NSIA To Unveil Prize For Innovation Programme

The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority has announced plans to launch the maiden edition of NSIA Prize for Innovation Programme (NPI).

The programme which will be launched on December 10 is structured as a business enhancement programme to support early-stage, growth-driven ideas through education, mentorship, and financing.

The programme is a strategy-based initiative of the NSIA board which will run for at least three years. Through the NPI, the NSIA said it is poised to identify, build, and channel the country’s latent potential in innovation and technology to catalyse economic growth, enhance the nation’s productive capacity, create jobs, and optimise resource sustainability.

The NPI is designed to encourage and support creativity and ingenuity within the technology space and to fund new ideas that could result in cost-effective, scalable, and transformative positive impact.

The NPI’s priority sectors are technology-enabled businesses in key seven priority sectors of the Nigerian economy namely: Financial Services, Agriculture, Health, Education, Manufacturing, Renewables and Power. The priority sectors were selected given the appreciable impact innovations in these sectors can have on the Nigerian economy.

Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu will serve as special guest of honour at the event that would be held in Lagos.

According to a statement that was issued yesterday, the board and management of the Authority are expected to share their strategy for the technology sector in Nigeria and also provide context to the vision behind the NSIA prize for innovation.

Notable and respected digital ecosystem pundits will feature as guest speakers and panelists including Ms. Odunayo Eweniyi, Co-Founder and COO, Piggy Vest, Mr. Ralph Oluwole, Co-founder, Helium Health, Mrs. Abimbola Olufore Wycliffe, head, Investment and Technology Promotion Office, UNIDO, Mrs. Amal Hassan, MD/CEO, Outsource Global,  Mr. Kola Aina, founding Partner, Ventures Platform, Mr. Obi Emetarom, MD/CEO, Appzone Group, Dr. Chibuzo Opara, MD/CEO, Drugstoc, Mrs. Serah Makka-Ugbabge, executive director, One.org, Mr. Abayomi Awobokun, Co- Founder/ Partner – Orbit54, Mrs. Temi Awogboro, Co-Founder/Partner, New Lion Capital / Magic Fund and many more.

The idea is to have a programme to assist in creating a strong pipeline for future investments by its Innovation fund.

The programme will adopt a three-staged competition at the end of which ten finalists will emerge and win various prizes.The NPI is expected to run for 16 weeks covering the three stages namely the pre-selection stage, the accelerator stage, and the demo day stage.

The process starts will applications from eligible candidate who meet the entrance criteria. In total, 25 innovators (one product/service for each) will be shortlisted and advanced into the competition. These innovators will be put through a bootcamp known as the accelerator phase. Of the 25, the top 10 innovators will be selected by a 5-man expert evaluation committee to partake in a pitch-session on demo day from which a winner will emerge.

The equity portion of the prize will be disbursed and monitored by one or more of the Authority’s venture capital partners over the specified period. The disbursement period will be restricted to a maximum of six months post-competition.

Other key speakers from the NSIA team will include NSIA Non-Executive Director, Mr. Ikemefuna Isiekwena, NSIA managing director/chief executive officer, Aminu Umar-Sadiq; NSIA executive director and chief investment officer, Mr. Kola Owodunni and NSIA executive director, operations and corporate service, Mrs. Olubisi Makoju.