The Future of Capitalism, an initiative driven by the Leo Lion Company, founded by serial entrepreneur Larry Sullivan, is a game-changing opportunity for founders to accelerate their ventures with required investment.

Leo Lion is committed to using business success and commercial acumen to support social projects across the world through the Leo Lion Foundation and is looking for startups that have similar ethical ideals.

Competition Director Robert Brown said: “With success comes responsibility and with this competition, we are aiming to attract tech startups interested in making both a commercial and a social impact, wherever they are based in the world”.

Benefits

Applicants stand the chance to receive the following benefits: 

• Up to $1 Million in Seed Funding: Grab the opportunity to secure $1 million in seed funding, bolstering your innovative tech solution forward and helping you turn ideas into reality while scaling the market.
• Global Exposure & Recognition: The competition attracts an established panel of judges, including tech investment professionals, experienced entrepreneurs, and influential angel investors. Pitching your innovation to these industry leaders provides great exposure and recognition for your startup on a global scale.
• Network with the Best: The Future of Capitalism competition facilitates connections. As a shortlisted finalist, you’ll be invited to London, UK for the grand finale. This exclusive event grants you the opportunity to network with successful entrepreneurs and potential partners, opening doors for future collaborations and strategic partnerships.
• Make a Positive Difference: Winning this competition allows you to achieve commercial success and also contribute to positive social change, making a real impact on the world.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the competition, the following criteria must be met:

• Global Reach: This competition welcomes tech startups from anywhere in the world. Don’t hesitate to apply if your innovative solution has the potential to disrupt the business sector
• Focus Areas: Are you developing solutions that improve various aspects of business operations? The competition seeks innovations in areas like productivity enhancement, security advancements, efficient logistics, sustainable practices, streamlined financial processes, exceptional customer experiences, and more. Essentially, if your tech solution makes businesses work smarter, it’s a perfect fit.
• Shared Values: Beyond innovative tech, the competition values social responsibility. Your company should ideally share the competition’s focus on ethical practices and positive social impact.

How to Apply

Apply for the Future of Capitalism competition via the official website before the deadline on September 30th. Take Action Today!

Any explorative-minded tech startup owner sees the possibilities that come with mergers, building more solutions and the like. You must decide whether to take in the breathtaking view from the summit, plant your flag and claim territory, or embark on a new adventure altogether. Here’s your comprehensive guide to the three most common tech startup exit strategies:

1. Merging into the Sunset

A merger is akin to two ships joining forces to become a mighty armada. When you combine your resources, technologies, and market share with another company, you create a stronger entity. This strategy is beneficial if you’re looking for:

• Faster growth: Merging with a larger company can provide access to their resources and expertise, accelerating your growth trajectory.
• Synergy: Combining your unique strengths with another company can create a powerful force in the market.
• Diversification: A merger can help you enter new markets and reduce your risk profile. 

However, there are potential downsides to consider:

• Loss of control: You may have to relinquish some control over your company’s direction and decision-making.
• Culture clashes: Merging two different company cultures can lead to friction and conflict.
• Loss of identity: Your original startup brand and vision may be diluted or lost in the merger.

2. Acquisition: The Big Payday

Imagine a giant tech whale swallowing your startup whole. That’s the essence of an acquisition type of startup exit. A larger company buys your entire business, providing a clear path to liquidity for founders and investors. This can be a lucrative option if you’re looking for:

• A quick and clean exit: Acquisitions offer a clear path to liquidity for founders and investors.
• A financial windfall: Depending on the deal’s terms, you could make a significant sum of money.
• Access to resources: The acquiring company can provide you with the resources needed to take your technology or product to the next level.

Before accepting that fat check, consider:

• Cultural fit: Is the acquiring company’s culture a good fit for your team?
• Long-term vision: What are the acquiring company’s plans for your technology or product?
• Employee retention: How will the acquisition impact your team and their future with the company?

3. IPO: The Bell Rings on Your Success

This is the ultimate dream for many tech entrepreneurs – taking their company public on a stock exchange like NASDAQ. An IPO allows you to raise capital by selling shares of your company to the public. This can be a great way to:

• Raise massive amounts of capital: An IPO can provide the resources needed to fuel rapid expansion.
• Increase your company’s visibility and credibility: An IPO can make your company a household name and attract top talent.
• Create wealth for your shareholders: If your company performs well after the IPO, shareholders can stand to make significant profits.

Of course, the road to an IPO is paved with challenges:

• Compliance: Going public means complying with a complex set of regulations and reporting requirements.
• Market volatility: The success of an IPO is highly dependent on market conditions.
• Loss of control: Once public, you answer to shareholders and the market, limiting your freedom in making decisions.

