3 Nigerian startups clinch top awards at global stage
Nigerian startups continue to enhance their reputation as some of the most innovative and dynamic players in the continent’s startup ecosystem, after the region walked away with three top awards at the Global Startup Awards (GSA) Africa Summit recently held in Addis Ababa.
The GSA Africa in collaboration with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), the Ethiopian Ministry of Labour and Skills (MOLS), the Ethiopian Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MInT) with the support of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) Ethiopia, revealed the names of 16 overall African category winners.
At the awards ceremony held in the Ethiopian capital, three Nigerian startups were among the winners.
They include; Emergency Response Africa, Awabah Nigeria and Dataleum Limited.
Emergency Response Africa’s critical initiative to connect individuals experiencing a medical emergency to deliver care in minutes using technology earned it the top prize in the HealthTech category.
CEO and co-founder Olufolakemi Owodunni was present to accept the award and credited her team for the hard work and commitment that saw the company make a significant impact on the GSA Africa stage.
Awabah Nigeria, a digital technology company, focused on building wealth and providing financial sustainability to informal sector workers scooped the Best Newcomer award. Awabah CEO, Tunji Andrews, while speaking on the award said “I was blown away by the organization of what is a truly Pan-African celebration of entrepreneurship.
On its part, Nigerian startup Dataleum Limited, a tech training and consulting firm, took the Best Edtech category for the sterling work it has done training over 16,000 individuals on premium tech skills.
Dataleum Limited CEO and Co-founder, Bode Roberts, while speaking on the award said, “We take this as a call to do more.”
This year’s three Nigerian winners competed against 1,780 entrants from Western Africa region and were among more than 8,200 GSA Africa entrants overall.
Tinubu’s gov’t would implement Ogoni clean up – Minister
The Minister of Environment, Mallam Balarabe Abass Lawal, has reiterated the determination of the current administration towards the full implementation of the Ogoni cleanup which was launched on June 2, 2016.
The minister who made the pledge in Abuja when he hosted members of the Ogoni People’s Movement (MOSOP), pledged government’s readiness to address the issues that concern the Niger Delta region.
During the visit, the minister and stakeholders from Ogoni land discussed vital and far-reaching matters concerning the health and environmental impacts of the crude oil spill that has plagued Ogoniland since oil was discovered there in 1958.
He said the full implementation of the laudable initiative would be streamlined and integrated with the noble aim of ameliorating the suffering brought upon the people of Ogoniland by decades of environmental degradation and oil spills.
Responding, the president of MOSOP, Chief Prince Biira, who led the delegation, thanked the minister for receiving them warmly.
He said the essence of the engagement was to rub minds with the minister with a view to offering suggestions relating to repositioning the Ogoni ecosystem.