Startupinsight

         By Aruna Muhammed Dual plan builds on 24,000 AI-interpreted rapid diagnostic tests, more than 7 million individual patient responses, and 4.5 billion pharmaceutical traceability records already in operation across Nigeria’s PPMV and community pharmacy network LAGOS, Nigeria, Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and Sproxil have agreed a joint plan to scale artificial intelligence tools across the country’s private sector malaria response, building on a workflow already operational at thousands of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor (PPMV) and community pharmacy sites. The agreement was reached at a strategic meeting in Lagos days before World Malaria Day 2026. Nigeria carries close to a third of the world’s malaria mortality burden, and the private sector handles most first-contact care for febrile illness. Building accurate visibility into what happens at that point of care has been a long-standing gap in the national response. Th...

By James Okoye The BoredHippo founder shares what years of working with FinTech and Web3 brands taught him about the gap between building great products and communicating them effectively If you asked most early-stage founders what their biggest challenges are, you'd hear the usual answers: funding, hiring, product-market fit, user acquisition. Rarely would messaging make the list. David Munam believes that's a mistake, and he built BoredHippo to prove it. Munam's content agency focuses exclusively on FinTech, AI, Web3, and blockchain brands. This is not because he couldn't work with other industries, but because he identified these as the sectors where the gap between product quality and communication quality is most acute and costly. "The founders in these spaces are often technically exceptional," he says. "They've built sophisticated financial infrastructure, or a protocol that solves a real problem in decentralised finance, or an AI tool that gen...

 Through education, technology, and Nigeria's largest photography conference, a Lagos-based entrepreneur is helping a generation of young Africans do what traditional schools never taught them: turn their creative gifts into real, sustainable careers. Across Nigeria, there is a familiar story. A young person picks up a camera, discovers they have a gift, and begins taking photos at weddings, events, and small shoots around their neighbourhood. Their work is genuinely good. Clients love them. Instagram followers grow. Word of mouth spreads. And then, quietly, the career plateaus. Not because of talent. Not because of effort. But because no one ever taught them how to turn what they do into a business. How to price. How to negotiate. How to manage clients. How to grow. How to earn from their craft in a way that lasts. Oluseyi Magic has spent the last several years making sure that story has a different ending. A mentor before anything else While he is often introduced as a founder, a...

   African entertainment platform Loud In Africa has officially announced South African media personality and singer, Unathi Nkayi, as the face of its new season, marking a strategic move to expand its cultural and musical footprint across the continent. The announcement, made via a press release, positions Nkayi at the forefront of the brand’s upcoming campaigns and creative direction, as Loud In Africa continues to spotlight influential voices shaping Africa’s entertainment landscape. As part of the rollout, Nkayi is also set to release a new project on May 1, a development that is expected to generate significant anticipation among fans and industry stakeholders. The project will be distributed by Prime Music Partners, reinforcing a key partnership aimed at amplifying African music across global platforms. Founder of Loud In Africa, Akeju Abass Mubarak, described the collaboration as a defining moment for the brand’s evolution. “Bringing Unathi Nkayi on board as the face of...

By Kelvin Samuel Africa’s startup ecosystem is entering a new phase—one where the focus is shifting from funding milestones to leadership maturity and governance discipline. For years, the narrative around African startups has been driven by capital raises, rapid expansion, and market disruption. However, as the ecosystem evolves, a consistent pattern has emerged: many startups scale faster than their leadership systems can sustain. This growing realization is pushing founders, investors, and operators to reconsider what truly drives long-term success. At the center of this shift is the CEO & Founder Circle, a private network founded by Saint Okpogode, focused on building sustainable, well-governed enterprises across Africa. The Structural Gap in African Startups While innovation remains strong across the continent, many startups still struggle with foundational challenges that become more visible as they scale. Common structural gaps include: Leadership bottlenecks as founders tra...

  At a time when conversations around Nigeria’s startup ecosystem often focused on funding and high-growth companies, an equally important effort had been underway, strengthening the systems that supported those startups. That effort is iHatch. The iHatch Startup Incubation Programme, implemented by the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) under the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is taking a different approach. Rather than focusing only on founders, the programme is investing in the innovation hubs that shape them. iHatch is addressing a longstanding structural gap in Nigeria’s ecosystem, uneven access to quality incubation support across regions. By strengthening innovation hubs across all states, the programme aims to decentralise startup support beyond major cities, standardise incubation quality nationwide, and build a more coordinated national innovation ecosystem. At the individual level, the impact is more practical. Hubs are equipped wi...

    Tanbram Benchmark International Limited (TBIL Travels), a Lagos-based travel services company with over a decade of industry experience, has announced the launch of its new  online flight booking  platform designed to simplify how Nigerians access domestic and international air travel. The newly launched website introduces a streamlined booking experience that allows users to search, compare, and secure flight tickets across multiple airlines in real time. The platform is positioned to address longstanding challenges in Nigeria’s travel sector, including price opacity, limited access to competitive fares, and inefficiencies in the booking process. According to the company, the platform integrates a user-friendly interface with backend aggregation technology, enabling travelers to access a wider range of fare options without relying solely on traditional agency channels. The launch comes at a time when demand for both domestic and outbound travel among Nigeri...

