arabia’s National Technology Development Programme (NTDP).
The initiative is a collaboration between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), the MiSK Foundation, and NTDP.
Professor Pantami leader of Nigerian delegation expressed his delight while maintaining that Nigerian Startups have all it takes to compete with their peers in the global stage.
The Minister stated that Nigeria is on the right track in implementing its National Digital Economy Policy and Strategies to ensure that Nigerian Startups add value to the global tech ecosystem. We are building the ecosystem and making it more conducive for nurturing innovation-driven enterprises. Our startups are creating solutions for the local market that can easily scale to the global market.
“The journey started in 2019 shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria. Now we are reaping the positive benefits of our commitment. In the space of five months, we have Nigerians that are making us proud on the global stage.
“The eight entries from Nigeria competed with over 90 Startups in the semi-finals, showcasing their innovative ideas that will transform economies and solve pertinent issues around the world. Therefore, they emerged global best. They did not only pitch to win grants but also attended various knowledge-sharing sessions, conferences and investor meetings that have exposed them to numerous ways to accelerate their products for the best market fit. The startups interacted with the world’s best mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists.”
“It is also noteworthy that eight Startups we brought to this year’s LEAP, three made it the Grand Finale, two won, and are going back home to add value to our Digital Economy. On behalf of the Nigerian government, we sincerely appreciate the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) Headquarters, Riyadh, for sponsoring our innovative startups to participate and showcase their innovations to the world”, he added.
Prof. Pantami also said that the successes of Nigerian Startups in GITEX, Dubai, United Arab Emirates in October last year, and today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is evident that the country’s innovators have accepted the challenge posed to them by the Federal Government to not stall as the African leaders but compute globally.
This year’s LEAP brought together breakthrough innovative ideas and emerging developments in technology under one roof.
