Two Nigerian startups have won the first two prizes at the the NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator Demo Day at the NBA headquarters in New York City, United States. The accelerator, which happened on the sidelines of United Nations 79th General Assembly (UNGA79), is designed to empower African startups in events management, youth development, AI, and digital marketing.
Cofounder, Festival Coins (owner of Tix Africa)
TheMediaGood Newspaper can report that out of over 700 early-stage African startups that applied 10 finalists from 7 African countries presented their innovative solutions to a panel of international industry leaders at the finale. Of the 10, the top 2 winners are from Nigeria, the third from Kenya, and the fourth from Egypt.
The top 4 winning startups are Festival Coins (Nigeria) which was awarded USD 50,000 for its customizable event registration platform, Tix Africa. This is a no-code operating system through which event organizers can facilitate payments and registrations. The Co-founder & CEO, Folayemi Agusto presented on behalf of the Nigeria-based company, Festival Coins.
The second Nigerian startup, Salubata secured USD 40000 for creating modular shoes made from plastic waste. The footwear manufacturer makes modular shoes from recycled plastic waste including de- and re-attachable pieces that can be customized. Salubata, a Techstars accelerator alum, dedicates 5% of its profits to empowering women and youths in underserved communities, according to its Chief Operating Officer, Yewande Adebowale.
Kenyan startup, HustleSasa received USD 30000 for comprehensive live event services. This Kenya-based live event management platform supports services including payment and registration processing, merchandise sales and customer data management.
Finally, UBR VR from Egypt won USD 20000 for delivering immersive virtual reality experiences. The Egyptian startup franchising locations for in-person spaces to participate in multi-user virtual reality experiences, ranging from shooter games to museum tours.
The six other finalists each received USD 10000 for their innovative contributions.
The NBA Africa Accelerator is a testament to the fact that Africa’s digital economy is on the rise, and with a youthful population rapidly increasing, the continent is positioning itself as a global hub for innovation.
By 2030, it is estimated that young Africans will account for 42% of the world’s youth and 75% of those under age 35 in Africa, offering vast potential to transform various industries, including sports and the creative economy.
J. Eniola writes from Manhattan, New York, USA 06/10/2024