Beyond the Big Three

While mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs are the most common exit strategies, there are a few other options:

• Management Buyout (MBO): Your existing management team buys out the company from its investors, maintaining control and continuity within the company.
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP): This option allows your employees to become owners of the company, facilitating a sense of ownership and commitment.
• Liquidation: If your startup isn’t profitable or you’re unable to find a suitable buyer, you may need to liquidate your assets and wind down the business.

No matter which exit strategy you choose, there are key steps you’ll need to take:

• Hire experienced advisors: Seek out legal, financial, and tax professionals to guide you through the process.
• Develop a clear exit strategy: Define your goals and timeline for exiting your startup.
• Prepare your company: Get your financial records in order and ensure your business is attractive to potential buyers or investors.
• Negotiate effectively: Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal that doesn’t meet your expectations.

Always keep in mind that exiting your startup is a major decision. Take your time, do your research, and choose the path that best suits your needs and ambitions.

Beyond the Exit

Exiting your startup doesn’t mark the end of your entrepreneurial journey. Many successful entrepreneurs have gone on to launch new ventures after exiting their first companies. The experience gained from exiting your first startup will be invaluable as you embark on your next adventure.

The most important thing is to stay true to your passion and keep creating value for the world.

Organized by Heifer International, the Agriculture Youth Technology (AYuTe) Challenge was set up to support young entrepreneurs working to scale food security on the continent by developing and deploying affordable tech solutions to impact smallholder farmers.

This recognition is the second in the last three months for ThriveAgric, having emerged as the overall winner and Visa Direct winner of the global Visa Everywhere Initiative 2022 last December. Live Streamed on TechCrunch, the intense 12-month competition had over 4000 startup founders from North America, Latin America, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Asia Pacific to showcase payments innovations.

For six years, through technology, ThriveAgric has built a network of over 500,000 smallholder farmers, giving them access to insight, distribution, and over $150 million in credit, thereby improving their livelihoods and enabling them to grow more than 5 percent of grains consumed in Nigeria.

Speaking on the achievements, Uka Eje, CEO and Co-Founder at ThriveAgric said, “These endorsements are an encouraging validation of the hard work we have put in through the years and pointers that we are on the right path. Our desire to create more impact among smallholder farmers and expand to new territories is a major driving force for us, as we aim to develop the largest network of profitable farmers in Africa. We remain committed to our goal of reaching one million farmers this year in Nigeria alone.”

The AYuTe Africa Challenge is one of the most ambitious agriculture competitions on the continent, with a vision of combining the power of African youth with the many possibilities of emerging technologies to support smallholder farmers across Africa to grow their businesses and incomes. In addition to the cash grants, it also deploys a team of expert advisers and accomplished business veterans to support AYuTe Africa Champions as they translate this funding into business expansion strategies.

Agriculture in Africa has a massive social and economic footprint. According to McKinsey, agriculture makes up about 23 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP with more than 60 percent of the population being smallholder farmers. With demand increasing and supply shortfall, smallholder farmers are battling new levels of economic and ecological challenges in farming.

Last year, months of torrential flooding in Nigeria damaged over 400,000 hectares of farmlands, leading to an all-time high food inflation of 21 percent in the country. In Kenya, East Africa, a prolonged and most severe drought undercut farmers’ ability to grow crops, or raise livestock resulting in acute food insecurity for over 3.5 million people, manifesting in starvation and malnutrition.

Part of ThriveAgric’s work is to ensure that infrastructural buffers are in place to mitigate against extreme conditions that may threaten smallholders’ livelihoods or a nation’s food security.

Having recorded great success in Nigeria, ThriveAgric is looking to deepen its roots in West Africa as well as expand to the East of the continent as part of its goal to reach 10 million farmers by 2027

The number of tech startups in Nigeria was estimated at around 3,300 in 2020, the highest number in Africa, according to Statista. To follow, South Africa and Kenya counted approximately 660 and 600 startups in the same year, respectively. 

As a fact, the ecosystem is still at the peripheral stage and one common argument is that Nigeria’s tech ecosystem is too fragmented. However, one of the initiatives that is envisaged to be a catalyst for growth is the Nigeria Startup Bill which is now a law.

The much anticipated Nigeria Startup Bill was assented to on the 19th of October, 2022, by President Muhammadu Buhari. What this means is that the Bill has now become a law (Nigeria Startup Act, 2022).

