TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

More than anything else, this week, we saw more equity raiser and expansion. That this happened barely few days after the Nigerian population authority, National Population Commission (NPopC) published new figure for the country’s net population points to the fact that investors and international communities are equally studying trends.

Local Fintech player, Indicina raised a 6-figure investment while Nigerian pharma startup Medsaf announced movement into big data. Also during the week, the Federal Government on Thursday directed that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to put in place measures to effect more than 50 per cent reduction in data price.

Below is a digest for the week, highlighting the major tech build up.

Indicina’s mega-raiser

Topping the raiser table is Indicina. The Nigerian startup Indicina, during the week, announced securing a six-figure US dollar funding round. Focused on developing a data-driven lending platform to digitise the credit value chain, the startup stated that it will invest the fund into further product development.

Founded in 2018,the Fintech startup helps both bank and non-bank lenders apply a data-driven approach to credit underwriting at scale, providing new insights into consumers and de-risking unsecured loans. Beyond raiser and growth traction, the startup has been instrumental to the empowerment of clients in unpacking the credit value chain and digitising each step, including identity verification, credit decisioning, and disbursements and collections.

From Kenya to Nigeria

We are recording new turns in the market, and the Nigerian market space is beginning to witness an increasing interest from foreign players and investors.  During the week, Kenya’s OkHi has joined a list of African startups seeking to tap into Nigeria’s huge market size of 206 million people.

Although, there are speculations that the decision to expand into the largest black nation was influenced by support funding received from Fintech king Interswitch. To this end, OkHi and Interswitch, through the partnership and investment, will look to tackle a problem that costs Nigerian businesses an estimated US$2 billion a year in the lack of postal addressing infrastructure.

Nigeria listed for AppsAfrica Awards

Few days ago, AppAfrica unveiled its finalists that featured the mention of a number of Nigerian owned and managed startups. While this positions Nigeria in good light, it will celebrate the best in mobile and tech from across Africa.

Being the sixth edition of the AppsAfrica.com Innovation Awards, the initiative attracted over 500 submissions from 51 countries, with solutions launched by startups, established ventures, and corporates. Winners will also stand a chance to participate in Africa Tech Summit Kigali in 2021. Some of the finalists from Nigeria are Kobo360 and 54gene.

FG’s data price slash

The Federal Government on Thursday directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to put in place measures to effect more than 50 per cent reduction in data price. The minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami on Thursday broke the news in a public statement.

Read also: TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

Accordingly, the price data of 1GB has been reduced from 1000 naira to 487 naira beginning from last November. Speaking on the development, the Minister said the new data price was in line with the directive he gave to the regulatory agency (NCC) to put measures in place to reduce the average cost of data in the country. Futhermore, he stated that: “One of the goals of the Plan is to reduce the average cost of 1GB of data to a maximum of N390 by 2025.”

Drone bootcamp for entrepreneurs

The United States Consulate General, Lagos, in conjunction with Global Air Drone Academy and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, on Monday announced a call for applications for the Nigerian Drone Business Competition as it plans a drone bootcamp for entrepreneurs in the country.

The programme is timed to hold from 18th to 22nd January next year and intends to foster creativity and improve entrepreneurial skills among resident Nigerian early-stage youth technology entrepreneurs. In a bid to further support these entrepreneurs, the consulate assured that: “At the end of the five-day virtual drone bootcamp, participants will have an opportunity to pitch their business plans to a panel of judges, where the top three winners will receive professional grade drones and business coaching to support the launch of their new business.”

Medsaf’s interest to move into big data

Closing TechNigeria issue this week, three year old Medsaf announced its intent to raise seed round as it pushes to move into the lucrative big data space. Founded by Vivian Nwakah, the startup connects pharmaceutical suppliers with hospitals and pharmacies.

Speaking on what inspired the birth of the startup, Vivian noted that the initiative was founded after she had a friend die from taking fake medication. According to the founder, the problem the startup was addressing was the war against fake and substandard medications. Hence, the startup’s decision to venture into the supposedly lucrative big data front could be its step in the direction to scale.

Remarks

These stories, and many others, made headlines during the week.  Join us next week for another edition of TechNigeria.

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