The initiative, which takes place from November 18 to 23, 2025, at the Livespot Entertarium, Lagos, offers selected founders a chance to access ₦25 million in funding, mentorship, and investor partnerships that could boost their business growth.

Why It Matters

Africa’s creative economy is valued at over $20 billion and continues to expand with tech-led solutions transforming music, film, fashion, and design. 

The EWA Deal Room acts as a bridge between visionary founders and the capital they need to scale. 

Over the years, the programme has supported startups such as Esosa, a travel-tech platform connecting the African diaspora; Taghub, an AI-powered influencer marketing network; and Synewave, a revenue-sharing platform for artists. 

Together, these ventures have attracted more than $1 million in cumulative investment through EWA’s ecosystem.

Participants will undergo a three-day accelerator, receiving guidance from leading investors, industry experts, and creative leaders before showcasing their businesses at a Demo Day in front of global stakeholders. 

The platform also promotes meaningful networking, deal flow, and visibility that many founders struggle to secure independently.

Who Can Apply

The EWA Deal Room is open to:

• Founders and co-founders of tech-driven ventures in the creative and entertainment industries, including music, film, fashion, publishing, and design.
• Builders of platforms or tools enhancing distribution, monetisation, analytics, fan engagement, or funding within the creative sector.
• Independent artists, producers, and directors with strong market traction or projects in pre-production or development.
• Emerging entrepreneurs in lifestyle and skincare seeking to scale innovative ideas.
• Managers, rights holders, and distributors looking for funding or strategic partnerships.
• Investors, ecosystem enablers, and industry leaders shaping Africa’s creative and tech sector.

Benefits

• Access to ₦25 million in potential funding and partnership opportunities.
• Exclusive mentorship from top-tier investors and creative industry professionals.
• Investor-ready business model refinement and pitch training.
• Direct exposure to global networks shaping the future of Africa’s entertainment and digital ecosystem.
• Opportunity to pitch live at EWA Demo Day before an audience of global stakeholders and media partners.

How to Apply

Applications are now open via the website. Interested participants should submit details about their business, vision, and traction before the closing date. Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for the next stage of selection.

The event was attended by both a physical and virtual audience.

The cohort, comprising 10 Nigerian and 2 Kenyan founders across multiple sectors, presented their final pitches to a diverse audience of venture capitalists, Techstars alumni, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders in Africa’s tech ecosystem.

The Demo Day event featured notable keynote speeches from Techstars Managing Director, Oyin Solebo and ARM CEO, Jumoke Ogundare. The program also included a panel discussion with Techstars alumni who shared what they learnt during the program and how that changed the course of their businesses.

“The Techstars program was very instrumental to the growth of my company. As a first time founder, I had the opportunity to dive into a program that was created specifically for people like me. From building a team to understanding how to pitch to investors and ways to launch a product effectively,” Healthtracka CEO, Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson explained.

Additionally, there was a fireside chat with Ike Eze, the Managing Partner at Beta Ventures, providing further perspectives on the future of technological trends and  investments in the ecosystem.

“The tech ecosystem is very entreprenurial with a deep technical base that is quite difficult to match. Our fund does a lot of work around blockchain and web3, and we’re amazed by the amount of Engineers that are building solutions for clients in countries like Berlin, Ireland and so on,” said Ike Eze.

According to Ike Eze, some of the pressing issues the cohort has built solutions around are emerging market problems that would be beneficial on a global scale. He also added that following the impressive pitches from the cohort, Beta Ventures will be reaching out to Techstars about investing in a total of 5 startups.

The event concluded with a networking dinner, providing attendees with an opportunity to establish meaningful connections.

After 13 weeks of intensive workshops, masterclasses, and more than a hundred mentor meetings, each founder emerges from a transformative experience that has helped shape their ambitions and sharpen their focus. As a result of their hard work and dedication, they are now many steps closer to achieving their visions.

“These twelve startups have two things in common,” said Jumoka Ogundare. “They are solving major problems we have in Africa, and they have been mentored by the best in the industry.”

Techstars has been a significant presence in Africa for over a decade, and they have invested in more than a hundred founders both on and off the continent. Their partnership with ARM Labs has enabled them to expand their reach and increase their impact, with the shared goal of driving Nigeria’s innovative potential forward.

“The selection of startups for this program is highly impressive, and we are eager to witness the impact they will have on their respective industries. Our mission was to invest in the very best of African pre-seed proptech and fintech startups, and I think we’ve done well,” said Oyin Solebo.

As the first cohort of this program, they have received world-class training and valuable networks which will undoubtedly set them apart from their competitors and pave the way for long-term success.

