Paddy Cover and Pricepally have emerged winners of the 2022 Dubai World Trade Centre Lagos talent show with TruQ emerging the EIC and Lagos State winner.
The insuretech firm, Paddy Cover, co-founded by Mayowa Owolabi and Tobi Obasa, and the food sourcing and distribution tech firm, Pricepally, owned by Luther Lawoyin, as well as TruQ, owned by Williams Fatayo, beat 24 other contestants who pitched their ideas before six judges.
The two winners (Paddy Cover and Pricepally) will go on an all-expense-paid trip to Dubai to pitch their idea to over 400 investors and thousands of technology ecosystem players at the GITEX 2022 exhibition for a chance to win $200,000.
They all will converge at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October 2022 for the five-day business show, mentorship, and networking with world technology business leaders.
The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) is an annual consumer computer and electronics trade show exhibition and conference that takes place in Dubai at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
GITEX is one of the world’s most influential meeting places for the technology industry bringing together thought leaders, creators, innovators, and so on.
The Africa roadshow is organized by GITEX Global and sponsored by Dubai North Star, which represents the UAE Government, and partnered locally by the Lagos State Government and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
The judges at the event were: Akeem Hassan, TA to the special adviser to the Governor on Innovation and Technology, Segun Cole, Co-founder Fund the Gap Alliance, Amos Udok, Representative NITDA, Ireayo Oladunjoye, Head, Startups Lagos state employment Trust fund, Oguntade Adeseye, Unit head, Innovation and Entrepreneurship ONDI and Olorunnisomo Olaoluwa Co-Founder, Seedbuilders Innovation and Foundation.
Addressing journalist at Eko Innovation Center, the Director General (DG) of the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has pledged not to relent in giving support to young Nigerians with start-ups in various forms to catalyse the entire eco-system towards building a digital economy.
The Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Innovation and Technology, Tumbosun Alake, stated:
“The initiative is to give opportunities to our ecosystem start-ups with better access to local and foreign markets.
At the same time, Dubai and GITEX are keen to be part of the start-up ecosystem in Lagos.
This initiative is for us to explore opportunities together, so the finalists will be participating in the North Star programme in Dubai in October, and we hope they are able to get more international investors and access to the UAE market.
The number one objective is to grow our ecosystem and in terms of accelerating the state as a tech hub, it gives us more recognition globally because of our partners in the UAE.
If the UAE is here, it is a signal to other partners across the globe. It also helps our start-ups here to get access to their market internationally and with that, they can expand their revenue base.”
Also speaking, Akande Ojo of the United States-based Pinnacle International Consulting – country representative of Dubai World Trade Centre, explained that they have decided on an African focus, and a Nigerian focus going forward.
“A winner gets accommodation, space as a start-up to showcase yourself, they engage with investors, because technically you are part of their program,” he noted.
This is the first time we are dealing with them to ensure that they can bring the event close to sub-Saharan Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, among others.
The idea is that many of our start-ups are talented but they don’t have that bridge to connect with, because they don’t have the resources.
So, they bring it close to you, we try to see the real talent, so the only thing it costs you is your car fare to come here, not flying to Dubai.
Eventually they will pick the top two each from Lagos and Abuja to be fully sponsored, and the rest of the Lagos Government initiative – the Eko Innovation Centre, and NITDA can also support.
The idea is just to allow more tech-preneuers to create more jobs and in return increase the foreign direct investment.
