Three Nigerian startups with innovative solutions addressing problems in Nigeria have been awarded the sum of N24 million to scale their ideas after emerging as the winners of the TotalEnergies Startupper Challenge 2024.
The three startups clinched Nigeria’s slot out of the 100 startups to be selected across 32 African countries participating in the challenge this year.
Each of the startups went home with N8 million at the end of the grand finale of the contest held in Lagos on Tuesday.
The startups
The three startups include Waste2light, a company producing electricity from wind and hydro sources by converting plastic waste into 3D printed wind and hydro components; Coconto, a recycling startup that transforms the coconut value chain for a greener more sustainable future; and Farmci, which is deploying Interkool, a portable solar-powered solution for preserving and transporting farm produce.
- Emmanuel Abah of Waste2light emerged as the best entrepreneur in the “Power Up” category of the challenge, while Jacob Abiodun of Coconto grabbed the “Cycle Up” for the best project relating to the circular economy.
- Yakubu Temtope of Farmci was named as the best entrepreneur in the “Innov Up” category.
Support for local economy
Speaking on the initiative, the Country Chair of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Dr Matthieu Bouyer, said the startupper challenge, in its fourth edition, aimed to support the country’s local economic fabric and create an entrepreneurial ecosystem where youths would be visibly mentored.
- Bouyer said the winners in the three categories were painstakingly selected by a jury made up of experts and successful entrepreneurs.
- He added that they were assessed based on their innovative character, feasibility, and development potential in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, as defined by the United Nations.
“TotalEnergies is committed to working closely with its host communities and would continue to support many projects in areas of health, education, and environmental conservation.
“We wish to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, lend its support to the socio-economic development of the countries in which the company operates, by supporting the most innovative young entrepreneurs in the realization of their projects,” he said.
Growing interest among African entrepreneurs
General Manager of TotalEnergies Country Services, Mrs Adesua Adewale, noted that the participation rate from young African entrepreneurs continued to increase with each new edition of the startup challenge.
- Adewale said that during the first edition, 11,000 complete files were submitted to the platform and for the 4th edition, 14,000 applications were submitted, out of which about 1,500 were from Nigeria.
- She noted that the figures highlighted the desires of young people to undertake and innovate with new projects and solutions to respond to real needs in a responsible manner.
- She added that the company would train the winners for three months on how to use the N8 million to grow their businesses.
The challenge targets startups that are less than three years old or pioneering a business idea with a positive impact on their communities and/or the planet.
