TECHDIGEST – As the world’s technology experts gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the maiden edition of LEAP 2022, Nigerian startups were not left behind in a bid to showcase their innovative ideas to the global technology market.

They interacted with potential investors, patents and other startups from different parts of the world, luring investors to come to Nigeria and invest in the country’s fast-growing digital economy.

These Startups exhibited their readiness in showing the world their innovative ideas across various technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Analytics, Transportation, Digital Economies, Cyber Security and Resilience, Cloud and Edge Computing, and Blockchain Technology.

LEAP 2022 which was held from 1st – 3rd February 2022 themed ‘One Eye on the Stars’ became the largest debut technology in history. The event presented a series of conferences, presentations, and workshops organized on the sidelines of the exhibition, bringing together the world’s leading technology companies, global startups, and innovators.

LEAP afforded a suitable platform for future technologies professionals to showcase their progress and how cutting-edge technologies are used to tackle the biggest challenges facing societies.

The entries, who were fully sponsored by the Federal Government through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, showcased their innovative ideas that will transform economies and solve pertinent issues.

These startups did not only pitch and showcase their innovations but also attended various knowledge-sharing sessions and conferences that have exposed them to numerous ways to accelerate their products for the best market fit. The startups attracted the world’s biggest technology mentors, angel investors, and venture capitalists.

At several sideline meetings, the Nigerian delegation led by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), alongside the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, and Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Muhammad D. Abubakar, wooed international investors on the opportunities Nigeria provides that can be tapped especially indigenous technology innovations.

One of the major takeaways by Nigeria from LEAP 2022 is the Saudi Arabian government’s partnership to provide Nigerian startups with accelerated entry and support through Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO) Startup Passport that will be between the 8-member DCO countries.

This initiative will increase the success rate of Nigerian startups by creating the borderless environment entrepreneurs need to grow and prosper across markets worth nearly $2 trillion in GDP. About 10 Nigerian startups are set to pitch with others from various regions across member countries for the $600,000 startup support grant.

President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser announced the Aramco Ventures, the formal launch of its $1 billion diversified growth fund, called Prosperity7. The funds are to be invested in startups around the world including Nigeria with big ideas, top talents, and disruptive technologies to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

A total of investments worth about $10 billion in technology and startups were announced at LEAP with a focus on future technologies.

Nigeria as one of the fastest-growing technology hub in Africa is accelerating socio-economic development through digital innovation and entrepreneurship in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a digital Nigeria. The Nigeria – Saudi Arabia partnership is ignited by the country’s movement to a digital economy in its effort to diversify the economy.

The Honourable Minister Prof. Pantami explained that the fastest growing economy is the digital sector which pivoted the exiting of Nigeria out of recession. He further noted that some global tech giant investors are ready and willing to come to Nigeria to invest in different sectors.

Nigerian top 10 startups that showcased their ideas as sponsored by NITDA and NCC are:

SchoolTry: an Edutech solution that adopts the innovative use of technology to facilitate a smart environment for school & learning management. Built to help school administrators, teachers, students, parents, and other stakeholders to connect and share information in real-time.

Trail: Founded by Malumi Opeyemi, is a car-sharing application for the general populace, schools, and organizations that take people to their nearest bus stop and destination leveraging emerging technologies. It is GPS App that has a live camera for monitoring children while being transported to schools.

EDU-VR: created by Ibrahim Arome Ahmed, is a digital 3D learning solution that empowers students to directly engage with their subject matter through interactive virtual reality, augmented reality content, transforming learning in the classroom.

Capsule Technology: provides free Accounting and Human Resources software to small businesses as well as premium data services to financial institutions and government agencies such as Credit Rating, Automated Auditing Systems, Asset Verification, Tax Remittance, and Risk and Loan Prediction to help their SMEs Credit decision making.

Their participation at LEAP 2022 has opened the door for Capsule in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Saudi Arabia, who have seen the Nigerian-made technology solution as a strategic platform in managing MSMEs.

MyClinic: is a digital health startup working to deliver low-cost process automation solutions to hospitals in resource-limited settings. It was designed to deploy solutions to hospitals across Nigeria, solve problems of cost and complexity, and increase access to healthcare via telemedicine.

MyClinic participation in LEAP 2022 provided them with the opportunity to meet investors, ventures capitalist, and other global startups across the world.

