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Meet the 7 finalists fighting for $20K in Nigeria’s TechCabal Battlefield
There’s nothing like a good contest right? From hackathons to code jams, many young bright programmers and entrepreneurs love to fight it out for a top prize and bragging rights.
For the up and coming in Nigeria, there’s a new contest on the block from TechCabal — the first ever TechCabal Battlefield, where the next wave of tech entrepreneurs will compete for “the biggest Nigerian technology startup prize ever — US$20 000, courtesy of Stanbic IBTC Bank and iROKING.”
The competition started with 92 startup applicants (all of which could not be older than two years) that were reduced to a shortlist of 20. Now the final seven have been announced. In alphabetical order they are:
500Shops is an ecommerce as a service platform that allows any business owner to set up a complete online store in minutes.
Adugbo is a digital platform that enables the contextually relevant discovery and promotion of products/services offered by local merchants and/or small businesses. Via a suite of web/mobile apps offering specific location-based services, Adugbo aims to become the digital interface to your city.
Callbase is a telephone system for modern distributed teams that makes it easy, affordable and more efficient for organisations to manage and measure voice communication with customers, partners and others.
CasaGrupo is an online real estate crowdfunding platform that provides exclusive, well curated, safe and profitable real estate investment projects to its members. By aggregating funds over the internet, CasaGrupo is able to reduce monetary exposure per deal to a minimum of N100 000 (just over US$600).
Decoded is a music platform that aids in the discovery of African music with a focus on the lyrics. Decoded provides users with the ability to experience the diverse and intricate cultures within Africa through the unique lens of musical and literary composition.
GoKool is an online shopping platform offering Nigerians genuine auto parts and electrical accessories, a need which is currently underserved in Nigeria’s growing ecommerce industry. GoKool’s aim is to provide their customers the assurance of high quality in a market filled with substandard products.
Prepclass is an online portal that helps students prepare for popular examinations. The startup’s initial focus is on the nationwide JAMB exams.
Before the final contest, each of the seven finalists will have access to the Battlefield Academy, which will pair each startup with a mentor to help them develop their product, business, and presentations for the final. TechCabal Battlefield faculty members include, amongst others:
- Tomi Davies (Lagos Angel Network)
- Editi Effiong (Anakle)
- Femi Taiwo (INITS)
- Mark Essien (Hotels.ng)
- Ojoma Ochai (British Council)
The TechCabal Battlefield finale will take place on 21 February (not the previously advertised 19 February) where a panel of five judges — including Jason Njoku of iROKO Partners, Akin Oyebode of Stanbic IBTC, Ayodeji Adewunmi of Jobberman, Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, and one mystery judge — will decide the winner of the US$20 000 prize.
Other sponsors include Jobberman, Konga, Etisalat, with support from VC4Africa, Ventureburn, Capital Square, Easy Taxi, Ebonylife TV, YNaija, BellaNaija and RELOADED Magazine.
All startup information provided by TechCabal.
