Telecom
NITDA Unveils Top 30 Startups of the Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria Programme
Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria (B2MC Nigeria), a NITDA-sponsored national startup competition that identifies and accelerates the most high-impact startups across Nigeria, announced the 30 startups that will participate in an intensive, virtual boot camp between 24th of January and 18th of February 2022.
B2MC Nigeria is a collaborative programme between the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and MassChallenge, a global network for innovators, headquartered in the United States of America.
The participating startups will have access to tailored mentoring and coaching offered by NITDA and MassChallenge mentors, curated curriculum based on startups’ needs focusing on global best practices around innovation and entrepreneurship, and access to the MassChallenge global network.
The top 30 startups were selected after a rigorous online selection process evaluated by both local Nigerian innovation experts as well as experts representing the global MassChallenge community.
The boot camp will culminate in a pitch-competition that will determine the top 10 startups that will get access to curated support and connectivity into an existing MassChallenge innovation hub like Boston, MA, through a second boot camp.
“Startups play a significant role in the economic growth of every nation, by spurring innovation, injecting competition as well creating jobs.
“Nigeria’s burgeoning population offers innovative startups an opportunity to access a significantly vast market through developing and implementing viable solutions that are tailored at solving identified micro and macro-economic national challenges.
“The B2MC program will help facilitate the diversification of the economy and transforming every aspect of modern life to attain our key objectives of improving and expanding the economy, in line with the Nigeria Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (2020-2030) and NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (2021-2024)”, said Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, NITDA’s Director General/CEO.
With this collaboration, NITDA and MassChallenge are actively pursuing their commitment to support entrepreneurs from underrepresented regions and across geopolitical zones to create more equitable distribution of and access to key resources for the growth of these startups.
The B2MC Nigeria selection drive is industry agnostic, thus a wide range of applications were received from the agricultural, Info-Tech, transport, finance industries to name a few. Applications from the six geopolitical regions were captured to provide an equitable playing field for our startups that will be supported, both within Nigeria and internationally.
“The launch of the first boot camp of the B2MC Nigeria 2021 program is designed to scout for the best of Nigerian technologies to help them sustain and grow within the Nigerian ecosystem and beyond.
“We’re excited to see the diverse representation of industries ranging from agriculture to Health Tech among the top 30 startups and to be able to work alongside NITDA to support the success of these businesses”, said Siobhan Dullea, CEO, MassChallenge.
Below is the complete list of the startups selected to participate in the B2MC Nigeria boot camp:
Agromate Nigeria: AgroMate is a youth-led agricultural development organization that leverages technology to improve the agricultural sector.
Aadana Smart Storage System: Aadana is a Solar Powered Smart Storage System which is smart. It can control/regulate the internal condition of the system.
Agbero: Agbero helps pre-book public inter-state travel vehicles in order to reduce waiting time and helps track real-time location for security’s sake.
Alaajo: Alaajo help users achieve their financial goals through savings automation, access to spot credit and simplified mortgage finance.
Avas Technologies Limited: AVAS Tech addresses prevalent identity verification problems across sub-saharan Africa using customized to environment biometric solutions.
Bridgingspace: An online platform that helps people with anxiety and depression get easy access to online counselling, support groups & self-care.
Bulkieshare: BulkieShare is a Platform that makes it easy and convenient for users to jointly purchase items DIRECT from farmers and manufacturers and then share accordingly.
Cartrep: Cartrep uses AI technology to connect last mile logistics companies with their customers within and outside their geographical coverage.
Cyber Security Challenge Nigeria Initiative: Cyber Security Challenge Nigeria Initiative focuses on identifying Nigeria’s next generation of cyber security professionals, connecting Nigeria’s best and brightest to the cyber security industry, creating an enabling platform for skill acquisition, youth empowerment and local content development in the area of information and cybersecurity towards national and economic development of Nigeria.
Daydone: An Agric eCommerce platform that brings farm produce and experience (using data) to the doorstep and fingertip of every consumer.
Dozzy Agricultural Enterprise: Dozzy Agricultural Enterprise is an integrated fish farm focused on closing the gap between market demand and supply of fish food
Edig-Ken Ventures: Hydroponics fodder production is when animal feed is grown without soil using little water and seed. Our solution is to provide sufficient, all-season availability and highly nutritional feed called fodder for livestock farmers to purchase for their animals.
Elcornel Business Enterprise: Elcornel Farm is dedicated to the use of high quality, modern and efficient food technology to meet demand for organic and quality food.
Eteicon: Eteicon uses recycled wastepaper to produce very hygienic and affordable toilet tissue for low-income families.
Evet Inc: Evet is a cloud-based platform that connects farmers to on demand agronomy advisory support, veterinary extension service and farm inputs.
Fuelintellisense Nigeria Limited: FuelIntellisense is a fuel management system that helps facilitates fuel inventory management and provides authorization for fuel dispensing.
Ghats Technology Innovative: I recently graduated from college with a HND in electronics & Telecommunications. I run a small engineering firm Ghats Technology Innovative
High Soles Farm Tours: By leveraging technology, we directly connect farmers with consumers that care about purchasing fresh produce at a lower cost.