Domineum Business Services: is a technology company that specializes in Data Privacy and Compliance, Digital Security, Blockchain-as-a-service (Baas), and Business Consultancy. To solve complex problems, they apply many methodologies wielded by strategy consulting specialists with deep industry and functional knowledge.

Livestock247: is Nigeria’s first online Livestock Platform. Our goal as a company is to create an ecosystem where all major stakeholders in the livestock value chain can co-exist together to create synergy. Livestock247 is also promoting the transformation of agriculture by empowering rural livestock farmers, especially women.

Paysabil: is a platform that provides a secured payment platform for individuals (Donors) to make voluntary Sadaqah/Zakat to mosques and other faith-based charity projects (Receivers). It uses the strategy of donations and mobile technology to structure the cash-based and grossly abused donation collection system in many worship places.

RiceAfrika.com: It is a technology platform that connects landowners with farmers, farmers with input developers and suppliers, farmers with buyers of paddies, paddy merchants with millers, millers with buyers of milled rice, warehouse owners, logistic service providers, packaging companies, wholesalers of milled rice, retailers of milled rice, and household and institutional consumers of milled rice.

Tanadi Digital Cooperative: is a Nigerian pioneer non-interest fintech company duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commissions and also a registered Cooperative under the Nigerian Cooperatives Societies with the goal of driving the financial inclusion of individuals who do not have access to financial services, provision of interest-free credit facilities to members, promoting savings culture and encouraging ethical investment.

Mubarak Umar writes from Abuja

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TECHDIGEST – Nigeria is currently soliciting support from foreign investors, especially technology giants, to the country at the maiden LEAP 2022 technology conference and exhibition, organised by the Ministry of Communications and Technology, Saudi Arabia.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, disclosed this to journalists, yesterday, on the sidelines of the event in Riyadh.

Pantami’s delegation includes Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, and Director-General, National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Inuwa Kashifu Abdullai, among others.

He encouraged Nigerians to have a positive mindset towards everything, especially development, stressing that apart from opportunity to woo investors, the major take away from the event would be the need for optimism in transforming the country whenever the chance arises.

“Whoever comes to Saudi Arabia after about four visits would see the power of positive thinking and transformation that has taken place here, especially in the digital economy sector. Their institutions are no more obsolete. They have become proactive in everything,” he said.

He revealed that the delegation met with investors and potential investors, after series of meetings, on how they can come to Nigeria and invest.

“There are signings already. Also, there are promises that they are coming to invest their manufacturing plants in the country. We were able to sell the advantages we have in the country to them, which include being the biggest economy in Africa, most populous in the region, and an economy that is doing well now, especially looking at the way the country exited recession, leaving behind many developed countries.

“So, these are some of the encouraging statistics that we have sold to investors. These are indices investors want to hear.

Though, there could be some one or two observations and reservations about the country, we are taking those ones back and we will work on them. We will ensure that we make the Nigerian system more flexible and friendly so that we can have a win-win situation,” he stated.

Pantami said some countries also indicated interest to come and see how Nigeria’s digital economy is working. According to him, “Nigeria’s has become a model today in Africa. The first meeting I had, they were surprised that we have six unicorns from Nigeria, with others still coming. The fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy, today, is the digital economy sub-sector.

“Mr. President has said severally that it is the sector that led many times to Nigeria exiting recession. These are some of the encouraging statistics we shared with them and we equally picked one or two things from them. We learnt that there are over 100 countries here for the event. There are several tech giants too.”

The minister didn’t name these companies. At the event, however, were technology firms including IBM, Huawei, Nokia, Microsoft, Ericsson, Cisco, Mobily, Zoom, SAP among others.

Earlier, the Director, House of Mandela Family Foundation, Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, appealed to technology giants to make Africa a destination, stressing that huge opportunities lie in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries.

Mandela was, however, quick to say that collaboration and governments’ resolve would play critical roles in bringing technology giants to Africa.

Speaking on ‘The importance of tech in developing countries,’ she stressed the fact that though the continent is still faced with so many challenges, there are “immense opportunities for growth, expansion and profitability.”

According to her, access and affordability gaps in the region provide opportunities for improved Internet access, which can be delivered by technology companies through collaborations with indigenous players.

She said only about 40 per cent of the entire African population has access, “meaning that about 60 per cent are still without basic telephony services. This is a huge market that can be latched on by technology companies. The global community can make use of technology to get Africa to the world stage of development.”

