TECHDIGEST – A mobile ridesharing mobile app that enables users to request taxi and bus rides tagged, Nairaxi has emerged over all winner at the young innovators’ competition organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission, which held at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos recently.

The company, which took the coveted prize with value of N2 Million, made up of Kingsley Eze, Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer and Elizabeth Omale, Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer, presented an app, which will enhance rideshare and safe delivery of packages to an audience made up of top officials of the Commission, led by the Director of Research and Development, Mr. Ismaila Adedigba who represented the Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta.

Floews, which comprised established by Bashir Abubakar as Founder and Chief Executive Officer, came second with a prize of N1.5 million while Thronix Lab, comprising three young tech-savvy Nigerians, clinched the 3rd position with a prize of N1 million,. All the contestants were adjudged on the criteria of originality, innovativeness, simplicity of usage and commercialization potential of their IT products, among others.

Floews developed novel and deep-tech all-round solution that monitors and forecasts flood imminence and thereby, disseminate the forecast as an early-warning intelligence, while Thronix Lab developed Proxie, an Internet of Thing (IoT)-enabled smart socket and Wi-Fi hotspot range extender which enables users to switch on/off their appliances connected to it remotely through their phones.

Prof Mohammed Ajiya, President, who chaired the panel of judges for the competition, commended the Commission for providing the opportunity for young Nigerians to achieve their dreams of leveraging digital solutions to address local challenges in Nigeria.

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Speaking on behalf of the EVC, the Director R&D, Adedigba, commended all the 15 contestants that participated, and the panel of judges for the “commendable diligence, through and painstaking evaluation carried out by his team of independent judges, leading to the emergence of the three winners”.

He assured of the Commission’s commitment to continue to drive the Federal Government agenda of promoting indigenous ICT solutions development towards strengthening the Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

“It is important to note that this competition is not the end, but rather the beginning of our collective journey towards bridging the digital divide in Nigeria. We must continue to support and invest in local, indigenous digital solutions to ensure that all citizens have access to the technology and opportunities they need to thrive in today’s digital age,” Danbatta said.

Ten innovators from the 15 proceeded to the Pitching Stage, for having developed the best technology solutions, amenable to commercialization and capable of solving identified challenges both locally and beyond in a move to bridge the country’s existing digital divide.

The 15 contestants at the event are Curnance PTY, Floews, Lalita by 02 Innovations Lab, Brilliant ESystems, Afrits Innovation, CitiFlow, Natal Cares, Nairaxi, Rate AM, Fixbot Technologies, Betalife, Cyber Plural, TronixLab, Ntapi Inc., and Bycep by Bedoun.

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TECHDIGEST – President Muhammadu Buhari has officially flagged off the Five Million Microsoft High Demand Skills Training Programme and the One Million Developer & Digital Skills Initiatives in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.

The president flagged off the programme Tuesday in Abuja while commissioning  the new National Shared Services Centre (NSSC) managed by Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited where he also presented the Federal Government’s Seed Fund to ShapShap and FLOEWS ; two Nigerian startups that made the winning list at the GITEX GLOBAL, which held in Dubai, UAE last October.

He presented five million naira seed fund to Khalil Halil, Founder of ShapShap and three million naira to Bashir Abubakar, Founder & CEO, FLOEWS assisted by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami and other dignitaries including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

READ ALSO: Pantami Honours Winners Of Huawei National ICT Competition

The Nigerian government had during GITEX GLOBAL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global tech giant, Microsoft Corporation, to train five million citizens on high-demand technological skills that are needed to advance their respective careers.

The president said his administration remains committed to building capacity and entrepreneurship amongst young people as well as ensuring that ordinary Nigerians are able to benefit from the digital economy. These commitments underscored the suspension of the proposed 5% excise duty on telecom infrastructure, the adoption of national policy on virtual engagements for federal public institutions; and the enactment of the Startup Act.

