When we announced the TechCabal Battlefield in January — see Seyi’s sappy post here — a lot of the questions we got from our partners was simply “why?”.
It’s a great question. Startup competitions aren’t a new thing in Nigeria. This isn’t innovative in and of itself. Why is Battlefield any different from what already obtains?
ITWebAfrica’s Gareth Van Zyl was one of the first to reach out to learn more along these lines. A lot of what comes next parrots the answer I sent him, although considerably augmented midway with new thoughts. Here is why we think TechCabal Battlefield is unlike anything that’s come before in Nigeria.
Every (tech) startup is invited
Most startup competitions we’ve seen tend to be focused on certain niche sectors or companies. We are all for OEM or OS specific app competitions and industry-disrupting hackathons, but we felt the ecosystem needed a unifying platform where all the best startups, regardless of what space they are in — not just apps, e-commerce, music streaming and the other usual suspects — can showcase their products and technology.
Free startup MBA
Okay, so two days is hardly an MBA, but Battlefield is perhaps the most hands on startup competition that you might have seen in these parts. The usual thing is for startups to show up to demo their stuff based on their own perceptions of what might work. Our model provides the participants with the benefit of a seasoned faculty that can valuably augment their thinking about their technology, product, business and presentation. Our goal is for the Faculty to prepare the finalists to not just take on the the judging panel, but also the world.
Hello primetime!
TechCabal’s positioning as a media platform affords participating startups instant exposure and access to vistas of opportunity unlike what they have ever seen, via our media and network partners like EbonyLife-TV, Memeburn, ITWebAfrica, VC4Africa, RELOADED Magazine, HumanIPO, TechCity and more. And we aren’t saying all that we’ve got planned for our all our finalists. Stay tuned.
Networking of life
Put the token $$$ razzle to one side. Neither is this all about getting some 15 minutes of fame and press. For the discerning, this is about discovery, for both sides of the table — startups looking to meet investors, and investors looking for amazing talent and ideas to get behind.
To tech entrepreneurs, even if your startup is so advanced that you didn’t apply, or you applied and for whatever reason do not make it into the final seven, you should absolutely still come to Battlefield armed with your elevator pitch and business card. To investors, all the startups are here, so nuff said. If you can’t make it in person, there will be a global livestream that you will be able to catch at 9am, even if you do business out of San Francisco. Save the date.
Meet Naija tech 2.0
As I write this, it’s only a few hours till we have to stop taking entries — midnight tonight, Nigerian time. We already extended the deadline once to make sure we got everything, but even by then we were already impressed. Up till now, much of the conversation in Nigerian technology has centered on what you might call Naijatech 1.0 – the Jobbermans, Kongas, iROKOs and Pagas.
The success of this generation(so much that they are now beginning to give back via angel investments and of course, sponsoring Battlefield) inspires us no end. However, one thing TechCabal has been out to prove from the outset is that the ecosystem is not all about these guys anymore. We had a theory that there’s lots of pretty amazing startups doing stuff in Nigeria that we don’t know, and that they will succeed on a scale that will dwarf the achievements of their predecessors. Looking at the number of applications we’ve seen, we are pleasantly surprised to be proven right on the first score at least.
Don’t ask me why it’s taken the lure of $20,000 to bring them out of the woodwork, but again I daresay that the startups that emerge into the final seven probably won’t all be your usual suspects or be doing the usual things. Get ready to meet the next generation of technology entrepreneurship in Nigeria.
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I am nothing short of amazed at the positive response we’ve gotten from home, across Africa and beyond to Battlefield.
Our friends in media everywhere have humbled us with very supportive press.
Stanbic IBTC didn’t stop at putting down $12,000 in prize money, they’ve been immensely supportive with some of the knottier logistics stuff and getting some doors to open for us.
To iROKING for upping the first prize ante to a record $20k, and helping us deliver this event, we are much obliged. Jobberman and Konga’s support in cash and kind have shown us that startups, not big corporation handouts, are what will build this ecosystem.
Etisalat is giving ALL our finalists data and devices to go with them.
Capital Square is giving us their magnificent space in Lekki for the Battlefield Academy, and Easy Taxi is literally making it easier for us to get around as we progress to the finale.
To all our partners in progress, a resounding thank you.
There is still time to apply, but in a few hours, the Battlefield will really have begun. To all the brave startups who are competing, godspeed and goodluck. To investors scanning the Nigerian tech horizon for opportunity, keep your eyes peeled. To our audience around the world, take a seat and prepare to meet the next generation. Naijatech 2.0 is here.
