Exposing Nigerian Tech Startups to Global Competition

The just concluded LEAP 2022 technology conference and exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was an opportunity for Nigerian government to re-strategise in wooing foreign investors to invest in the Nigerian ICT sector and to give global exposure to Nigerian Tech Start-ups with unique solutions, writes Emma Okonji

Last week, the world gathered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for the maiden edition of LEAP 2022 technology conference and exhibition, which was organised by the Ministry of Communications and Technology of Saudi Arabia.

Nigerian government, which has been at the forefront of technology development and digital transformation, also joined other countries of the world to attend the global event, and used the opportunity to further showcase Nigerian startups with innovative solutions and to woo foreign investors to come to Nigeria to take advantage of investment opportunities in the Nigeria Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector and invest in the sector.

Nigerian startups joined other global startups to participate in the Rocket Fuel Startup Pitch competition, where seven startups won a total of $1 million prize.

FG’s Delegation to LEAP

The federal government delegates, led by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, had the opportunity to discuss with foreign investors at different fora during the LEAP technology conference and exhibition.

They used the opportunity to call on foreign investors to come to Nigeria and invest in the country’s Information and Communications Technology sector.

Other delegates to LEAP 2022, include the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta; the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Inuwa Kashifu Abdullai, among others.

Pantami, while speaking to foreign investors, also advised Nigerians to believe in the sincerity and commitment of the federal government to develop the Nigerian ICT sector, and to have a positive mindset towards national development.

According to Pantami, “Whoever comes to Saudi Arabia after about four visits would see the power of positive thinking and transformations that have taken place here, especially in the digital economy sector. Their institutions are no more obsolete. They have become proactive in everything.”

He explained that the Nigeria delegation met with investors and potential investors after series of meetings on how they could come to Nigeria and invest in the Nigerian ICT sector.

“There are signings already. Also, there are promises that they are coming to invest their manufacturing plants in the country. We were able to sell the advantages we have in the country to them, which include being the biggest economy in Africa, most populous in the region, and an economy that is doing well now, especially looking at the way the country exited recession leaving behind many developed countries,” Pantami said.

He added: “These are some of the encouraging statistics that we have sold to investors. These are indices investors want to hear. Though, there could be some one or two observations and reservations about the country, we are taken those ones back and we will work on them. We will ensure that we make the Nigerian system more flexible and friendly so that we can have a win-win situation.”

Pantami also said some countries have indicated interest to come and see how the Nigerian digital economy is working. “Nigeria’s has become a model today in Africa. The first meeting I had, they were surprised that we have six unicorns from Nigeria, with others still coming. The fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy today is the Digital Economy sub-sector. Mr. President has said severally that it is the sector that led many times to Nigeria exiting recession. These are some of the encouraging statistics we shared with them and we equally picked one or two things from them. We learnt that there were over 80 countries that attended the event. There were several tech giants too,” Pantami said.

Present at the LEAP event, were global technology companies, some of whom have already set up their operations in Nigeria and other Africa countries. Global companies like IBM, Huawei, Nokia, Microsoft, Ericsson, Cisco, Mobily, Zoom, SAP among others, where present at LEAP 2022 to showcase their products and services.

The Director, House of Mandela Family Foundation, Dr. Makaziwe Mandela, appealed to technology giants to make Africa a destination.

He stressed that huge opportunities lie in South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries.

Mandela called for collaboration between African governments in order to bring global technology companies to Africa.

According to her, the access and affordability gaps in the African region, provide opportunities for improved internet access, which she said, could be delivered by technology companies through collaborations with indigenous players.

The LEAP Technology event, attracted several African countries, especially countries that are driving digital transformation through smart technologies.

Participation And Investments

According to the organisers, the inaugural edition of LEAP22, set new records for a debut technology event, attracting over 100,000 registered attendees from more than 80 countries.

Over 700 exhibitors including the world’s leading technology companies and over 1,500 of the most innovative start-ups, along with more than 500 international speakers joined LEAP22, which ended last week Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, making it the largest ever first edition for a technology event.

LEAP22 saw more than $6.4 billion of investments and new technology initiatives announced, with $1 million in prizes awarded to the winners of the Rocket Fuel Start-up Competition, an international contest to find the best new business ideas.

LEAP22 also saw the announcement of multiple investments and funds for start-ups and entrepreneurs of over $266 million.

Among the announcements was the completion of closing of the second round of Khwarizmi Ventures fund with a value of $69.8 million; investment into the Emkan VC fund of over $49.8 million and the launch by Saudi Venture Investment Company of the Investment in Advanced Stage Funds, with a value of over $134 million, to promote the growth of start-ups.

