The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has announced the winners of the third edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation.
The winners were announced in a statement following a pitch session at the recent NPI 3.0 Demo Day in Abuja.
The statement said that for this year, the top three finalists would receive a combined prize value of $ 220,000, awarded through a combination of cash and equity investments.
She said that 10 finalists, chosen from over 5,000 applicants in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, and education, presented their transformative solutions to a panel of expert judges from business and technology ecosystems.
She described the NPI as an initiative designed to support early-stage Nigerian innovators who are developing transformative solutions to address some of the country’s most pressing challenges.
Meanwhile, D-Olivette Labs, developers of smart, AI-powered biodigesters that convert farm and food waste into clean energy and organic fertilizers, clinched the first position with a combined prize value of $ 100,000 from NSIA.
They also received a Cascador Impact prize of $15,000, bringing their total prize value to $115,000.
In second place was 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 smallholder farmers within its value chain.
They received a prize valued at $70,000 from NSIA and the Cascador Impact Prize of $15,000, bringing their 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 in third place.
They received a combined prize of $50,000 from NSIA and a PVAC Healthcare Innovation Prize of $5,000, totalling $55,000.
Mediverse won the $5,000 PVAC Healthcare innovation prize.
Mediverse is a Nigerian-built laboratory automation platform that combines a cloud-based Laboratory Information Management System, an electronic Lab Notebook, and a small on-premises IoT application to provide pioneer-level 2 lab automation software.
Sosocare, a low-cost health insurance platform that aims to further unlock access to optimal healthcare by providing Nigerians with health insurance, also won the $5,000 PVAC Healthcare Innovation Prize.
FriendsnPal, Africa’s first predictive AI-powered mental health platform that delivers 24-hour anonymous emotional support, also won the $15,000 Cascador Impact Prize.
Aminu Umar-Sadiq, NSIA managing director, who spoke during the event, a
said that the NPI exemplified the 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 start-ups and further propel innovation, youth entrepreneurship, and meaningful solutions that drive positive socio-economic outcomes,” he said.
Abdu Mukhtar, the national coordinator of the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain, said that partnering with the NSIA aimed to mobilize the private sector.
Mr Mukhtar said that it would also highlight opportunities for identifying innovative solutions in healthcare.
Amanda Etuk, programme director of Cascador, said the organisation was giving $45,000 in prize money to the most impactful startups from the three highlighted sectors.
Ms Etuk said that Cascador’s partnership with NSIA was born out of a desire to support and empower entrepreneurs, given their role in driving economic development through job creation.
