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NITDA Unveils Top 30 Startups of the Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria Programme
Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria (B2MC Nigeria), a NITDA-sponsored national startup competition that identifies and accelerates the most high-impact startups across Nigeria, announced the 30 startups that will participate in an intensive, virtual boot camp between 24th of January and 18th of February 2022.
B2MC Nigeria is a collaborative programme between the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and MassChallenge, a global network for innovators, headquartered in the United States of America.
The participating startups will have access to tailored mentoring and coaching offered by NITDA and MassChallenge mentors, curated curriculum based on startups’ needs focusing on global best practices around innovation and entrepreneurship, and access to the MassChallenge global network.
The top 30 startups were selected after a rigorous online selection process evaluated by both local Nigerian innovation experts as well as experts representing the global MassChallenge community.
The boot camp will culminate in a pitch-competition that will determine the top 10 startups that will get access to curated support and connectivity into an existing MassChallenge innovation hub like Boston, MA, through a second boot camp.
“Startups play a significant role in the economic growth of every nation, by spurring innovation, injecting competition as well creating jobs.
“Nigeria’s burgeoning population offers innovative startups an opportunity to access a significantly vast market through developing and implementing viable solutions that are tailored at solving identified micro and macro-economic national challenges.
“The B2MC program will help facilitate the diversification of the economy and transforming every aspect of modern life to attain our key objectives of improving and expanding the economy, in line with the Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (2020-2030) and NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (2021-2024)”, said Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, NITDA’s Director General/CEO.
With this collaboration, NITDA and MassChallenge are actively pursuing their commitment to support entrepreneurs from underrepresented regions and across geopolitical zones to create more equitable distribution of and access to key resources for the growth of these startups.
The B2MC Nigeria selection drive is industry agnostic, thus a wide range of applications were received from the agricultural, Info-Tech, transport, finance industries to name a few. Applications from the six geopolitical regions were captured to provide an equitable playing field for our startups that will be supported, both within Nigeria and internationally.
“The launch of the first boot camp of the B2MC Nigeria 2021 program is designed to scout for the best of Nigerian technologies to help them sustain and grow within the Nigerian ecosystem and beyond.
“We’re excited to see the diverse representation of industries ranging from agriculture to Health Tech among the top 30 startups and to be able to work alongside NITDA to support the success of these businesses”, said Siobhan Dullea, CEO, MassChallenge.
Below is the complete list of the startups selected to participate in the B2MC Nigeria boot camp:
Agromate Nigeria: AgroMate is a youth-led agricultural development organization that leverages technology to improve the agricultural sector.
Aadana Smart Storage System: Aadana is a Solar Powered Smart Storage System which is smart. It can control/regulate the internal condition of the system.
Agbero: Agbero helps pre-book public inter-state travel vehicles in order to reduce waiting time and helps track real-time location for security’s sake.
Alaajo: Alaajo help users achieve their financial goals through savings automation, access to spot credit and simplified mortgage finance.
Avas Technologies Limited: AVAS Tech addresses prevalent identity verification problems across sub-saharan Africa using customized to environment biometric solutions.
Bridgingspace: An online platform that helps people with anxiety and depression get easy access to online counselling, support groups & self-care.
Bulkieshare: BulkieShare is a Platform that makes it easy and convenient for users to jointly purchase items DIRECT from farmers and manufacturers and then share accordingly.
Cartrep: Cartrep uses AI technology to connect last mile logistics companies with their customers within and outside their geographical coverage.
Cyber Security Challenge Nigeria Initiative: Cyber Security Challenge Nigeria Initiative focuses on identifying Nigeria’s next generation of cyber security professionals, connecting Nigeria’s best and brightest to the cyber security industry, creating an enabling platform for skill acquisition, youth empowerment and local content development in the area of information and cybersecurity towards national and economic development of Nigeria.
Daydone: An Agric eCommerce platform that brings farm produce and experience (using data) to the doorstep and fingertip of every consumer.
Dozzy Agricultural Enterprise: Dozzy Agricultural Enterprise is an integrated fish farm focused on closing the gap between market demand and supply of fish food
Edig-Ken Ventures: Hydroponics fodder production is when animal feed is grown without soil using little water and seed. Our solution is to provide sufficient, all-season availability and highly nutritional feed called fodder for livestock farmers to purchase for their animals.
Elcornel Business Enterprise: Elcornel Farm is dedicated to the use of high quality, modern and efficient food technology to meet demand for organic and quality food.
Eteicon: Eteicon uses recycled wastepaper to produce very hygienic and affordable toilet tissue for low-income families.
Evet Inc: Evet is a cloud-based platform that connects farmers to on demand agronomy advisory support, veterinary extension service and farm inputs.
Fuelintellisense Nigeria Limited: FuelIntellisense is a fuel management system that helps facilitates fuel inventory management and provides authorization for fuel dispensing.
Ghats Technology Innovative: I recently graduated from college with a HND in electronics & Telecommunications. I run a small engineering firm Ghats Technology Innovative
High Soles Farm Tours: By leveraging technology, we directly connect farmers with consumers that care about purchasing fresh produce at a lower cost.
Hydronamics: Hydronamics wishes to help bring clean running water to every home in developing countries, using prepaid water delivery services.
Maximus Recycling Solutions: provides households a chance to generate value from their waste and provide a reliable supply of raw material to the local recycling industry.
Moon Innovations: Moon Innovations is building generation of smart system for smart housing across Africa.
Mysolarbid Limited: MySolarBid helps homes and businesses save up to 70% on their monthly electricity costs through access to clean energy solutions.
Negs Empire: Negs Empire is a product and service based Agrictech company, majored in beekeeping, honey packaging and Farm management with probiotics.
