Innovation, competence, position Nigerian tech start-ups for FDI

The spotlight on Nigerian technology start-ups is growing bigger with every passing day, as a new pitching session has been concluded in Lagos, offering the winner a chance at $500 thousand in funding.
The pitching session which was put together by Seedstars is the second global contest of its kind. Ironically, a Nigerian, Simeon Ononobi won the first edition 2 years ago with an investment of $330 thousand provided by Seedstars, and an additional $1 million from the Bank of Industry to give life to his tech start-up which is today an industry leader in payment solutions.
“The business would have died if the money did not come in,” Simeon Ononobi, Founder, Simplepay and MyAds Global tells BusinessDay.
The experience of being on the network also offers possibilities for connecting with new investors as Ononobi adds “it is not just the money but also the fact that they come in; providing mentorship, and you get a broader view of what you are doing.”
Another Nigerian is now on course to win the next global contest scheduled to hold in Switzerland, contesting against innovative entrepreneurs from 64 other countries for the cash prize as well as technical supports and mentorship opportunities from several industrial leaders such Omidyar network, PayU, Intel and Orange.
“In the entrepreneurial world you never know which experience will be most shaping so I’m hoping that this one and the booth camp that we had earlier will be an important part in the journey of (Nigerian) entrepreneurs,” said Benjamin Benaim, founder partner at Seedstars.
The Nigerian pitching session was won by Kangpe, a service which aims at bringing affordable healthcare services closer to millions of underprivileged people across Africa, and even though the promoters requested for a million dollars, the Seedstars platform is offering $500 thousand.
Femi Kuti, a medical doctor who is co-founder of Kangpe however believes that being a part of the Seedstars network will make it possible for them to get all the required funding and much more; in mentorship and technical supports.
Benaim also emphasised the importance of education in the building of innovative, successful entrepreneurs. He described education as key and it cuts across different channels; not only about being in a school class.
According to him “It is also about being part of this (start-up contest), honing your skills on pitching, interacting with other entrepreneurs, and it is also about some of the successes that spill out; entrepreneurs that emerge from events like this and go on to build bigger companies. So we hope that this is an important part for this little piece of work ecosystem builders like seedstars, ccHub, ideahub, need to do to keep encouraging more entrepreneurs in Nigeria,”
Benaim further explained “We will bring all winners together from the emerging markets we cover, about 65 of them, and from there we will elect one winner that will get investment of up to $500 thousand. So, tonight what the winner gets is a chance of winning this investment but more importantly we talk about shaping experiences. From four years of running this initiative, we’ve realised it changes lives as this network provides the opportunities to meet investors as well as partners.”
In June, Andela, a tech star-up with Nigerian affiliation in ownership raised a record $24 million dollars in funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The new wave of interests now with Seedstars, Omidyar network and a host of others is expected to spur technology entrepreneurs in Nigeria to more creativity and increasing their competencies.