The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has unveiled the second edition of the ‘NSIA Prize for Innovation programme’ (NPI 2.0), with a combined prize value of $220,000 and an all-expense paid, five-week training at Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA.
The NPI programme, which is a multi-year commitment of the authority, is aimed at supporting entrepreneurship, empowering innovators, creating jobs, and enabling the Nigerian tech ecosystem. It is designed to encourage and support ingenuity within the digital sector and to fund new solutions that could result in transformative and scalable positive impact.
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Speaking at the second edition of the NPI programme on Tuesday, Aminu Umar-Sadiq managing director said it was a demonstration of the authority’s support for the Nigerian tech eco-system.
He stated that with the second edition of the programme, the authority was set to reposition home-grown talents for global relevance.
“It is a business enhancement initiative to support early-stage, growth-driven solutions through education, mentorship, and financing before positioning these startups for global relevance.
“The programme further validates the authority’s focus on advancing early-stage home-grown solutions within key priority sectors, including financial services, agriculture, power, healthcare, education, and manufacturing among others.”
The maiden edition of the NPI programme commenced with over 2,000 applications and a selection process, from which 25 start-ups proceeded to the accelerator phase. Following this, ten finalists advanced to the demo day to pitch their refined solutions to a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs, innovators, and technology business leaders.
The first three start-ups and seven runners-up top clinched a total combined prize value of $255,000.
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“Deriving from the success recorded in the first edition of the NPI programme, the authority has expanded the value proposition for NPI 2.0 to include an all-expense paid training programme at a top-rated university in Silicon Valley, USA, the opportunity to pitch to angel investors, secure additional investment and gain global exposure for the top ten finalists.
