Many Nigerian start-ups were visibly hunting to win new capital as they showed their digital solutions skills at the Africa’s biggest pitch competition in Marrakech, Morocco.
This energy displayed by founders of Nigerian start-ups was confirmed by Maya Horgan-Famodu, Founder & Partner Ingressive Capital, who spoke to BusinessDay on the side of the ongoing GITEX AFRICA 2024.
“The common things among Nigeria’s start-ups that pitched are the hunger for digital solution and the traction. I don’t want to say I’m biased but anytime you see a Nigerian on stage, it’s very impressive,” said Horgan-Famodu, who is also amongst the panelists for the selection of winners.
With $100,000 total cash prize, GITEX AFRICA Supernova Challenge is the most anticipated pitch competition for entrepreneurs displaying groundbreaking innovations at the annual event.
No fewer than $100,000 will be awarded to 5 category winners ($10,000 each) while one overall winner goes home with $50,000.
The overall winner will be based on the most innovative, creative and groundbreaking idea of all startups pitching at the GITEX AFRICA Supernova Challenge.
On the place of financial inclusion, Horgan-Famodu said many Nigerian start-ups factored in their digital solutions to accommodate everything transaction.
She said, “I was impressed with the level of traction. It was a very short time – 5 minutes to go over the whole process. I was impressed by their level of interest and business models are unique. A number of them stood out. It was also nice to see female representation. It was also nice to see the young people pitching. It was a diversity of age, tribe, gender, and sector.”
According to her, “all the start-ups that pitched for the capital had an embedded finance component. What we see frequently is people focusing on digital solutions across diverse sectors”.
The ongoing 2nd edition of GITEX AFRICA in the vibrant city of Marrakech brought together global leaders and experts, governments, businesses, big tech, start-ups, investors, and academia from 130 countries to catalyse partnerships and advance the future ambitions of a continent determined to elevate its entrepreneurial innovation economy.
Many leaders of African nations are currently sharing their visions on how they are driving digital economic transformation as many tech and start-up firms at the ongoing GITEX AFRICA 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco show readiness to power African into the booming global Artificial Intelligence (AI) economy.
As the continent’s largest comprehensive
technology event, GITEX AFRICA 2024 also brought together technology giants, SMEs, start-ups, programmers to drive, collaborate
and explore new ventures.
Africa’s meteoric rise as an emergent international force in digital transformation coupled with the epic AI opportunity sweeping the globe is propelling new era of public-private sector investment collaboration as the continent’s largest tech and start-up event which opened on Wednesday May 29.
GITEX AFRICA is held under the authority of the Moroccan Ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform in partnership with the Digital Development Agency (ADD). The Africa’s blockbuster tech showpiece event is organised by KAOUN International, the overseas affiliate of Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), which organises GITEX GLOBAL in the UAE, the world’s largest and most trusted tech and start-up event.
The purpose-built mega venue in the heart of Marrakech for GITEX AFRICA 2024 spans 21 halls featuring 1,400 international exhibiting companies – a 70 percent year-on-year increase over the event’s record-breaking debut 2023.
