Nigerian Entrepreneurs Seek Presidential Recognition

….FG Funding After Pakistan Startup Triumph

Eight Nigerian entrepreneurs who represented the country at the World Startup Championship (WSC) finals in Pakistan have called on the Federal Government to recognise their achievement and provide funding to enable them commercialise their innovations internationally.

The entrepreneurs, sponsored by the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), made the appeal on Thursday after returning from the global innovation competition, where Team Nigeria won two awards across the country and individual categories.

Nigeria won the Country Award in the Growth and Innovation Category, while Uthman Fatimah Zahra of Nature’s Sleek Limited, Technology Incubation Centre (TIC), Minna, Niger State, received the Individual Award for Best Skincare and Beauty Products.

The team said the awards demonstrated the potential of Nigerian entrepreneurs to compete on the international stage, urging the government to build on the achievement by supporting them to move from innovation and small-scale production to international commercialisation.

Presenting the team’s message to the NBTI Director-General, Dr Kazeem Raji, directors, zonal directors, centre managers and the media, the entrepreneurs said their participation followed an invitation extended through the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, and the NBTI leadership.

According to them, more than 4,000 applications were received from over 40 countries for the championship, making Nigeria’s emergence as an award-winning country a significant achievement.

They attributed their performance partly to the training and certification received through the NBTI Technology Incubation Programme, including training in ISO 9001:2024, project management, export preparedness and corporate marketing.

The entrepreneurs said the exposure in Pakistan also provided opportunities to engage international businesses, investors and potential partners.

“At the World Startup Championship finals, each country was provided a booth and opportunity to market products to venture capitalists, angel investors and partners. The Nigerian booth was buzzing with activities,” they said.

The team said the boot camp held ahead of the finals further exposed the participants to international business-to-business and business-to-consumer engagements, while enabling them to showcase products developed in Nigeria.

The eight participants represented technology incubation centres across Uyo, Ile-Ife, Ibadan, Minna, Kaduna, Lagos, Bauchi and Port Harcourt, with products ranging from medical oxygen generation and food processing to agricultural technology, skincare, software and carbon-capture technology.

Among the innovations showcased were a medical oxygen generator by Ndotehyin Kingsley Ekanem of Latent Simulation Works Limited, Uyo; unripe plantain baking flour by Alawode Olukemi Folasade of Green Oasis Foods, Ile-Ife; and a range of processed food products by Saidat Omowumi Dauda of Abisal Megatop Limited, Ibadan.

Other participants included Uthman Fatimah Zahra, whose company produces shea butter and shea-butter-based hair-care products; Asma Begum Mirza of Muhammad and Roshaneh Farms Limited, Kaduna, which produces kilishi and damban nama; and Olabode Owoeye of Porter & Briggs Limited, Lagos, developer of DeployIQ.

Umar Rabiu Oyakhilome of Green-Tech Visionary Enterprise Limited, Bauchi, showcased the 9jaFarm Management System, while Bernard Emeka Eme of Benemes Nigeria Limited, Port Harcourt, presented Air Pollution Strainers (APS), a technology designed for direct carbon capture at the source of emissions.

The entrepreneurs said the experience had demonstrated that Nigerian innovations could attract international attention when given the right exposure, training and institutional backing.

They therefore urged the NBTI to facilitate Federal Government financial support to enable them implement the international commercialisation of their products and services.

They also appealed to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology to present the team to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for presidential recognition, arguing that entrepreneurs who had represented Nigeria successfully on the global stage deserved formal acknowledgement.

The team further called for NBTI and Federal Government support in engaging their respective state governments to provide appropriate facilities and infrastructure.

Such intervention, they said, would enable the entrepreneurs to scale their businesses, establish permanent production facilities, create jobs and increase their contributions to their local economies.

The entrepreneurs also requested logistics support of ₦6.83 million for each participant, saying the additional expenses arose from extended accommodation, local transportation, feeding requirements linked to dietary incompatibility and other flight-related logistics during the trip.

The individual award winner was also promised financial support of 100,000 Pakistani rupees, which the team estimated at about ₦490,000.

The entrepreneurs said detailed information on the trip, the competition and their achievements had been contained in reports submitted to the NBTI Director-General through the respective zonal directors.

They pledged to use the international exposure to expand their enterprises and contribute further to Nigeria’s economic development.

“On behalf of Team Nigeria, we, the eight entrepreneurs, really appreciate this opportunity and promise to even do more to change the narrative of our nation Nigeria,” they said.