Nigerian VC fund 440 announces Deal Weekend Lagos

This August, Nigeria-focused venture capital fund 440 will host a 24-hour event called Deal Weekend Lagos where startups will compete to receive equity investment of between US$100 000 and US$250 000.

The event has so far confirmed the following investors: Kresten Buch of 88mph, Chika Nwobi of L5Lab, Elo Umeh of Twinpine Mobile and Bastian Gotter of iRoko.

Buch, who’s also the co-Founder of 440, explains that the initiative generally looks to support small teams that lack experience and the network necessary to quickly grow their businesses. He adds:

“The selected startups will be at the frontier of the evolving mobile/web industry in Nigeria. Their businesses will use mobile/web technology to scale & disrupt traditional businesses, and target African consumers. They will be a part of creating a new generation of tech giants.”

Deal Weekend ensures that vetting, investing, and oversight of multiple startups’ accounts and actions, can be more structured, and that the investors can discuss interesting deals with other like-minded investors. The initiative will also provide startups with mentorship opportunities.

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Chika Nwobi of L5Lab who is co-founder of 440 says in a press release: “Besides capital, one of the biggest needs of start-ups is access to experienced mentors, we are bringing together an all-star set of mentors from different backgrounds to help our startups.”

Earlier this year, 88mph’s Deal Week Cape Town kicked-off in South Africa for the first time. The accelerator soon announced afterwards that it’s taking a break from investing in startups.

Startups have the opportunity to apply for investment here until 13 August 2015.