See the names of the shortlisted candidates for the NSIA Innovation Prize

• The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has selected some start-ups for its Accelerator stage programme
• The NSIA said selected businesses would have the opportunity to access the $220,000 prize money to grow their businesses
• A statement from the Authority also said successful candidates will attend a week-long boot camp and meet potential investors

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has chosen some start-ups for its Accelerator stage, which aims to enhance innovation in Nigeria.

The Authority disclosed in Abuja on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, that the physical boot camp is a two-part accelerator phase that initially had 100 start-ups selected after an intense evaluation and due process was done over 7000 early-stage businesses registered for the initiative.

NSIA announces shortlisted names for N330,000 million accelerator programme for startups Credit:10'000 Hours
Source: Getty Images

NSIA releases shortlisted names

The NSIA announced the names of those shortlisted for further screening and to proceed to the boot camp.

The names include:

• 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

Candidates for training

According to reports, the agency stated that the participating businesses will be exposed to interactive training sessions, networking opportunities with innovators, and tailored workshops during the boot camp.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, stated that the agency remains focused on leveraging the NSIA prize to grow Nigeria’s economy, catalysing the technology landscape and encouraging youth entrepreneurship.

Over 7,000 applications received

He said the prize is the NSIA’s multi-year commitment to identifying and nurturing early-stage businesses with the potential to transform Nigeria.

The Guardian reports that the programme has gathered attention as the number of high-quality applications from interested business applicants grew from 2,000 to over 7,000 in 2024.

The initiative aligns with NSIA’s ongoing commitment to catalyse the tech landscape by identifying and rewarding Nigerian innovators, arming them with the right tools to grow, and connecting start-ups with potential investors.

Google invites Nigerians to apply for Its start-up AI programme

The development follows a similar programme for the search engine giant Google for African start-ups.

Google announced the opening of applications for the eighth cohort of its Google for Start-ups Accelerator Africa programme. 

The programme is in its eighth edition and offers three intensive virtual training boot camps, mentorship, and Google product support. 

Google releases N259m African startups

Legit.ng previously reported that tech giant Google has perfected plans to help startups in Nigeria and other parts of Africa with technology to solve complex local problems.

The tech company is championing the project through its Startups Accelerator: AI First initiative.

The company explained that the development aims to support African startups looking to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve challenges, especially the ones around them.

Source: Legit.ng