GITEX 2018: 6 Nigerian start-ups to showcase technological innovation

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) said six outstanding start-ups have been selected to showcase their technological innovation at the Gulf Information Technology Innovation(GITEX).
Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head Corporate Affairs and External Relations of the agency, who made this known in at the weekend in Abuja, said the event is aimed at showcasing the global technological advancements and innovations in the domain of consumer electronics, with government and private sector technology institutions in participation GITEX is an annual Information and Communication Technology trade show, exhibition, and conference that holds in the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The event.
Umar said that the exhibition by the start-ups was in line with the agency’s continuous efforts to foster the growth of the technology ecosystem through Information Communication Technology innovation.
According to her, the selected start-ups will undergo training so as to maximise the benefit opportunities during the exhibition.
She said that the successful six start-ups represented the six geo political zones in the country and were rigorously selected by experts in the government, technology hubs, the academia, investors, professional associations and the ICT industry.
“The Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) of the agency coordinated the selection of the start-ups which had over 500 applications.
“In the final stage, online pitching was conducted for two startups from each region and the best six startups emerged and represent the six geopolitical regions.
“The startups will undergo a one week boot camp with seasoned resource persons in the ecosystem to equip them with state of the art skills to get the best of GITEX,” she said.
She said that the start-ups were Arone, a transport,logistics company representing the South East with a technology to solve the problem of lack of accessibility to medical supplies.
Umar said the other start-up companies include Beepower for Northeast, Domenium for South South, Max for South West, Off-k.com for North West and Wattling for North Central.
According to her, each of them has exhibited innovations that affect the general well being of citizens.
Umar added that GITEX provided a platform for accelerating investment-ready startups, exposed them to international investors, networking opportunities, partnerships and access to witness emerging technologies that were changing the world.
She urged the participating start-ups to maximise opportunities in GITEX, adding that the previous attendance had recorded several successes with Nigerian startups coming top in pitching sessions and winning cash prizes as well as acceleration opportunities.
She, however, added that some other start-ups on the GITEX submissions had been considered for other exhibitions, competitions within the country.
“To ensure continuous support of the ecosystem, the story for startups, who did not make the GITEX list does not end there.
“Ten startups from the GITEX submission were selected to participate in Startup on Friday in Abuja, which will take place on Oct. 30. “Twenty more were selected for eNigeria, scheduled for Nov. 5 to Nov. 7.
“Both events will also provide startups opportunities to pitch to investors, sponsorship for incubation, training on key entrepreneurship skills, access to network and a cash prize for the best startups.”

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