Shuttlers Ridesharing Startup is one of the 5 winners that emerged at the UK-Nigeria tech hub pitch competition that was held in Lagos
The 5 female entrepreneurs were announced during the Africa-UK Female Tech Founders 2020 event held at the British Deputy High Commissioner’s Residence at Ikoyi, Lagos.
The five entrepreneurs who emerged winners during the pitch competition are
Damilola Emuze, founder of Scholarx
ScholarX is a social impact platform that focuses on democratizing Access to Education for African Youth, by connecting them with funding sources that enable them to get a quality education.
Damilola Olokesusi of Shuttlers mobility
Shuttlers is a platform that allows professionals, companies, fun-seekers access comfortable, safe, efficient yet affordable transportation to & from work and around the city through bus-pooling! Through there platform, you can easily book seats, pay and track arrival departure times of your shuttles.
Dr. Funmi Adewara of Mobihealth.
Mobihealth is a revolutionary integrated Telemedicine platform that provides 24-hour access to a panel of top-notch doctors across all specialties from North America, Europe, UK, Asia, UAE, Nigeria, and other carefully selected countries. they provide timely access to quality healthcare services from around the world when they need it in the most cost-effective way, leveraging on technology. you can download their mobile app from the Play store
The two others are Ifeoma Udoh of Shecluded
Schecluded is an abbreviation for she is included, it is a credit company that is dedicated to building a community that fosters financial education their aim is to To provide the seamless financial services in a friendly, professional manner, encourage wise use of credit facilities. To educate and enhance the financial management skills of our, helping them to manage their finances.
Keturah Ovio of Limestart
Limestart believes in enriching people and businesses with powerful tools. Tools that reduce the time from “I have an idea” to “my business is thriving” and “I can pay myself a salary”.
They are providing affordable turnkey commerce solutions to digitize transaction records at point-of-sale for Nigerian SMEs.
other founders at the pitch competition were Agorite, Easyshop Easy cook, Mumspring, Roving Heights and 9IJAKIDs.
Speaking at the event Harriet Thompson, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Nigeria said that the entrepreneurs would gain access to world-class mentoring time with UK investors and expert training to help scale their companies.
Thompson said that the winners would be in London for the UK-Africa Investment Summit, and Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) would cover all costs and programs to help support them grow their businesses.
“We are pleased to be hosting an event that brings support for women, whose empowerment is vital for Nigeria’s future prosperity and stability.
“Nigeria’s tech sector accounted for over 11 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2018 (compared with 9 per cent from oil and gas) and is the fastest growing part of Nigeria’s economy.
“In 2018, Nigeria’s technology companies attracted $300 million (+167 per cent YoY) in funding, mainly from foreign investors, “she said.
Thompson said that the UK was supporting and looking forward to strengthening its partnership further in Nigeria.
She said this was necessary because the technology could be a key enabler to boost Nigeria’s growth, tackle poverty and create jobs.
‘The UK is trying to build and expand that eco-system in different ways.
“We now have our very own Tech Hub here in Nigeria and the Director is Honey Ogundeyi. The hub is funded by our Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
‘’The UK-Nigeria tech hub focuses on three key areas: skills and capability development, digital ecosystem building and facilitating innovation collaborations between Nigerian and UK tech businesses.
“This will help to build skilled, entrepreneurial and networked populations which will create jobs and address digital inequality.’’
She said the tech hub had supported companies such as Riby, Innovation Corner, Social Lender, and Farmcrowdy to grow their businesses, build links with the UK’s thriving tech sector.
Thompson, who noted that Nigeria was one of the most exciting technology sectors in Africa, said the hub would support the growth of the thriving digital eco-system in the country.
According to her, the outfit will also provide support to scale innovations and drive growth in tech investment in Nigeria.
“As Europe’s leading tech hub, UK is credible partner. We generate more billion-dollar tech businesses than any other country on the continent.
“We have a network of regional tech clusters which reflect a dynamic and growing industry across the whole of the UK with London as the centre of Europe’s technology sector.”
The UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport in 2019 launched the UK-Nigeria Tech hub as part of international Tech Hub Network in partnership with the British High Commission in Nigeria.