Sycamore Emerges Winner at $220,000 NSIA Prize for Innovation 2.0

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has announced Sycamore the winner of the second edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI 2.0) winning the grand prize with a combined value of $100,000.

This followed an assessment of pitches from 10 innovators to an expert panel of judges drawn from the business and technology ecosystem.

Sycamore, led by Babatunde Akin-Moses, is a peer-to-peer lending fintech platform which leverages technology to connect lenders and borrowers. Founded in 2019, Sycamore primarily exists to empower African businesses and propel economic growth by bridging the credit gap with technology.The evaluation was based on key metrics including market potential, team composition, traction and competitiveness of the solution proposed.

Kunda Kids – an edutech media company focused on providing illustrated engaging African inspired digital content to children, parents and libraries globally – followed closely at the second position with a combined prize value of $70,000. PaveHQ, a learning and career ecosystem that supports students to achieve a successful career came third with a total combined prize value of $50,000, bringing total combined prize value to $220,000.

While speaking at the recently concluded NPI Demo Day, managing director & chief executive of NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, shared that, ‘the NSIA Prize for Innovation was conceptualised in recognition of the pivotal role that technology plays to shape positive socio-economic outcomes, strengthen multiple sectors, significantly expand opportunities across multiple sectors and re-position home-grown talent for global relevance.”

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Now in its second year, it has so far received commendable attention from the tech ecosystem as the registration of credible start-ups across Nigeria to join the programme has grown from 2,000 to over 7,000 entries within the current year.

The NPI programme validates the Authority’s commitment to propel innovation, support entrepreneurship and position young Nigerians within the technology eco-system for global relevance.

This year, the programme has been expanded to include a five-week all-expense paid training at Draper University, Silicon Valley USA, to enable all top ten innovators expand their horizon and potentially deliver solutions on global platforms.

The NSIA Prize for Innovation is the Authority’s multi-year commitment to identify and nurture early-stage innovative businesses within the tech ecosystem to create sustainable positive impact.