The overall goal of the Nigeria Startup Act, (NSA) 2022 is to harness the potential of the country’s digital economy and tech ecosystem through co-created regulations that are concise. 

The Nigerian government believes that the Act will contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for the growth, attraction, and protection of investment in tech startups.

Recall that the NSA was an Executive Bill, initiated by both the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Office of the Minister of Communications & Digital Economy. 

“Our young people are our most valuable natural resource, at home and abroad. Their ingenuity, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit are evident to all.

“We will partner with the legislature to develop an enabling environment to turn their passions into ideas that can be supported, groomed, and scaled.”

NSA as a Catalyst for Growth

The Nigeria Startup Act is one of the laws that had both the private and public sectors collaborate to create a law that works for startups. “It means that we are headed in the right direction as a nation,” Mohammed Ibrahim Jega, Founder, of Startup Arewa, told TechEconomy 

According to Jega, the Act tends to focus on providing more access to startups to grow and scale. He said the sections that describe the Startup Portal, Incentives, Regulatory Support from NITDA, etc., clearly indicate a forward-thinking approach to regulation in Nigeria.

Jide Awe, Public Policy Consultant on Science, Technology, and Innovation, said the Nigeria Startup Act aims to create an environment that promotes and supports tech startups and entrepreneurship in the country.

“This development will boost local content development and innovation. As a result, the expectation is that this will lead to the creation of more jobs locally and will attract foreign investment to Nigeria.”

In a note to TechEconomy, Jide reiterated that the Act aims to make it easier for ecosystem participants to interact and collaborate more deeply with those in business, education, research and development, finance, and government. 

“New products and services, improved productivity, and efficiencies introduced by startups expand the digital economy, creating new social and economic opportunities.”

Implications for Tech Ecosystem

The tech ecosystem will be highly impacted by the Act, and Jega believes that the ecosystem will see more early-stage startups grow in such a way that startups that are operated in remote areas can have access to items such as the seed fund and even other relevant tax and fiscal incentives.

There are projections that the NSA will catalyze startups. “We should expect more funding as the plan is to also continuously position the country as an investment destination for startups, and there are even incentives for such an investment attraction for VCs, PE firms, angel investors, and others.”

“It would be wise for the ecosystem to try to get their startups labeled to even harness more benefits from the Act.”

In addition, Jide asserted that the Act is an avenue to boost youth innovation and bring more young people into the startup space. 

“It can contribute towards enabling Nigeria’s large population of young people—one of the largest youth populations in the world—to realize their potential.

“Improving the ease of doing business with startups provides a welcoming environment for tech-based enterprises while attracting investors and new players to Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem.”

Caveats 

If there is no implementation of what has already been outlined, the Act will remain a mere Act. The ecosystem’s potential will only be harnessed if actions are taken. 

In his words, Jega said a lot of work is still ahead in terms of the need for robust implementation and continuous collaboration from within the ecosystem to ensure we can achieve the optimal impact of the Act.

He said there is still a need for states to key into the Act and ensure they can adopt the Act to drive growth and competitiveness at state levels.

Jide suggested that there is a need for multistakeholder implementation and collaboration as it remains critical for inclusive impact and sustainability. “The government and stakeholders must now take action to achieve the Act’s goal.”

​”​Recognition of the startup ecosystem has to be practical. Implementation should be simple, efficient, and not bogged down by bureaucracy. The government and stakeholders should faithfully implement the Act in line with its intentions. 

For example, the Special Startup Fund established under the Act needs to be functional and practical to facilitate more accessible access to capital and expand the startup ecosystem.

Conclusion

The tech ecosystem needs to continuously show support for the Act by participating and engaging in areas such as implementation for the potential of the Act to come to fruition.

In the medium to long term, Nigeria needs to experience more growth in the ecosystem that will create hundreds of unicorns emanating from the country and drive full employment for the country.

According to a report, about 383 Nigerian tech startups raised a combined $2 billion in funding between January 2015 and August 2022 more than any other country within that period across Africa.

Disrupt Africa, a research platform that covers news on African tech startups, disclosed this in its recent report titled “The Nigerian Startup Ecosystem Report 2022”.

The report tracks the growth and development of Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem from 2015 to August 2022 based on data extracted from a list of 481 Nigerian tech startups.

The report said Nigeria is one of Africa’s “big four” startup ecosystems alongside Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa.

“Between 2015 and 2022, 383 tech startups raised a combined $2,068,709,445 a higher total than any other country,” the report said.

It said as of August 2022, 107 Nigerian startups have raised funding accounting for around one-third of the continent’s funded startups so far this year.