Startupinsight

    Notilian Joins FasterCapital EquityPilot to Scale Birthday Contest Platform Globally Notilian and FasterCapital today announced a strategic partnership through FasterCapital's EquityPilot program to accelerate Notilian's Birthday Challenge Contest App. Effective Dec. 21, 2025, the collaboration will target Nigeria and broader African markets first validating a high-growth digital celebrations niche with product development, go-to-market support, and funding access. Market opportunity & problem statement Birthdays and milestone celebrations are a global cultural constant more than 2 billion birthdays are celebrated annually yet mainstream social platforms lack monetized, contest-driven celebration experiences. The creator economy is projected to exceed $250B by 2027, and fans increasingly seek interactive ways to engage and financially support creators. Existing contest apps are fragmented, impersonal, and offer limited fan-driven monetization. Notilian targets this whi...

 Sineli Telecoms has launched a seasonal connectivity initiative aimed at easing mobile data challenges faced by travellers during the December peak travel period, widely referred to as Detty December. The initiative comes as international travel volumes surge during the festive season, a time when many travellers encounter connectivity difficulties immediately upon arrival. Common challenges include high roaming charges, unreliable public Wi-Fi, and delays associated with purchasing physical SIM cards. According to the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sineli Telecoms, Ayo Afonja, the initiative was designed to respond to a recurring pain point within the global travel ecosystem. “December is one of the busiest travel periods globally, and it consistently exposes how difficult it can be for travellers to stay connected immediately after landing,” Afonja said. “Reliable connectivity has become a basic travel expectation, yet it is still not guaranteed in many destinations.” As...

    Mustapha Rufai , a software engineer and open source community strategist, has been competitively selected as a featured speaker for FOSS Backstage 2026, a leading European conference on open source governance. His expert workshop on contributor growth was accepted via a rigorous peer-review process, marking significant professional recognition. Rufai Mustapha speaking at API Conf in 2024 FOSS Backstage is a premier international forum, renowned for its senior-level audience of project maintainers, foundation leaders, and technology executives. Speaking at this level signifies a demonstrable impact on the global open source ecosystem. Rufai will lead the workshop, “Docs, Demos, and Mentors: Growing Open Source,” on 17 March 2026 in Berlin. The session provides project leaders with actionable frameworks to solve the critical bottleneck of contributor scalability—a key challenge for open source sustainability. His methodology is informed by direct experience: training over 2...

           Jubril Arogundade , a former senior executive of  CIG Motors , has clarified the circumstances surrounding his departure from the company, following recent media reports and public commentary that inaccurately described his exit as a termination. Mr. Arogundade stated that he voluntarily resigned from his position on December 2, 2025, in full compliance with his contractual obligations and established internal procedures. He explained that his resignation was submitted in writing, formally acknowledged by management, and included an agreed notice period and structured exit timeline. He stressed that any public representation of his departure as a termination is false and does not reflect the actual sequence of events. “I resigned from my position at CIG Motors after careful consideration and in line with due process,” he said. “It is concerning that my voluntary exit has been mischaracterised. I believe strongly in transparency and professio...

 Siilvaar unveils his debut single “Stand Attention” featuring Niphkeys, marking a bold introduction to the sound and vision of Voltte Records. The unveiling of Stand Attention was more than a release; it was a declaration of intent. Created on November 4, 2025 coinciding with the birthday of Valentine Luiz—the single stands as both a tribute and a defining moment. In every sense, it marked the official arrival of Siilvaar as a commanding presence within the Voltte universe. Officially titled “Stand Attention” – Siilvaar feat. Niphkeys, the record positions Siilvaar not simply as a new artist, but as the symbolic Commander of the Voltte army. The role embodies leadership, discipline, and purpose—qualities reflected in the song’s confident, almost ceremonial energy. Authority meets melody as the track establishes the sonic identity and ambition of Voltte Records. The collaboration with Niphkeys extends beyond production. Appearing on the track, Niphkeys brings his signature polish a...

      The Infrastructure Powering Cross-Border Trade for African Small Businesses — Vant Is Building African small and medium-sized businesses produce goods that the global market wants. From fashion and food to manufactured and creative products, demand exists well beyond local borders. Yet for most African entrepreneurs, international trade remains out of reach, not because of quality or ambition, but because the infrastructure required to trade globally has never been built with them in mind. Vant, a Nigeria-founded technology company, is working to change that. Vant was co-founded by Paul Akolade (Chief Executive Officer), Raphael Abayomi (Chief Technology Officer), and Ayomikun Okorodile (Chief Operating Officer), a multidisciplinary founding team combining strengths across business strategy, engineering, and operations. Together, they are building a cross-border commerce platform that enables African small businesses to sell locally and globally through export-ready...