The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has awarded prizes worth $275,000 to seven Nigerian startups, stressing the need to support micro, small and medium enterprises to drive job creation and economic growth.
The winners emerged at the fourth edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation Demo Day in Abuja, where 12 finalists were selected from 6,000 applications.
Come Again Foods, a manufacturer of packaged snacks made from locally sourced agricultural commodities, emerged the overall winner, receiving prizes valued at $100,000.
Protein Kapital, which produces protein and biofertilisers through insect farming and organic waste processing, came second with $70,000, while Instant Rad Inc., an artificial intelligence-powered teleradiology platform, placed third with $50,000.
The NSIA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said MSMEs remained critical to employment generation and economic development.
“Without MSMEs, you have no job creation. Without MSMEs, you are unable to actually grow economically,” Umar-Sadiq said.
He spoke at the event, according to a statement issued by the authority on Monday.
Umar-Sadiq said supporting entrepreneurs was a fundamental part of the NSIA’s investment strategy, adding that its innovation programme offered funding, training and business networks to help startups expand their operations.
He said the fourth edition focused on healthcare, manufacturing and food systems because of their potential to create jobs and enable businesses to scale up.
“We felt that focusing on these three sectors allows us to bring out ideas that would prioritise both job creation on the one hand, but also scale on the other hand,” he said.
The NSIA chief said the authority worked closely with businesses after investing in them to strengthen management, improve governance and enhance their ability to compete.
“When the equity injection goes into these companies, we work very, very closely with the management teams to enhance their value proposition, enhance their governance,” he said.
He added that supporting businesses did not end with the disbursement of funds, stressing that helping them build markets and expand demand for their products was essential to long-term success.
“This is really the beginning of the journey,” he said.
“The value creation is actually what will create the unicorns of the future.”
According to the NSIA, the $275,000 prize pool comprised $220,000 from the authority, $45,000 from Cascador and $10,000 from Wema Bank.
Eligible winners can also access up to $1.5m in growth capital through the Pula Xcelerator to support business expansion.
The authority said the winners would participate in a fully funded entrepreneurial development programme at the Enterprise Development Centre in Lagos.
The programme will cover business strategy, leadership, governance, financial management, market expansion and investor readiness.
Umar-Sadiq cited Money Africa and Sycamore as previous beneficiaries that had recorded success, but cautioned against judging startup performance over a short period.
“It’s difficult for you to show traction at the scale that we want in a year or two. You always have to look at these things over a five-year period,” he said.
The authority did not specify whether the cash awards would be provided as grants, loans or equity investments.