Hydronamics: Hydronamics wishes to help bring clean running water to every home in developing countries, using prepaid water delivery services.
Maximus Recycling Solutions: provides households a chance to generate value from their waste and provide a reliable supply of raw material to the local recycling industry.
Moon Innovations: Moon Innovations is building generation of smart system for smart housing across Africa.
Mysolarbid Limited: MySolarBid helps homes and businesses save up to 70% on their monthly electricity costs through access to clean energy solutions.
Negs Empire: Negs Empire is a product and service based Agrictech company, majored in beekeeping, honey packaging and Farm management with probiotics.
Northflx Nigeria Limited: Northflix is a video streaming platform that targets Africans and those in diaspora with local contents that connect them with their culture.
Roborep: The RoboRep platform helps Genuine Medical Companies find Doctors, Hospitals and Pharmacies to sell their Medical products to.
Solio Leathers: Solio Leathers is a computer software integrated footwear manufacturing company with mission to drive footwear market in Nigeria and Africa.
Spacehunt Inc20: Spacehunt is a mobile app that creates a virtual immersive experience for properties/space renters and buyers.
Specxs Care Limited: We are a licensed healthcare company that is leveraging technology to increase access to healthcare using digital technology.
Sublime Squares: Sublime Squares developed an IoT based smart waste-bin solution to optimize the entire waste management process.
The Footwear Academy: The Footwear Academy is a hub that provides holistic solutions around footwear manufacturing and connects African shoemakers to the world.
Telecom
Celebrating African Creativity: Made by Africa, Loved by the World’ Returns for Its Fifth Year
The “Made by Africa, Loved by the World” campaign is back for its fifth year, celebrating African creativity and global influence. This year’s theme, “Where Culture Meets Connection,” highlights how social media fosters conversations around cultural moments worldwide.
The campaign features three cinematic films premiering on the Meta Africa page, showcasing the groundbreaking work and personal stories of six dynamic African creatives.
These artists, from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, represent diverse disciplines, including rap, animation, dance, photography, fashion, and videography.
Here are some of the featured talents:
- Ladipoe (Nigeria) – A BET-nominated rapper known for blending global hip-hop with African rhythms.
- Fatboy Animations (Kenya) – An animation studio founded by Michael Muthiga, recognized by Forbes for its original African storytelling.
- Lisa Quama (Ghana) – A dancer who gained fame after appearing in Beyoncé’s “Already” music video.
- Gilbert Asante (Ghana) – A photographer and creative director featured in GQ and Glam Africa.
- David Tlale (South Africa) – A fashion designer whose bold designs have been showcased at major fashion events, including the Met Gala.
- Ofentse Mwase (South Africa) – A filmmaker with over 24 international awards for his unique visual storytelling.
Kezia Anim-Addo, Communications Director for Africa, Middle East & Turkey, emphasized that the campaign not only celebrates individual success stories but also showcases how culture and social media drive meaningful connections and inspiration.
Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has raised the alarm over a diesel supply crisis caused by an ongoing strike by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
Mr Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON in a statement said that the fuel supply disruption is critically affecting telecom base stations, pushing them to the brink of a shutdown and threatening millions of mobile and internet users in the region.
“This strike, which stems from the persistent harassment of tanker and petroleum product drivers by police officers in Lagos State, has effectively halted all truck loading operations and fuel movements,” Emoekpere stated.
He explained that diesel supply to telecom infrastructure has been severely impacted, leaving critical sites with dangerously low fuel levels.
According to him, if urgent measures are not taken, the situation could escalate into a full-blown network blackout, disrupting essential services, including mobile and internet access, business operations, emergency response systems, and daily communications.
ATCON has called on the governors of Lagos and Ogun states to intervene immediately by facilitating the release of diesel from depots to telecom operators to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
“This is not just a telecom issue—it is a national emergency that could cripple economic activities and compromise public safety,” Emoekpere stressed.
The association also appealed to security agencies and petroleum unions to resolve the crisis swiftly to safeguard Nigeria’s connectivity and economic stability.
ATCON emphasised that a prolonged disruption in fuel supply to telecom infrastructure could have far-reaching consequences for both businesses and individuals who rely on stable communication networks for daily operations.
In 2023, Nigerians spent a total of about ₦5.3 trillion on telecommunications services, which includes calls, data, SMS, and other telecom services, according to the Leadership.
Specifically for voice calls, Nigerians made approximately 408.5 billion minutes of local calls, generating around ₦3.28 trillion from outgoing calls and ₦3.23 trillion from incoming calls, totaling about ₦6.51 trillion in call-related revenue according to projections based on 2023 call volumes and tariff data.
However, the ₦5.3 trillion figure represents the overall telecom sector revenue, with voice calls being a major component but also including data and other services.
For individual spending, MTN subscribers spent an average of ₦2,508 monthly on voice calls in 2023, showing a 14.4% increase from 2022, while Airtel customers spent about ₦1,694 monthly on voice calls.
Total telecom spending (calls, data, SMS, etc.): ₦5.3 trillion in 2023
Estimated revenue from voice calls alone: around ₦6.5 trillion based on call minutes and tariffs
Average monthly spending on calls per subscriber: ₦1,694 to ₦2,508 depending on the network
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