   Pronalytics Secures ISO 27001 Certification as It Builds Enterprise-Grade Infrastructure Pronalytics Limited, the Nigerian technology company building compliance and audit infrastructure for African businesses, has secured ISO 27001 certification, the internationally recognised standard for information security management. The certification was earned by a nominated internal team comprising lead implementers, a lead auditor, and an internal auditor, who completed the formal training and certification examination process. Lucky Johnson, Founder and CEO of Pronalytics, described the moment as one the company had been working toward for a long time. "We have waited for this for a long time. It goes to show that we are compliant and will make our clients know that their information is secure with us." What the Certification Covers ISO 27001 is not a self-assessed standard. Earning it requires an organisation to demonstrate, under independent scrutiny, that it has built a struc...

 Homaj Primary School has taken a bold step in advancing environmental education through the successful implementation of the Journey to Away × Officially Green initiative, a story-to-action climate learning programme designed to empower young learners with environmental responsibility. The initiative, co-developed by Sharona Shnayder and Adenike Akinsemolu, was delivered as part of the National Geographic Society’s Explorer–Educator Exchange, bringing global climate learning frameworks into local classroom contexts. At Homaj Primary School, pupils engaged in an immersive learning experience that combined storytelling, interactive activities, and pledge-based action. The programme centres on a powerful question—Where does our waste go?—challenging students to rethink the common assumption that waste simply disappears. Through the initiative, learners were introduced to the principles of waste systems, gaining an understanding of how waste travels from homes to disposal sites and, i...

  A new short film titled “Are You Truly Nigerian?”, currently in production, is set to ignite meaningful conversations around identity, culture, and the lived realities of everyday Nigerians. Born from real-life experiences and everyday observations, the film reflects on the subtle, often unspoken behaviours that shape what many consider “being Nigerian.” From the pressure to “join your mates and hustle,” to moments where people overlook wrongdoing, like watching others cut corners or jump queues without speaking up, the story captures familiar situations that quietly define social norms. It also explores deeper cultural tensions, how tribal differences sometimes create invisible divides, where a Yoruba man may not always be seen as a brother to an Igbo man, despite a shared national identity. In another light, the film questions how something as simple as an accent can become a measure of authenticity, with people judged based on how “Nigerian” they sound. Rather than reinforcing...

  Nigerian Founder Sells Dubai Business to Fund Keepaza, a Payment Identity Platform Built for How Nigerians Actually Transact. Akindele Liasu has committed significant founder capital to Keepaza, the Nigerian payment identity platform he founded under OH Mobility Solution Limited, following the restructuring of his UAE business operations under OH Mobility FZ LLC. The capital commitment marks a defining moment for the platform and signals the beginning of an aggressive growth phase for a product that has quietly been solving one of the most frustrating daily problems in Nigerian commerce. The decision to liquidate overseas business interests and redirect the proceeds into a Nigerian startup is not a common one. Most founders move in the opposite direction. Akindele’s choice says something deliberate about where he believes the most important opportunity sits right now. “Every day in Nigeria, millions of people are pasting their bank account numbers into WhatsApp chats with strange...

     In many Nigerian households today, the question is no longer whether families earn income, but whether income arrives at the right time. For millions of urban workers, small business owners, and young professionals, cash-flow gaps between paydays often determine when essential needs can be met. Food and home essentials frequently become casualties of this timing mismatch. This reality is quietly reshaping the meaning of food security in Nigeria’s cities. Traditionally, food insecurity has been linked to lack of income. Today, however, many households face a different challenge: temporary liquidity constraints. Salaries may be delayed, payments tied up in receivables, or unexpected expenses may disrupt carefully planned budgets. The result is not necessarily poverty, but pressure. It is within this context that WeeStore introduces a structured alternative. Positioned as a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform for essentials, WeeStore bridges the gap between cash insuffic...

       Afrobeats, one of Africa’s most influential cultural exports, is set to gain further global attention as industry stakeholders converge in New York for the screening of Chronicles of Afrobeats, a project documenting the evolution and international impact of the genre. The event, scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2026, at the iconic SOB’s NYC, will feature an exclusive screening followed by a high-level panel discussion involving key figures shaping the Afrobeats movement across continents. Founded by Abisagboola Oluseun John, professionally known as Bankulli, the initiative aims to provide a deeper narrative into the roots, growth, and future trajectory of Afrobeats, which has grown from a regional sound into a dominant force on the global music stage. Speaking ahead of the event, Dr Amanda Ota, a partner at Loud in Africa, emphasized the cultural and economic significance of the genre, stating, “Afrobeats is no longer just a sound; it is a global cultural mov...

