RiceAfrika Technologies and Wicrypt, two Nigerian startups, have emerged winners in the 2nd edition of the LEAP Technology Exhibition / LEAP 2023 Global Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The startups emerged as global best in ‘The Tech for Humanity Award’ and ‘The Into New World Award’ categories, among six other categories of awards in the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition.
The teams were led to the exhibition by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami.
With Over 10,000 Startups submitting applications for the global annual ICT event from all over the world, only 90 startups, including eight from Nigeria, were selected to pitch their business ideas in the semi-final.
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The LEAP 2023 Global Awards categories
Tech for Humanity Award
RiceAfrika Technologies, a startup founded by Ibrahim Maigari Ahmadu, emerged as the global best in the ‘Tech for Humanity category award’ for its vision to build an Africa that can feed itself and the world.
The startup deploys an IoT-enabled harvester and its FARMEasy mobile app for smallholder farming communities in Africa.
A tech-driven agriculture optimization service provider in Africa, they provide a platform that connects smallholder farmers in Africa with Land preparation equipment, high-yielding seeds, quality herbicides and pesticides, affordable fertilizers, mechanized harvesting, extension services, and a structured market.
The ‘Into New World’ Award
Wicrypt, an innovative tech startup, emerged winner in the ‘into new world’ award category for decentralising the Internet globally.
The start-up was founded by Aronu Ugochukwu, and it empoweres users with the ability to share high-speed Internet access with guests, customers or the community for free and mine Wicrpyt tokens. The dual SIM feature enables users to switch between internet service providers seamlessly and conveniently for a high-speed connection.
Implementing Nigeria’s National Digital Economy Policy
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, while expressing delight at the performance of the Nigerian team, noted that Nigeria was on track in implementing its National Digital Economy Policy and Strategies to ensure that Nigerian Startups add value to the global tech ecosystem, thereby creating a more conducive environment for nurturing innovation-driven enterprises.
“I am so proud of our Startups who emerged as the global best in these categories. It was quite a long journey that followed a rigorous process until the end; from over 10,000 applications to the final 12, in which three Nigerians took part and two emerged winners.
“Our startups are creating solutions for the local market that can easily scale to the global market. They did not only pitch to win grants but also attended various knowledge-sharing sessions,” the minister said.
He attributed the success of the team to the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring a digital Nigeria.
“The recent successes are the fruit of policies we put in place to ensure our Startups walk shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world,” he said.
This year’s LEAP brought together breakthrough innovative ideas and emerging developments in technology under one roof. It was a landmark technology event that galvanised public and private organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Other members of the Nigerian delegation include: the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) Umar Garba Danbatta and the Managing Director, Nigerian Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Tukur Muhammad Funtua.