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TECHDIGEST – Saudi Arabia has announced more than US$6.4 billion in investments in future technologies and entrepreneurship that will further secure the Kingdom’s position as the MENA region’s largest digital economy.

Key Points:

STC to invest US$1 billion in MENA HUB to create regional center for cloud and digital services

NEOM Tech & Digital Co. launches groundbreaking XVRS cognitive metaverse and M3LD data management platform as part of a US$1 billion investment

J&T, eWTP Arabia and its partners invest up to US$2 billion into smart logistics hub in the Kingdom over the next 10 years

The announcements were made during the opening day of LEAP22, the international technology platform, which is taking place in Riyadh until 3rd February.

The investments and initiatives include the launch of Aramco Venture’s Prosperity7 fund with US$1 billion, and a billion dollar investment from NEOM Tech & Digital Company with a focus on future technologies.

As part of its investment, NEOM announced the launch of the world’s first cognitive metaverse, XVRS that will serve residents and visitors of the smart giga-project, and M3LD, a personal data management platform that gives back control of data to the user.

stc announced MENA HUB, a US$1 billion investment in regional connectivity and infrastructure, which will support Saudi Arabia’s rapidly expanding digital and cloud sector.

LEAP also saw the launch of The Garage, a new platform for start-ups, investment and entrepreneurship by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). The Garage will create a full-service environment for local and international start-ups, to help them grow to become the leading technology companies of the future.

J&T Express Group, one of the world’s fastest-growing logistics companies, announced an investment of US$2 billion with eWTP Arabia Capital and other partners. The investment will see J&T establish its MENA headquarters in Riyadh, and set up an extensive network of smart logistics and distribution facilities that will extend Saudi Arabia’s reach as the regional center for advanced logistics.

Saudi Arabia is the largest technology market in the MENA region, with a technology sector worth more than US$40 billion. The new investments announced at LEAP22 are part of the Kingdom’s ongoing plans to transform into an innovation-based economy, which have already seen the country become one of the fastest-growing new markets for Fintech and digital content in the region.

“These investments and initiatives are a manifestation of the Kingdom’s push toward the growth of the digital economy for the greater good of people, the planet and the prosperity of the MENA region. They mark the next level of growth for the digital economy in Saudi Arabia, the MENA region’s largest technology and digital market,” said Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

During his keynote address at LEAP22, the Minister noted that Saudi Arabia is the regional leader for technology talent, with over 318,000 jobs in the technology sector in the Kingdom, and with a rate of participation of women in the ICT workforce that has jumped to 28% in recent years.

Saudi Arabia is also home to some of the largest investments in cloud technology, with leading hyperscale cloud providers including Google, Alibaba, Oracle and SAP investing over US$2.5 billion in cloud in the Kingdom.

Entrepreneurship is also flourishing in Saudi Arabia, with venture capital investment in Saudi Arabia in 2021 exceeding the total for 2019 and 2020 combined.

Aramco Ventures Prosperity7

Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, announced the formal launch of its US$1 billion diversified growth fund, Prosperity7.

The fund backs exceptional entrepreneurs to build transformative companies and solve some of the world’s toughest problems.

Prosperity7 provides its portfolio companies with the funding and connections they need to scale and enter new markets to attain global reach.

Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, said: “Prosperity7 will connect the dots through big ideas, top talents and disruptive technologies from around the world as we look beyond the energy value chain to areas like healthcare, education and blockchain, for viable solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.”

STC MENA Hub ans Huawei Partner for Technology Manufacturing

Also at LEAP22, stc announced the MENA HUB initiative to establish a standalone company of US$1 billion investment in infrastructure of submarine cables and data centers, that will boost Saudi Arabia’s current position as the region’s digital hub. Leveraging Saudi Arabia’s geographical location at the heart of the MENA region, the company will manage and continue to invest in submarine cables including new ones landing in multiple points of Saudi Arabia.

The company will manage data centers and continue to invest in new data centers across the Kingdom and the region, along with other digital infrastructure to attract foreign direct investment. It will also localize content and develop cloud services to realize Saudi Arabia’s digitization plans.

stc revealed a new strategic partnership with Huawei Technologies Company, which will see manufacturing facilities for data center equipment and hardware established in Saudi Arabia, to boost Saudi Arabia’s capacity in high-tech industry, create local supply chains for technology hardware and increase the adoption of new technologies by Saudi businesses, which will significantly support the increase in local content and contribute to the achievement of the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030

NEOM Tech & Digital Company’s XVRS and M3LD

NEOM Tech & Digital Company unveiled plans for the launch of XVRS, a first-of-a-kind digital twin metaverse platform, where virtual reality truly merges with physical to create unique immersive mixed-reality experiences.