ShapShap,  a provider of white label APPs to small medium enterprises (SMEs) for aggregating, optimizing, and allocating last-mile jobs to gig workers, was the winner in the Mobility & Smart Cities Innovator category at the GITEX GLOBAL 2022 North Star Supernova Challenge,. The startup plans to explore the limitless opportunities for logistics in Nigeria’s growing urban centres and also those of other markets within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

FLOEWS, a flood early warning system, was a finalist out of a motley crowd of over 800 startups from all over the world, but lost out to Kenya’s Melanin Kapital in the Africa Fast category.

The Supernova Challenge is the biggest pitch competition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, where startups have opportunity to become the next unicorn.

Nine Nigerian startups had emerged as semi-finalists including Identity Pass, 9JaCodeKids Academy, Floews, MedTech, Paddycover, Pricepally, LiveBic, Technyon Technologies, and Wellness Health Technologies.

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TECHDIGEST – Nigeria’s winner and finalist at the just ended GITEX GLOBAL 2022 North Star Supernova expect to scale and gain market traction in the months ahead.

Khalil Halil, Founder of ShapShap and Bashir Abubakar, Founder & CEO, FLOEWS , expressed optimism for growth in terms of investment and funding as well as a greater product acceptance despite numerous challenges.

Winning it for country and firm

ShapShap,  winner in the the Mobility & Smart Cities Innovator category at the just ended GITEX GLOBAL 2022 North Star Supernova Challenge, plans to explore the limitless oppurtunities for logistics in Nigeria’s growing urban centres and also those of other markets within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“We are making impact by empowering other companies with technology to tackle logistics challenges in Africa and we are focussing also on expansion to other markets,” Halil, Founder of Shapshap, told IT Edge News in Dubai.

READ ALSO: GITEX 2022:  DWTC Honours NITDA With Most Valued Partnership Award

ShapShap is a provider of white label APPs to SMEs for aggregating, optimizing, and allocating last-mile jobs to gig workers. This is to ensure their sustainability and scalability. The Nigerian startup defeated Datoms (India) to cart away the  $8000 for that category at the Dubai event now regarded as the globe’s biggest startup and tech show.

Halil said attending the GITEX GLOBAL 2022 North Star has afforded he and his team opurtunity to “access people, companies and resources to scale”their business.

Startups should “follow [their] dreams, there’s a lot of opportunity for local companies,” he added.

Gearing up for the final pitch.: Flowes

Khalil is passionate about building products to solve ;problems in Africa’s rising urban centres. ShapShap provides one of the best on-demand delivery service in Nigeria for online ordering and same-day delivery of food, groceries, medicines, and packages via a mobile application.

A continent that is expected to have over 70% of its population in urban centres by 2040 already has a well defined future for Shapshap, the judges in Dubai appeared to be saying.

For Abubakar, not winning was tough. But it is part of the learning curve in business, he said. It was no easy ride to becoming a finalist out of a motley crowd of over 800 startups from all over the world.  FLOEWS  would lose to Kenya’s Melanin Kapital  in the Africa Fast category. 

The Supernova Challenge is the biggest pitch competition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, where startups have opportunity to become the next unicorn.

Nine Nigerian startups had earlier emerged as semi-finalists including Identity Pass, 9JaCodeKids Academy, Floews, MedTech, Paddycover, Pricepally, LiveBic, Technyon Technologies, and Wellness Health Technologies.

An excited Nigeria Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who was honoured days back at the global event with the prestigious Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Leadership and Commitment Award 2022. commended the winners as exhibiting the strength, determination and limitless imagination of African startups.

He assured ShapShap and the entire Nigerian startup community of government’s continuous support.

Every startup is a winner

North Star offers all startups whether they win the competition or not, many opportunities to engage with investors and the wider North Star audience.

According to the organisers, the judges are looking for how innovative is the idea, the market opportunity derivable from the idea including possible market size, competition, and scalability. Other criteria include business model, revenue model, pricing, and target customers. Also considered is traction; whether the idea already attracted any revenue, customers, and investors. Team is equally important. The drivers of the idea must have the prerequisite skill to take the startup to success.