Northflx Nigeria Limited: Northflix is a video streaming platform that targets Africans and those in diaspora with local contents that connect them with their culture.
Roborep: The RoboRep platform helps Genuine Medical Companies find Doctors, Hospitals and Pharmacies to sell their Medical products to.
Solio Leathers: Solio Leathers is a computer software integrated footwear manufacturing company with mission to drive footwear market in Nigeria and Africa.
Spacehunt Inc20: Spacehunt is a mobile app that creates a virtual immersive experience for properties/space renters and buyers.
Specxs Care Limited: We are a licensed healthcare company that is leveraging technology to increase access to healthcare using digital technology.
Sublime Squares: Sublime Squares developed an IoT based smart waste-bin solution to optimize the entire waste management process.
The Footwear Academy: The Footwear Academy is a hub that provides holistic solutions around footwear manufacturing and connects African shoemakers to the world.
Meta, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy (FMCIDE), has launched the Llama Impact Accelerator Program to foster AI-driven solutions across critical sectors in Nigeria.
The eight-month program will support early-stage startups developing AI innovations using Meta’s open-source Llama models. Target sectors include Agriculture, Security & Safety, Healthcare, and a wildcard category for other high-impact applications.
Speaking at the launch, Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa at Meta, emphasized the initiative’s role in advancing Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. “We are thrilled to partner with FMCIDE in supporting local AI talent. Open-source AI should be accessible and relevant to national challenges,” she said.
The program will begin with a six-week incubation period, offering technical training and mentorship from industry experts, followed by six months of extended support, including access to technical resources.
Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, hailed the initiative as a “major step forward” in Nigeria’s AI development strategy. “AI will be a key driver of national growth, and this program equips innovators with the tools to tackle pressing issues,” Tijani stated.
The Llama Impact Accelerator aligns with Meta’s broader mission to democratize responsible AI access while fostering innovation in emerging markets.
In collaboration with academic and government stakeholders, the initiative is expected to accelerate Nigeria’s AI industry and drive impactful change.
Applications for the program remain open until June 27, 2025. More details can be found at llamaimpactssa.splashthat.com.
In an era where climate change, youth unemployment, and food insecurity loom large over the continent, a powerful new force is rising — young African innovators building a green future from the ground up.
At the just-concluded Africa PachiPanda Challenge 2024, organised by MTN and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Nigerian entrepreneur, Olabisi Rafatu Emmanuel, emerged as one of the continent’s top eco-champions, spotlighting the potential of purpose-driven innovation to rewrite Nigeria’s climate and development story.
While Moses Afopezi of Cameroon took home the top prize with AgricFresh, a smart solution combating post-harvest loss, Olabisi’s reusable menstrual products solutions as a waste transformation model earned her national applause and a seat at Africa’s sustainability table, emerging as the second-place winner.
Speaking during the announcement, MTN’s leadership underscored that this challenge goes far beyond accolades. “Together, we have the power to shape a greener, more sustainable Africa — one bold idea at a time,” Nompilo Morafo, Group Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer, MTN, said.
The triumph comes at a time when Nigeria is grappling with the environmental menace of climate change in major urban hubs like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, even as the Nigerian government is clamouring for smart innovations to address climate change issues such as climate funding, carbon trading and just energy transition.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) recently reiterated calls for tech-based waste management solutions – making Olabisi’s innovation timely and impactful.
MTN says this is just the beginning. With plans to expand the PachiPanda Challenge to more countries and deepen support for eco-entrepreneurs, the telecoms giant is reaffirming its commitment to socio-economic development through green innovation.
As Nigeria sets its sights on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, the PachiPanda story is a timely reminder that the answers may lie not in government halls – but in the dreams and drive of Nigeria’s young changemakers.
In what could be a turning point for Nigeria’s global tech ambitions, Zinox Technologies, a strategic integrated tech solution company and pride of Nigeria ICT ecosystem has been officially invited to represent Nigeria at VivaTech Paris 2025, one of the world’s largest technology and innovation events.
The invitation, extended in partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is seen as a strategic endorsement of Zinox’s over two decades track record of delivering digital infrastructure, innovation, and enterprise solutions across the country for government, corporates and homes including some African countries.
The four-day event, taking place from June 11–14, 2025, is a major fixture in the global tech calendar, drawing startups, corporates, investors, and tech leaders from across the world. Zinox is expected to engage with international players at its assigned booth while showcasing flagship projects and solutions that reflect Nigeria’s evolving digital capacity.
“Zinox represents the kind of indigenous innovation the world needs to see more of — practical, scalable, and deeply rooted in local challenges,” said one of the international event leads, who confirmed their excitement about Zinox’s participation. “It’s a unique opportunity to place African tech at the centre of global conversations.”
From Local Execution to Global Attention
Zinox’s reputation has largely been built on its ability to execute high-impact, often mission-critical tech projects for both public and private sector players. The company is known for powering most government and corporate sector tech infrastructure rolling out the most integrated ICT projects and partnering global manufacturers with it’s iPower renewable energy solutions. Zinox is credited with transitioning Nigeria from analogue to digital democracy, amongst many other critical projects for companies like Chevron, Shell, FIRS, CBN, NPC, and educational institutions just to mention a few.
Its inclusion at VivaTech reflects growing international curiosity about Nigeria’s digital innovation and infrastructure story, particularly from brands that have built success indigenously.
Konga, the e-Commerce Engine, Joins the Spotlight
In an interesting strategic angle, Zinox will also showcase Konga, the composite e-commerce group it acquired in 2018. The move united two major tech forces under one umbrella and enabled a fusion of logistics, fintech, and commerce with Zinox’s core technology expertise.
Since the acquisition, Konga has benefited from infrastructural reinforcements, platform upgrades and supply chain optimization, becoming Nigeria’s most efficient digital marketplace.
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