It is the only cognitive metaverse in development with all features in one scalable platform, bridging physical and digital environments and offering real-time translation and humanoid robotic avatars.

XVRS is part of a US$1 billion investment by NEOM Tech & Digital Company in AI-driven technology, which also includes M3LD, a data management platform that empowers users to regain control of their data.

Joseph Bradley, CEO of NEOM Tech & Digital Company, said: “The future will be defined by cognitive meta cities. It is a vision focused on experiences rather than scale. XVRS puts human needs at its core – it is designed to give people more time, space and enhanced safety. M3LD, meanwhile, will place data ownership back in the hands of users and restore trust in the data economy.”

J&T, eWTP Arabia Capital and Partners to Launch MENA Regional Headquarters in Riyadh

J&T Express Group, one of the world’s fastest-growing logistics companies, announced an investment of US$2 billion with eWTP Arabia Capital and partners to open their MENA regional headquarters and set up logistics and distribution capabilities in Riyadh to better serve local customers and partners.

The investment will include providing world-class Sorting Centers, Auto Warehouse Systems, Air Cargo Terminals, E-commerce Industry Parks, and other modern industrial facilities and related infrastructure, to provide advanced tech-driven services to J&T clients and business partners.

His Excellency the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Abdulaziz Al-Duailej, said: “The logistics infrastructure and facilities that will be established through this partnership will not only accelerate the growth of distribution and cargo in Saudi Arabia, but will also leverage our geographic location at the heart of the Middle East and North Africa to make Saudi Arabia into the leading center for advanced logistics services.”

“In the next 10 years, together with eWTP Arabia Capital and other strategic partners, J&T will invest in the most advanced hardware and software equipment in Saudi Arabia, train the most outstanding professional team, build the largest intelligent logistics industrial park in the MENA region, serve the entire regional market, and promote the comprehensive development of the local technology-driven industrial economy,” said Jet Lee, Founder and Chairman of the J&T Express Group.

The Garage: Start-up District

KACST announced ‘The Garage: Start-up District’, a combination of physical location, start-up incubator, accelerator and more, that will provide start-ups with grants, investment, marketing and training support, full-service workspaces, in addition to access to deep-tech labs, talent and research networks, amongst other incentives to empower local and international start-ups to become the leading technology companies of tomorrow.

The Garage aims to launch start-ups with local and international potential.

“The Garage is inspired by the humble beginnings of some of the biggest companies in technology today, and aims to provide everything that start-ups need to grow their ideas, to become the next global technology giants. It is conveniently located in close proximity to state-of-the-art facilities and to large numbers of talent which creates an ideal startup district,” said H.E. Dr. Munir Eldesouki, President of KACST and head of the Research, Development and Innovation Authority foundation team.

Digital Cooperation Organisation Launches Start-up Passport

The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), a multinational organization established to enable digital prosperity for all, also announced the launch of the DCO Start-up Passport at LEAP22 to make it quicker, easier and less expensive for start-ups to do business across borders, opening up potentially lucrative markets with a combined population of more than half a billion people.

Deema Al-Yahya, Secretary General of the DCO said: “The Start-up Passport reduces administrative and financial burdens and accelerates corporate registration and other processes for entrepreneurs. Through this passport, they will be able to enter the markets of other DCO member states. This will further our mission of coordinating efforts and sharing expertise to grow the digital economy for the benefit of all nations.”

The Start-up Passport provides expedited entry and support in the markets of eight DCO countries. The initiative will be rolled out initially in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.

During LEAP 22, the DCO also endorsed Elevate50, an initiative launched to support 50,000 small to medium-sized enterprises over the next three years to sell their products online. Supported by the Jordanian ecommerce platform MakanE, Elevate50 is projected to generate 5,000 jobs and specifically target businesses run by women and young people.

The inaugural LEAP is set to become the world’s largest debut technology platform. It will spotlight the entire innovation ecosystem, connecting pioneers and disruptors with business and government leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and more to experience and learn about the technologies of the future.

Source: Techeconomy.ng

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