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TECHDIGEST – A Nigerian tech start-up, ShapShap, has won the award for ‘Mobility and Smart Cities Innovator’ in the final of the Supernova Challenge Pitch Competition at the ongoing ‘Gulf Information Technology Exhibition’, GITEX 2022.

Shapshap beat Datoms of India in the category and received $8,000 US dollars cash prize.

On the other hand, Melanin Capital of Kenya beat Floews of Nigeria for Africa Fast Category.

ShapShap a logistic startup
provides the best on-demand delivery service for online ordering and same-day delivery of food, groceries, medicines, and packages with its mobile application.

READ ALSO: FACTS: As Minister, Microsoft Sign MOU To Train 5 Million Nigerians On Digital Skills At GITEX 2022

Recalled that PRNigeria had early reported that two Nigerian tech start-ups, ShapShap and Floews qualified for the Challenge Pitch Competition when they emerged as finalists among the nine that first made it to the semi-final level from the country.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, while speaking after the award ceremony, maintained that digital entrepreneurship will be the future of ICT.

“It is quite encouraging that out of over 800 entries, nine Nigerian Startups emerged semi-finalists, leading to two finalists before ShapShap won the smart city and mobility Category of the awards.

“We are delighted that our startup innovation are not only amazing but goes through a lot of critical thinking not superficial approach. That is why with this latest award we hope to continue to improve in our digital startup ranking globally,” Pantami said.

PRNigeria reports that this year’s Supernova competition has 13 categories. The winners of different categories are: Biosolvit of Brasil for Overall Industry Pioneer; Playbook of Bahrain for Female Founder Award; Carbon Limit of USA for Sustainability & ESG; Allink of South Korea for Fintech Innovator and WAM of Romania for Blockchain Frontier Leader Category.

Other winners include: Edverse of India for X-Verse Builder; Copymonkey of Latvia for Martech Innovator; Popmii of France for Creative Economy; Earable of Vietnam for AI InnovatorGalactech of Oman for Top MENA Startup Award and Wewer of India for Youth Entrepreneur Award

The GITEX event is currently taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre, United Arab Emirates, UAE.

By PRNigeria

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TECHDIGEST – Two Nigerian tech start-ups have qualified for the final of the Supernova Challenge Pitch Competition at the ongoing GITEX 2022, PRNigeria can authoritatively report.

PRNigeria had earlier, on Monday, reported that the two Nigerian start-ups that emerged as finalists were among the nine that first made it to the semi-final level.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, also, while inaugurating the exhibition pavilion of Nigeria at the Dubai World Trade Centre, confirmed that nine Nigerian tech innovators and start-ups booked their spots in the semi-final of the GITEX tech-invention competition.

READ ALSO: FACTS: As Minister, Microsoft Sign MOU To Train 5 Million Nigerians On Digital Skills At GITEX 2022

He said: “I am confident that the nine Nigerian start-ups and innovators will surely give their foreign counterparts a run for their money. And will cart away the prizes at stake, during the grand finale of the exhibition”.

The Nigerian start-ups to compete for the gold position of the Supernova Challenge Pitch Competition are FLOEWS and ShapShap.

Another start-up from Kenya, Melanin Kapital, is the other African representative in the final of the ‘Mobility and Smart Cities Innovator’ category, that the Nigerian tech firms qualified for.

FLOEWS is a multi-award winning startup seeking to solve the persistent problem of climate change and natural disasters like flooding, by providing an equitable access to a democratized, socially-inclusive and gender-responsive disaster risk management together with early warning for vulnerable individuals, business communities and national economies.

While ShapShap provides the best on-demand delivery service in Nigeria for online ordering and same-day delivery of food, groceries, medicines, and packages using a mobile application.

The GITEX event is currently holding at the Dubai World Trade Centre, in United Arab Emirates, UAE.

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