The project, Techeconomy gathered, will culminate into a South-South and South-East Startup Landscape & State of Digital Jobs Report.

The Report seeks to propel the regional digital and innovation space, attract investors, talents and support by showcasing its current strength, gaps and opportunities.

It will provide a comprehensive mapping, documentation and spotlight of key activities, innovators and stakeholders who are leveraging technology to create opportunities and solve diverse economic/development challenges for and from the region.

Such key actors include startups, financiers, events, support organizations (including Hubs, Universities, Enterprise Support Organizations -ESOs, Government Institutions etc) across eleven States in the regions

The Digital Ecosystem in the South-South/South-East of Nigeria has grown over the last Ten years as home to great Institutions and vibrant Technology communities (such as Google Developer Group, Meta Circle and others). It’s also home to several innovative early stage Startups (and Founders) including  Xend Finance  (Google backed DeFi platform), Greenage Technology (Nigeria’s foremost Solar OEM) and HouseAfrica (Sytemap) to mention a few.

Despite the foregoing, very little is known about the Ecosystem from outside leading to fewer coverage and opportunities for its stakeholders.

#StartupSouth believes the Nigeria Innovation ecosystem is capable of more than it has achieved in recent years and is positioning South-South-East Nigeria to become the epicenter of future growth. This project represents a step in that direction.

The report will also help States (and Cities) in the region identify and deploy their unique strengths for development. The states covered in the report include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, and Rivers states.

The project which enjoys technical support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Nigeria’s Innovation Center through the Accelerator Lab will publish its findings during a special #ScaleSouth Summit to be held in the second quarter of 2024.

“Through this collaborative effort, we aim to shine a spotlight on the immense potential of the South-South-East Startup ecosystem by identifying key stakeholders, mapping ecosystem activities, and highlighting opportunities and gaps. We seek to catalyze strategic interventions for sustainable development and job creation,” said Uche Aniche, convener of #StartupSouth

“At UNDP, we strongly believe that it is possible to catalyse inclusive growth in Nigeria and spark a development revolution through Regional Innovation. By providing technical support to this important work, we hope that the ecosystem gets re-energised to show-case its transformative impact and create opportunities for sustained collaboration and partnership with others,” said William Tsuma, chief innovation officer and head of UNDP Office in Lagos.

“Highlighting the depth of the digital economy and startup ecosystem holds immense potential for equitable, accelerated and sustainable job creation in the South-South and South-East region. This timely intervention by #StartupSouth is a huge step in the right direction as it will spotlight opportunities, inspire collaborations, and catalyze strategic investments in the ecosystem. SSEAN is happy to support this project” Engr. Olushola Aina, Board Member at South-South-East Angel Network (SSEAN).

Tagged ‘Investors’ Mixer’, #StartupSouth is partnering with TechQuest STEM Academy, a nonprofit organization that provides education technology content, resources and tools for the delivery of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), ICT and Digital literacy programs to young Africans at scale.

This Networking Session for early stage startup investors & founders will hold on as follows:

Date: Monday, 12 June

Time: 4 PM (WAT)

Venue: TechQuest Hub -Crestsage’s Place (Map view, #3 Dr Ahmid Balogun Street, Recreation Square, Lekki, Lagos.

According to Disrupt Africa, Africa’s “big four” startup ecosystems – Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa and Kenya – raked in a combined US$1,977,910,000 over the course of the year, 92.1 per cent of the overall total in 2021.

In all, 161 Nigerian startups raised a huge combined total of US$903,680,000.  That total funding figure is up 501 per cent on the previous year, when Nigeria ranked second on the continent with its combined total of US$150,358,000.

This year, no other country came close to Nigeria, and it contributes a whopping 42.1 per cent of total funding secured in Africa.

Therefore, startup founders and entrepreneurs across Africa are attracting huge funds from investors but they have to worry about informality and fragmentation limiting the availability and affordability of products and services.

This report shows that it could also be an opportunity for both players to strategize and adopt a new business model to take advantage of the opportunity.

Thus, the ‘Investors’ Mixer’ session is open for professionals who are interested in learning about opportunities in the African Innovation Ecosystem.

“There will be presentations on Angel Investing, Venture Capital, Startup Founding and Syndication”, Uche Aniche, the lead convener, said.

The session powered by #StartupSouth, TechQuest, SSEAN & Rebel Seed Capital, is strictly by Invitation.

RSVP here