You can watch the proceedings of Demo Day by clicking the link below:

Meet the 12 startups of the 2022 ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator program:

1. alphabloQ

alphabloQ is a real estate investment platform founded by Trevor Kimani and John Mbui. The startup’s mission is simple – to reduce the entry barrier for real estate investors by enabling investors to purchase a fraction of income-generating properties.

2. peppa.io

peppa.io, founded by Banky Alao, Bridget Yadua-Soremekun and Emmanuel Obute, is making it safer to buy on social platforms for Africans through the use of payment protection.

3. CDcare

CDcare is making it easy for Africans to own gadgets, appliances, cars and more at zero interest, through smart installment plans. The company was founded by Tobi Odukoya and Deji Farohun,

4. Cladfy

Founded by Ebby Gatamu and Kibe John, Cladfy provides microfinance lenders with credit profiling, digitised loan management, and access to affordable, reliable financing.

5. Flick

Flick is building PayPal for Africa; enabling users to connect multiple bank accounts and pay directly from one source, making payments 7x faster. Ruth Olojedeand Dipo Gbadebo are the founders of the company.

6. Keble

Keble, founded by Emmanuel Oballa, Agulanna Josemaria, Adebisi Borokinni and Valentine Offiah, enables Africans at home and abroad to purchase fractional shares of global real estate for as low as $10.

7. Keza Africa

Keza is powering smartphone financing by enabling people to buy brand-new and certified pre-owned smartphones on a flexible payment plan. Keza Africa was founded by Aisha Hussaini.

8. Salad

Salad was founded by Chikodi Ukaiwe and Seunfunmi Omotunde and is providing employees with access to financial services and benefits beyond their monthly paycheck.

9. Sidebrief

Sidebrief simplifies the process of starting and scaling a business across borders, with its one-stop solution for registration, banking and regulatory compliance. The company was founded by Eunice Olopade, Abdulwaheed Yusuf and Usman Sotunde,

10. Towntalk

Towntalk, founded by Folake Edun, Disun Vera-Cruz and Tomiwa Erinosho, is building Area!–a protection platform giving companies peace of mind when moving goods and people from point A to B, by providing real-time location and behavioural analytics, vehicle tracking and access to insurance providers.

11. Vittas

Vittas is a digital lender for healthcare providers, using machine learning, partnerships and embedded 3rd party SaaS solutions to provide loans for the purchase of medications and medical equipment. Vittas was founded by Sulav Singh, Collins Uche and Eric Okemmadu.

12. Oystr Finance

Founded by Ifedolapo Lawal, Olusola Onajobi and Omotayo Iginla, Oystr is democratizing credit in Africa. The company provides lenders with an infrastructure to help them launch low-risk micro-loan products, grow their portfolios and expand into new markets in less than 30 minutes.

Formerly known as LABS by ARM Accelerator Programme, the initiative designed to support ARM’s mission to fund compelling Nigerian Fintech startups in the incubation stage, will hold virtually this Thursday, September 22, 2022.

Following a robust accelerator Programme which includes working with a Silicon Valley mentor within their specific domain expertise, the selected startups are ready to pitch their business models to investors.

Selected startups for the ARM Labs Innovation Demo Day include:

• Toju: a record management platform for thrift collectors, Microfinance Institutions, and Cooperative societies.

• Regxta: a digital credit platform that provides quick and easy access to financial services for unbanked people and micro-business owners in Africa. With just a smartphone, a community agent can offer financial products to clients.

• Crediometer: A Fintech created to build banking for startups and growing businesses of all sizes. They aim to power the next generation of companies shaping the industries.

• Trade Lenda: a technological solution providing accessible financing to small businesses across Africa.

• Keble: A Proptech designed to break the barriers faced by young Africans in the real estate market. With this platform, Africans can own properties and build wealth for as low as $10.

It is our pleasure to have worked with these startups in the past seven (7) weeks and we trust that the Demo Day will be a wonderful display of their hard work and passion, as well as a chance for us to picture what the future holds for each of them.

The Demo Day is open to other startups and the public, interested participants can save the date to join the Demo Day here.

More About ARM

Established in 1994, ARM is a leading Nigerian diversified and integrated asset management group firm that offers wealth creation solutions and opportunities through a unique blend of traditional asset management and alternative investment services to retail, high net worth and institutional investors.

ARM currently manages total assets of approximately N1.7 trillion (as of March 2022).

What you should know about GreenTec Capital Partners

GreenTec Capital Partners is a long-term investor founded in 2015 that invests in African start-ups and SMEs with a focus on combining social and environmental impact with financial success. GreenTec uses venture building, process optimization and a diverse team of international experts to help start-ups and SMEs implement and adapt the latest technologies to their models so they can extend their value chains and have more impact locally.”