         By Love Joke A partnership between MySCU and Canada’s London International Academy has led in the award of over CA$300,000 in scholarships to African students, marking one of several recent efforts to structure access to international secondary education from the continent. As reported by our editor,the  scholarships, delivered through MySCU’s Global Scholars Program (A-Teen Scholars Track), include five fully funded awards valued at CA$60,000 each, covering tuition, accommodation, travel, and living expenses. An additional ten students received full tuition scholarships valued at CA$30,000, while 45 others were awarded partial scholarships of CA$22,250. The five fully funded recipients are Gathigia Wahome (Kenya), Netanya Liro (Ethiopia), Mina Samir (Egypt), Joshua Oguntona (Nigeria), and Emerald Anario (Nigeria), all of whom will complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma at London International Academy.While scholarship programmes are not new...

  Nigerian businesses are facing growing challenges in managing fragmented marketing systems, as companies rely on multiple disconnected tools to handle customer acquisition, engagement, and retention. At many mid-sized firms, marketing teams operate across separate platforms for email, SMS, customer relationship management, and analytics. This setup often leads to inefficiencies, with teams spending significant time consolidating data and tracking customer interactions across channels instead of focusing on campaign execution and performance. Industry data highlights the scale of the issue. A Business Day report shows over 60 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises in Nigeria lack a documented marketing strategy linked to revenue. This gap reflects a broader problem where marketing activities are not aligned, resulting in inconsistent customer experiences and limited visibility into performance. Experts say the fragmentation affects the entire customer journey. Lead generati...

  Lagos based real estate developer Gate & Carter has announced a new residential project in Ikate, Lekki, adding to a pipeline that has positioned the company as one of the more technology-focused developers operating in the city's mid-to-upper residential market. Medallion Apartments Lekki will be a multi-floor mid-rise building offering a mix of two, three, and four-bedroom units. The developer has set a November 2026 completion target. Pricing has not been disclosed, though Gate & Carter is marketing pre-completion units at what it describes as early buyer rates. The project sits in Ikate, a district that has attracted growing developer interest as Lekki's commercial and residential footprint expands westward. Gate & Carter is pitching the development at Lagos professionals and families seeking apartments with integrated technology, a segment the company has built its brand around since its founding roughly six years ago. On the technology side, the building is ...

    By Kehinde Odiah Tunji Olaseinde, the founder and chief executive of Lagos based smart-home developer Gate & Carter Limited, has announced the launch of Future Inc., a new company targeting Nigeria's electricity deficit and security challenges through two separate commercial divisions. The announcement marks a significant expansion of Olaseinde's business interests beyond real estate. Gate & Carter, which he founded roughly six years ago, built its reputation developing technology integrated residential properties across Lagos, among them a smart apartment building in Lekki Phase 1, ultra-luxury waterfront homes along Cowrie Creek, and CLAY Beach Resort, a wellness development currently under construction on the private island of Ilashe. Future Inc. is organised into two divisions. The first, Future Energy, will sell solar power systems to households and businesses and finance purchases through instalment payment plans, an arrangement the company says is designed t...

For many Nigerians, real estate has always been seen as a long-term goal; something to pursue “when the time is right.” But Nanoy Homes is challenging that mindset by redefining how and when people can enter the property market. At its one-year anniversary event held at Harris Hotel, Wuye and hosted by Alinonu Chibuzor, one of Africa’s most sort after event host, the company presented a compelling case for a new approach to land investment; one that is built on early positioning, shared ownership, and informed decision-making. A key theme that ran through the event was the idea that Abuja’s most valuable locations were not always obvious at the beginning. In fact, many of today’s high-demand districts were once overlooked, only gaining attention after prices had already surged. This reality formed the basis of the panel discussion, where experts explored how investors can identify opportunities before they become mainstream. The takeaway was clear: in real estate, waiting for certainty...

  A new chapter has begun in Abuja’s creative industry as Mrs. Tolulope Oladipupo, Chief Executive Officer of Alveena Events and Victoria O Signature Events, has been elected as the inaugural President of the Association of Creative Event Designers, Abuja (ACEDA). Her emergence, which followed the association’s election held on March 26, 2026, is widely seen as a defining moment for stakeholders within the capital’s event design ecosystem, with expectations high for structural growth and global visibility. Accepting the mandate, Oladipupo pledged to reposition the industry through innovation, sustainability and strategic collaboration, noting that her administration would be guided by a forward-thinking blueprint tagged “Vision to Velocity.” “I am honoured and grateful for the trust placed in me. My focus is on member advocacy and protection, ensuring a balanced relationship between designers and clients, and setting a sustainable global blueprint for our industry. Together, we wil...

  The Route to Market (RTM) West Africa Summit will return in June 2026 as a leading platform for shaping consumer-centric growth and strengthening market resilience across the region’s fast-evolving FMCG landscape. Building on the success of its 2025 edition, the summit will convene industry leaders, manufacturers, distributors, and technology providers in Lagos to address critical challenges and unlock new growth opportunities in West Africa. The 2025 edition, held at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, set a benchmark for industry collaboration, attracting over 1,000 attendees, 25+ expert speakers, and 5+ exhibiting companies. The event delivered over 21 hours of networking and connected stakeholders from more than 200 companies serving over 1.8 million retail outlets across the region. Key sessions in 2025 featured leading voices across finance, FMCG, and technology, addressing macroeconomic pressures, digital transformation, consumer behavior, and supply chain optimization. Indus...