The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has announced that three local startups will receive a total of $220,000 as top finalists in the second edition of the ‘NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI 2.0)’.
The startups include Sycamore, a peer-to-peer lending fintech platform, Kunda Kids, an edtech media company, and PaveHQ, a learning and career ecosystem.
The NPI program is a multi-year initiative designed to identify innovative technological solutions created by Nigerian tech entrepreneurs. It focuses on technology-driven businesses across sectors such as financial services, agriculture, health, education, manufacturing, logistics, e-mobility, e-commerce, and climate.
The program featured a four-stage competition, culminating in ten finalists selected from 7,000 applications to pitch their ideas on ‘Demo Day’.
On July 19 in Lagos, Sycamore won the top prize of $100,000, Kunda Kids secured the second prize of $70,000, and PaveHQ received the third prize of $50,000.
In addition to the cash awards, the winners will also enjoy a five-week all-expense-paid trip to Draper University in Silicon Valley, United States.
Aminu Umar-Sadiq, NSIA’s Managing Director, highlighted that the event aims to bring together regulators, financiers, and innovators to create significant value beyond just awarding prizes.
He noted that while the prize values were announced in dollars, the disbursements will be made in naira. Moreover, the NSIA will be making equity investments in these businesses, rather than simply giving out the cash prizes.
