Nine startups from Nigeria are among the global winners of the 20 winners of this year’s Migration Entrepreneurship Prize 2022, a programme designed for socially-driven startups with a mission to enhance the inclusion of migrants in the Middle East and Africa.
The startups from Nigeria are: XTID Network also known as Tech & Identity Solutions Lab Ltd, Flance, AjoMoney, Joovlin, Sidebrief, Edusko, Vesti, Infibranches Technologies and TouchandPay.
Organised in a public-private partnership between Seedstars and the Peace and Human Rights Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), the Migration Entrepreneurship Prize aims to strengthen and support areas prone to strong migration movements such as the Middle East and Africa by addressing the root causes of irregular migration and strengthening the socio-economic rights of migrants.
After the success of its first cohort, where 20 startups were selected for solutions that range from financial services, education, health, and more, the Migration Entrepreneurship Prize launched its second cohort to scout for socially-driven businesses on a mission to enhance the socio-economic inclusion of migrants.
Other winners are from Ghana, Ethiopia, and Tunisia.
The full list can be found here. The global winners are set to take part in the Seedstars Investment Readiness Programme and have access to the Seedstars network of partners, mentors, and investors.
“We look forward to seeing how the winning startups will offer migrants an opportunity to work and earn a living. Entrepreneurship by, with and for migrants has a strong potential to improve lives in countries of origin, transit and destination,” said Jana Röthlisberger, programme manager at the FDFA.
PROFILE OF WINNERS
XTID Networks
xTID is an automated digital background check platform that solves the problem up to 1 million within and 100k+ people outside Nigeria face every time they request a police character certificate PCC.
Flance
Flance is a benefits platform for gig economy workers; freelancers, digital nomads, contract workers, software devs, Uber and matatu drivers, etc, so they will have access to healthcare, loans, savings, and wealth management amongst other benefits.
AjoMoney
AjoMoney is a digital platform that digitizes the centuries-aged rotating savings and credit associations in Africa to promote financial inclusion. Since its beta launch in September 2021, AjoMoney has processed about $450,000 in grand transaction volume and onboarded about 9,000 users with over 5,000 users actively paying. All this was achieved at a 0% marketing budget.
Joovlin
Joovlin is a B2B social commerce platform, enabling African retailers to sell online with zero capital, by using technology to provide them access to on-demand inventory and connect them to a pool of vetted suppliers.
Sidebrief
Sidebrief helps SMEs get their business started in 5 minutes on a single form with a few basic questions and an identification upload. They provide an automated tax and regulatory compliance process for businesses onboarded on their platform.
Edusko
Edusko Africa is a social enterprise that helps low and middle-income earning families in sub-Saharan Africa access quality education for their wards by creating access to good schools, finance, and education marketplace. Currently placing hundreds of children in over 4,000 listed schools every week.
Vesti
Vesti is a mobile and web app for immigrants who want to get a bank account, US debit, and Credit cards in Nigeria. Currently, Vesti have helped 44k users and they have crossed $1m in Gross sales volume.
Infibranches Technologies Limited
Infibranches Technologies Limited is a design thinking company with expertise in Product Development, Business value chain, and Agent Network Management Services with a commitment to taking energy and financial access to the last mile.
TouchandPay
Touch and Pay (TAP) is a financial technology startup focused on simplifying microtransaction payments in West Africa. They have onboarded over a 1.7million customers within 10 months and generated over $200k in monthly recurring revenue at a growth rate of 28% monthly.
Leave a Reply