Osita Chidoka, the chairman/CEO at Kadochi Investment Management Limited, has listed fifteen (15) Nigeria Venture Capitals (VC) funded companies to watch in year 2022.
He correctly wrote that in 2021, Nigerian startups raised $1.37 billion from foreign venture capital firms amounting to 35 percent of the $4billion raised by African startups.
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“This amount is more than what Nigeria spent on external debt servicing in 2020 and more than the budget of the bottom five states in the country”.
Chidoka went ahead to write in the blog post on his social media page that Nigeria was the top destination for VC funding, ahead of South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya.
The post:
“Nigeria’s leadership of the investments race is interesting because most of the success is in that space I called “Naija.” It is that haloed space where youth creativity is unleashed and government meddlesomeness is absent. It is that space defined by merit and value, where there is no quota system, no federal character, and no rotation formula. “Naija” is the country we don’t have. It is the place where we unlock our potential and spread it globally.
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“The Naija space is now globally recognised as different from the Nigerian State. Investors are betting that the Naija space would overwhelm and eventually redefine Nigeria. The only doubters are “Nigerians”, who have refused to see the ongoing revolution. The ranks of these “Nigerians” include the young and the old, educated and not, government and private sector operatives. Basically, “Naija” is a state of mind. It is the spirit of possibilities. It is those who know that these little ripples will become a tsunami.
“The believers in Naija are right. They see what the foreign investors see. The latter are hard-nosed, unemotional, and always focused on seeking opportunities for optimal returns. Like the Naija entrepreneurs, they see our challenges but can look beyond it to the glorious dawn. The investors cannot resist our English speaking and youthful population, large market, entrepreneurial mindset, vibrant democracy, historical management of diversity, rare consensus-building capacity, and potential as the leading African nation.
“Unfortunately, we lack political and business leaders who have the same “Naija” mindset and are willing to work hard to unlock the potential.
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“The 2023 general elections provide Nigerian youths with an opportunity to break those chains and unlock Naija. You must demand and install quality leadership. Liberated from the yoke of the old guard, we will see more Naija companies attracting foreign and local investments. These companies will prosper and create jobs. We will realise the prosperity that has always been our destiny.
Here is my list of Naija companies to watch in 2022. Young people founded all these companies.
Women found many of them. In Naija, you can spread your wings and fly as high as your capacity can propel
- Fliqpay – $0.12M raised
- Remedial Health – $0.17M raised
- Bumpa – $0.20M raised
- TalentQL – $0.42M raised
- Mecho $0.50M raised
- Bitmama – $0.75M raised
- Edenlife – $1.40M raised
- Shuttlers – $1.60M raised
- Bankly – $2.10M raised
- Edukoya – $3.50M raised
- Okra – $4.50M raised
- Appzone – $10.00M raised
- VertoFX – $12.20M raised
- Alerzo – $16.00M raised
- Lidya – $16.50M raised
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Do you agree with Mr. Chidoka?
Share Your View!
[NB: Credit for this piece goes to Osita Chidoka]
