Lagos, Nigeria – 10 am GMT+1, 19th April 2024 – Nigeria’s tech scene is brimming with potential, but early-stage startups often face hurdles in securing funding and gaining recognition. Last year, after a very rigorous selection process, 15 finalists moved to the final round of Pitch2Win where the top 2 winners — Pharmarun and Akowe received $10,000 and $3,000 cash prizes, respectively.
Techcircle, in collaboration with Freakout, SGverse and SGgrow, announces the return of Pitch2Win for its fourth edition and the stakes are higher than ever. Following the success of last year’s competition, this year, Pitch2Win is set to take place on the 12th of June, 2024, where 10 promising startups will have the chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of esteemed judges and investors. The selected startups will vie for a grand prize of $10,000 equity-free funding and an all-expense-paid trip to IVS2024 Kyoto, Japan’s largest crypto conference, offering invaluable networking opportunities and exposure to global trends.
Oo Nwoye, founder of Techcircle commented, “Pitch2Win is a mechanism for identifying high-growth-potential startups that are still in their early stages, enabling them to access funding, gain invaluable exposure and receive mentorship necessary for scaling.”
The event attracts over 300 attendees, including investors, policymakers, accelerators, entrepreneurs, industry experts and founders. As with previous editions, the event will be attended by leading investors from Japan and Singapore, including Hiro Mashita, SgVerse & SgGrow Founder; Yuzuru Honda, Founder & Global CEO of FreakOut Holdings Inc.; representatives from IVS Event and other investment companies scouting for interesting early-stage startups in Nigeria.
Pitch2Win has forged a reputation for discovering innovative startups, introducing game-changing technologies, and fostering discussions crucial for early-stage startups – and this year will be no different. Past participants like Reliance Health, LifeBank, Edves, Lendsqr, and Figorr (formerly Gricd) have collectively raised over $50 million, with Reliance Health, the winner of the maiden edition of Pitch2Win, alone raising $46 million in two funding rounds. Curacel, Reliance Health, and Plumter have all gone to YC after participating in Pitch2Win. Pharmarun, winner of Pitch2Win 3, also secured a $50,000 grant from an initiative sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
In an interview with Forbes Africa Ibrahim Adepoju, co-founder of Tyms, a finance and accounting automation software, said Pitch2Win was instrumental in helping the startup close its pre-seed round and raise $115,000 within two weeks after the event. Kehinde Olateru, CEO of ZeroComplex AI, another finalist at Pitch2Win 3, secured pre-seed funding after catching the eye of Olumide Soyombo, founder of Voltron Capital and one of the judges.
“Winning Pitch2Win last year was a game-changer for Pharmarun,” said Teniola Adedeji, Pharmarun’s CEO. “Platforms like this are crucial because they showcase founders to the right investors, connect us with industry experts for valuable feedback, and ultimately help us accelerate our growth.”
Eligibility for Pitch2Win 4:
- Visionary innovators
- Early-stage technology-enabled startups
- Nigerian-based innovators
- Available to attend the physical event scheduled for the 12th of June, 2024, in Lagos.
Founders who meet these criteria are encouraged to apply by filling out this form. The application deadline is 5th May 2024.
For more information on sponsorship opportunities and how to be part of this event, visit https://www.techcircle.ng
For live updates on Pitch2Wlin, follow Techcircle on social media
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About Techcircle
Techcircle provides advisory, consultancy, and support services to African Startup Founders, Corporations, and Government Agencies. We connect foreign investors, governments and corporate organizations to the home-based African market through ecosystem-wide events, programs and tours.
Our services are aligned with adding value to the Nigerian tech ecosystem via designing and executing various activities and events for the community. To do this, we have provided incubation consultancy services and executed ecosystem programs for the UK Nigeria Tech Hub, Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, ARM Labs, Y-Combinator, NOGTECH, Startups Nigeria, etc.
About SgGrow
SGGrow is a premier accelerator & investment firm based in Singapore that believes in contributing to Singapore and global societies through investment and acceleration activities for startups.
About SgVerse
SGverse is a premier Singapore-based web 3.0 incubator and accelerator at start-up scenes which also invests in promising web 3.0 projects
About Freakout Holdings
FreakOut, founded by Yuzuru Honda in October 2010 is Asia’s first and Japan’s largest demand-side platform (DSP) for real-time bidding (RTB) on digital advertising, and growing as a marketing technology company in the Asian market. Yuzuru manages the company’s fast-growing business in 10 countries around the world.
