D-Olivette Labs, Promise Point, GeroCare emerge top winners at NSIA Prize for Innovation 3.0
From left: Ezinwa Okoroafor, General Counsel NSIA; Kolawole Owodunni, Executive Director & Chief Investment Officer, NSIA; Aminu Umar-Sadiq, MD & CEO NSIA; Ijeoma Taylaur, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, NSIA; Pius Osiriamhe Anyiador, Head, Nigeria Infrastructure Fund NSIA, with the winners of the recently concluded third edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation ( NPI 3.0), Saturday in Abuja
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has announced the winners of the third edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI 3.0) — an initiative designed to support early-stage Nigerian innovators developing transformative solutions to address some of the country’s most pressing challenges.
This announcement came after an intense pitch session concluded NPI 3.0 Demo Day Saturday in Abuja, where ten finalists selected from over 5,000 applicants in healthcare, agriculture and education, presented their transformative solutions to an expert panel of judges from business and technology ecosystems.
This year, in addition to the combined prize pool of $220,000 and a five-week fully funded training programme at Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA, NSIA partnered with the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC) and Cascador to expand the rewards for participating startups with the Cascador Impact Prize of $15,000 each for three startups and the $5,000 PVAC Healthcare Innovation Prize also for three startups within the top ten D-Olivette Labs, developers of smart AI powered bio-digesters that convert farm and food waste into clean energy and organics fertilizers clinched the top spot with a combined prize value of $100,000 from NSIA as well as a Cascador Impact prize of $15,000, bringing its total combined prize value to $115,000.
Promise Point, a woman-led cassava processing solution with a fully-automated facility on over 1,500 hectares of owned farmland and a network of over 2,000 small holder farmers within its value chain came second position with a prize value of US$70,000 and the Cascador Impact Prize of $15,000 bringing its total combined prize value to $85,000.
GeroCare, a pioneering health tech platform focused on restoring dignity and improving care outcomes by positively transforming elderly care in Nigeria came third place with a combined prize of $50,000 and a PVAC Healthcare Innovation Prize of $5,000 bringing total winnings to $55,000.
In his address, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, emphasized the importance of innovation and government support for Nigerian youth. Edun urged young entrepreneurs to embrace innovation, assuring them of the government’s commitment to supporting their efforts. He stressed the need for the NSIA Prize for Innovation to become an annual event.
He said, “When the President came into office, the situation we had with the finances was opaque, it was manual. In terms of the financial operation, the day-to-day payments, all that was done manually. That we are now fully automated was achieved by young and smart Nigerians.”
“There should not be a situation where you have a breakage in the circle. This event must be an annual event.
“I say to the winners, and even the old winners, stick to your ideas. But the key is the implementation of those ideas.”
Speaking at the event, MD & CEO of the NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said, “The NSIA Prize for Innovation exemplifies our commitment to nurturing homegrown solutions with the potential for transformative impact. This year, we have partnered with PVAC and Cascador to expand the opportunities for participating startups and further propel innovation, youth entrepreneurship and meaningful solutions that drive positive socio-economic outcomes.
“The NSIA congratulates all finalists and winners, and reaffirms its dedication to driving innovation, creating jobs, and repositioning Nigerian entrepreneurs for global relevance.”
National Coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PVAC), Abdu Mukhtar,said, “I travel across the country, every part of this country, I see a lot of innovative ideas in healthcare from technology driven care to care that focuses on primary healthcare to local manufacturing and healthcare to service delivery.
“So, the goal for PIVAC to participate in this is to really mobilize the private sector and tell them that there are opportunities to identify innovative solutions in healthcare and then bring them to the forefront and find financing for them so that they can scale up their businesses to help our citizens.”
Amanda Etuk, Program Director for Cascador, while stating that the event will the bolster the Nigerian entrepreneurial ecosystem, commended the top 10 finalists for their dedication and vision in entrepreneurship. Just as she assured that Cascadia will continue its support in developing this ecosystem.
“We are very interested in impact. We believe entrepreneurship should be impactful. We believe entrepreneurship is the best way to affect communities and the society at large. You see that entrepreneurs are providing thousands of jobs within Nigeria. We want to actually power the entrepreneurs by powering the economy. We love the innovation that the NPI has brought by solving key challenges in Nigeria and we will support that. We want to mentor them; we want to support them, their industries,” she said.
Blueprint