A new partnership to build start-ups between Unifonic and TheSpaceKSA, called UnifonicX, was also revealed.

Start-up deals included Nana closing an investment round led by FIM Partners and the STV Fund, worth $50 million; and Quant closing an investment round worth $800,000 led by VentureSouq with participation by RaedVC and Seedra, which also announced an additional round of investment.

Muzn Artificial Intelligence raised an investment round of $10.1 million, led by Raed Ventures with the participation of Shorooq Partners, VentureSouq, Sukna Ventures and others; while Taffi raised more than $1.8 million investment, and SIFI and Tamawal closed pre-seed rounds.

Startup Competition

Startups from around the world, including those from Nigeria, went head-to-head in the Rocket Fuel Startup Competition, promoting their innovative business ideas to powerhouse venture capitalists and leading international investors, to win a share of the $1 million prize fund. Seven startups were victorious overall, taking home cash prizes for exciting and impactful new business ideas, scored on creativity, innovation, potential, functionality and impact on people and society. The winners were announced and showcased at the event.

In order to boost global technology development, Apple selected Riyadh for its first Apple Developer Academy headquarters in the Middle East and North Africa region. The academy caters solely to female programmers and developers and is located at the Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.

The Apple Developer Academy will play a significant role in building coding talent in Saudi Arabia and encouraging women to develop their skills and explore careers in this exciting new sector. Female participants have already enrolled at Apple’s Developer Academy in Riyadh. Regional Executive Vice President, MEA at Informa, Michael Champion, said LEAP22 remained a breakthrough success, attracting the biggest audience for a technology event in recent years, surpassing other global technology events and setting a new record for most attendees to a new platform.

“LEAP22 has been able to bring to Riyadh the leading names in technology with the most exciting new start-ups and creators, to present cutting-edge innovations that will reshape the world around us. We would like to thank our world-class speakers, sponsors and partners and look forward to hosting an even bigger LEAP next year,” Champion said.

The debut edition of LEAP was sponsored by stc, Ericsson, Mobily, Huawei, Cisco, SAP, Microsoft, Saudi Digital Academy, National Technology Development Program, Monsha’at and Jahez.

Opportunities for Startups

At the just concluded LEAP22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the country opened up several opportunities for African tech startups, including those from Nigeria. They are expected to benefit from the recently launched Startup Passport initiative by Digital Cooperation Organisation (DCO), a Saudi Arabian-based organisation.

Startup Passport makes it quicker, easier and less expensive for startups to do business across borders, opening up potentially lucrative markets in Africa.

DCO launched the initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, venue of the maiden edition of LEAP.

During the launch, DCO Secretary-General, Deema Al-Yahya, explained that the Startup Passport would provide expedited entry and support in the markets of eight DCO countries.

Al-Yahya said the initiative would be rolled out first in Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, before extending it to other African countries.

The founding member nations of DCO are Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria Oman, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

The DCO is focused on 10 areas, which are access to connectivity, cross-border data flows, ethical use of technology, digital identity management, data pooling and user privacy, mobility of skilled ICT labor, accelerating start-ups and SMEs, adoption of emerging technologies, alignment on digital taxation and cooperation on Research and Development (R&D) and innovation.

Al-Yahya said the initiative would reduce administrative and financial burdens and would accelerate corporate registration and other processes for entrepreneurs.

“Through this passport, they will be able to enter the markets of other DCO member states. This will further our mission of coordinating efforts and sharing expertise to grow the digital economy for the benefit of all nations,” she said.

She explained that during LEAP 2022, the DCO also endorsed Elevate50, an initiative launched to support 50,000 small to medium-sized enterprises over the next three years to sell their products online.

The DCO Secretary-General noted that the inaugural LEAP was set to become the world’s largest debut technology platform, spotlighting the entire innovation ecosystem, connecting pioneers and disruptors with business and government leaders, entrepreneurs, investors and more to experience and learn about the technologies of the future.

With Saudi Arabia’s technology sector said to worth more than $40 billion, the new investments announced at LEAP 2022 are part of the Kingdom’s ongoing plans to transform into an innovation-based economy, which have already seen the country become one of the fastest-growing new markets for Fintech and digital content in the region.

Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Abdullah Alswaha, said: “Investments and initiatives are manifestation of the Kingdom’s push toward the growth of the digital economy for the greater good of people, the planet and the prosperity of the MENA region. They mark the next level of growth for the digital economy in Saudi Arabia, the MENA region’s largest technology and digital market.”