Lekki is a hotbed of traditional investment in Africa’s largest economic city of Lagos. The activities of venture capitalists have become more prevalent in the last 3 years especially for startups mostly leveraging technology. Whilst cities like Yaba have become a cluster for innovation hubs, information technology organisations and startup activities in Lagos, Lekki is still upcoming despite the more obvious influx of new residents, disposable income, well-blended populace and mega enterprises such as the Lekki Free Trade Zone amongst others.
The Early-Stage investor’s mixer which was held on the 13th of June 2022 at the new 350-capacity TechQuest Hub in the heart of the Lekki peninsula witnessed angel investors, venture capitalists as well as a bevy of startups, 5 of whom pitched their businesses during the event. The 4 pm event started with networking, progressed to knowledge games and a masterclass video delivered by Tomi Davies, the Chief Investment Officer of GreenTec Capital, one of Africa’s most prolific angel investors and co-founder of Lagos Angel Network.
Adedotun Suleiman, the Chairman of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, co-founder of Lagos Angel Network and a serial investor who was present shared his deep insights. “It is early days for the Nigerian startup scene despite successes such as those of Flutterwave and Paystack amongst others. The jury is still out, and investors will have to think long term,” Mr Suleiman advised.
The session hosted startup pitches from GoMarket, Nodex, Nifty Row and two others. A wide range of startups were solving problems covering eCommerce, NFT, hardware, crypto amongst others. Uche Aniche, Convener, Startup South and co-host of the Mixer, introduced the South-South East Angel Network (SSEAN) to the gathering. “We believe that startups outside key financial centres such as Lagos and Abuja also require the funding needed to build out their propositions. That is why we started SSEAN and it is also the reason why we co-opt accredited investors with sessions like this,” said Uche.
Charles Emembolu, the Founder of TechQuest STEM Academy who also co-founded Nigeria’s first university-embedded incubator at the University of Nigeria, Roar Nigeria Hub enjoined the startups to embrace education and healthy business practices that ensure successful outcomes, scalable businesses, social impact with a good return to investors. “The new TechQuest 350-capacity Hub is designed to support thousands of technology talent with work-ready skills, placement and the funding that they may require to participate in the global digital economy.,” said Emembolu.
Other notable attendees at the event were the Managing Director, Cummins West Africa Limited, Okechi Igwebuike, Commercial Director, Sub Sahara Africa, Verraki Africa, Ifeanyi Akosionu, General Partner, Rebel Seed Capital, Emeka Okoye, amongst others.
The mixer, which was co-hosted by TechQuest STEM Academy LTD/GTE and Startup South, supported by Rebel Seed Capital and SSEAN ended with networking and interactive session well into the evening.
TechQuest STEM Academy, a non-profit organisation founded in 2015 has impacted over 35,000 persons to date. The Academy has the mandate to deliver work-ready talent to the digital economy, working with its partners and sponsors from across the globe. One of its upcoming collaborative flagship programs will offer business-focused, technology education at the intersection of Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship.
TechQuest STEM Academy has since its inception organized 22,000 seminars and workshops, published several research outcomes, with a commitment to providing educational content, digital literacy and resources while contributing to the achievement of the SDGs 4, 5 and 8.
