The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has opened the application portal for the maiden edition of its prize for innovation programme to aid the development of a digital economy.
According to NSIA, the capacity-building initiative aims to empower early-stage Nigerian innovators, encourage ingenuity, and support the emergence of a thriving digital ecosystem.
The authority said the portal is the only means for submitting applications for the programme with each applicant allowed only one entry.
The application portal can be accessed using the url https://nsia-ip.com/ and closes at 12noon on April 8th, 2023.
In December 10, 2022, NSIA launched its Prize for Innovation (NPI) programme with a total prize value of $255,000 to be awarded to emerging businesses.
Speaking on the portal opening, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, the NSIA boss, said the authority “aims to serve as a deliberate enabler across the various tiers of the digital ecosystem.”
“With this programme, we will be putting in place a system that will support and fast track the emergence of digital powerhouses in the country which over time, we expect will transform Nigeria into Africa’s hub for tech-enabled solutions,” he said.
The programme consists of three phases starting with the call for applications, this will be followed by the accelerator boot camp phase and the demo phase.
At the end of the call for applications phase, all the submissions will be reviewed, and only 25 of the solutions will be shortlisted for the accelerator bootcamp where each participant’s idea will be amplified for market readiness.
From the 25 accelerator-phase participants, NSIA’s expert judges will select the top 10 entries who will have the opportunity to pitch their solutions at the final phase.
Subject to terms and conditions, the top 3 finalists from the 10 finalists will be rewarded with a mix of equity investment in the underlying business and cash contribution while the last 7 finalists will receive only cash consolation prizes.
NSIA is convinced that the innovative prowess of budding entrepreneurs is an essential element for the discovery of the next generation of tech-enabled solutions that can stimulate economic growth.
The NPI priority sectors are technology-enabled businesses in key sectors including financial services, agriculture, health, education, manufacturing, logistics & e-mobility, e-commerce & marketplaces, and climate.
These are catalytic sectors with significant potential to scale sustainably. However, applicants that operate outside these sectors are strongly encouraged to apply.
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