The Federal government has pumped N20 million into the Nigerian start-up ecosystem. The investment came through the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, which doled out a grant of 5million each to four young tech start-ups in the country.
The funding is to help the four start-ups gain fast traction and grow into big establishments that would eventually soak up the bloating labour market.
Government said the grants were in furtherance of its commitment to encourage and develop new indigenous technologies and contents that can stimulate sustainable economic growth.
The four tech startups are: Clearflow System Hub, Aelaus Engineering Teams/Hyech Electronics Solutions, Kalibotics, and CyberNorth Tech.
The tech start-ups were considered after emerging winners of the Internet of Things (IoT) Code Camp and Hackathon 2021, organised by the commission.
They were adjudged to have provided innovative technology solutions aimed at making life better for Nigerians.
Their solutions aimed at finding innovative digital solutions in addressing the challenges of insecurity and to stem the growth in national e-waste rates, while advancing the frontier of Internet of Things (IoT) in Nigeria.
While the first two startups, Clearflow System Hub; and Aelaus Engineering Teams/Hyech Electronics Solutions, emerged winners on IoT category on kidnapping and banditry, Kalibotics and CyberNorth Tech, emerged winners on assistive robotics for effective e-waste management solutions.
Handing out the grants, Director, New Media and Information Security, NCC, Dr. Haru Alhassan, on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the Commission, as a frontline driver of innovation in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry, organized the second edition of the NCC Hackathon with a view to driving the creation of problem-solving tech innovations.
He said the initiative was in line with the objectives of the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) 2020, NCC’s Strategic Vision Plan (SVP) 2021-2025, Executive Order 5 of 2017, and Section 1 (f) of the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003 which focuses on promotion of Nigerian content in contracts, science, engineering and technology.
The EVC added that the gesture symbolises the NCC’s commitment to deliver objectives of pillars 4, 7 and 8 of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, and the aspirations of the Commission’s SVP 2021-2025 in promoting innovative services and maintaining effective partnership and collaborations with relevant stakeholders.
Earlier, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Ubale Maska, who was represented by Head, Research and Development, Kelechi Nwankwo, noted that the event demonstrated the critical role that the telecommunications sector plays in addressing Nigeria’s social and environmental problems with innovative solutions. He reiterated the Commission’s commitment towards continuously supporting innovations for nation building.