NSIA Prize For Innovation: 26 Startups Compete In Accelerator Phase

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (‘NSIA’ or ‘The Authority’) has chosen 26 start-ups to participate in the Accelerator Stage (physical bootcamp) of the NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI 2.0).

Initially, the two-part accelerator phase featured 100 start-ups selected after rigorous evaluation and due diligence from a pool of over 7000 early-stage businesses that registered for the NPI programme.

Coming from multiple sectors, the shortlisted innovators, who emerged following the additional screening, are expected to proceed to the physical boot camp.

The list of selected businesses includes Magic Carpet, Materials Pro, Jump n Pass, Awacash, VPay, Betalife, Centio Healthcare, Yalo, Pocket Lawyers, Doktorconnect, and Trashcoin.

Others are One Health, Redease, VPD, Kunda Kids, Agroxchange Technology, Sycamore, Passcoder, Earlybean, Powerfull,  Adashe,  Cash Africa, TownHall, Sakula, Pave, Tribapay.

A statement by the competition organisers said at the physical boot camps, these businesses will be exposed to interactive training sessions, networking opportunities with other innovators, and tailored workshops.

The statement further explained that the week-long physical bootcamp will culminate in a mini demo day where the start-ups will pitch their solutions before a panel of judges drawn from the technology and business ecosystem, for a chance to proceed to the Demo Day and vie for a total combined prize value of US$220,000 with an all-expense paid five-week training at Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA.

Speaking on the development, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq said; “The Authority remains focused on leveraging the NSIA Prize for Innovation to propel socio-economic development especially by catalysing the technology ecosystem, encouraging youth entrepreneurship, advancing innovative solutions to everyday challenges and positioning Nigerian tech talents for global relevance.”

The NPI is the NSIA’s multi-year commitment to identify and nurture early-stage businesses with potential for transformative impact in Nigeria. Currently in its second edition, the programme has garnered significant attention as high-quality applications from interested businesses grew from 2,000 in the maiden edition to over 7,000 in 2024.

“NPI aligns with the Authority’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”, the statement said.

NPI is a phased competition broken into the pre-selection stage: where innovators submit their applications through the application portal; the Accelerator stage: where the top finalists participate in a virtual and in-person training BootCamp; Demo day: where the top ten finalists pitch their solutions to a panel of technology and business leaders; and Post-demo day stage: where the top ten finalists participate in an all-expense paid training programme in Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA.