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Microsoft and Flapmax continue to promote local innovation in Nigeria, achieving significant success in enabling startups in Nigeria and throughout Africa to realize their full innovation potential.
Nigeria, a hub of innovation, has the potential to lead the way in creating solutions for the continent and beyond. Home to several fintech disruptors, Nigeria has quickly become the most attractive African nation for startup investment.
As of 2022, the country had the highest number of startups in Africa, securing over $2 billion in funding between 2015 and 2022 alone.
And with small businesses already accounting for nearly 50 percent of the nation’s GDP, there is a strong pipeline of entrepreneurs to keep on fueling Nigeria’s robust innovation culture.
Providing these enterprises with the technology they need to activate their ideas and scale their operations can help small businesses with big ideas become world-class problem solvers like so many of their local counterparts.
Microsoft has reaffirmed its commitment to fast-tracking digital transformation in Nigeria, supporting startups to realize their potential with enabling technology for the long-term benefit of the country’s digital economy.
Where ideas meet action
Together, Flapmax and Microsoft ideated the FAST Accelerator program, helping startups scale rapidly and access new growth opportunities by bringing together cutting-edge technologies, holistic skills development and AI expertise, as well as business development strategies.
Accelerators such as these with vast resources at their disposal are helping businesses to extend their reach and positive impact, with around 2,000 startups impacted to date.
Indeed, participants that successfully complete Flapmax’s program can enroll in the ISV Success Program to become partners with Microsoft, accessing its customer base and listing their solutions on the Azure Marketplace.
Leveraging the power of startups to advance financial inclusion
Recent breakthroughs in AI have enabled local fintechs participating in FAST Accelerator to advance financial inclusion.
Arguably one of the biggest challenges for small businesses in Africa is a lack of access to credit. WallX, a Nigerian fintech, offers an all-encompassing AI-powered solution permitting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to manage international transactions, simplify local dealings, and establish credit records on the WallX platform.
CoTrust Equity is helping African SMEs gain access to finance to scale their businesses. Using Microsoft Azure on Intel architecture, their platform features robust APIs, AI-based fraud detection, and enterprise security, delivering best-in-class services for SMEs and businesses across the enterprise. CoTrust currently serves 10,000 SMEs and plans to add further SMEs this year.
Another startup that has been supported by Flapmax and Microsoft is Aibanc, which is pioneering the first subscription-based banking system in Africa. The company leverages AI technology to provide loans and related financial services to individuals and SMEs across Africa and beyond.
The collaboration with Microsoft and Flapmax equip Aibanc to effectively deploy AI-based personalization and recommendation systems within Azure, enabling it to offer hyper-personalized services for each individual customer.
This includes loans and additional benefits such as HMOs, extending far beyond traditional banking offerings.
Ultimately, this is helping hundreds of small business owners across Africa to increase their revenue, access international trade and manage their bookings from one place.
Technology is a powerful enabler
Beyond financial solutions, Nigerian startups are having a transformative impact on other key sectors such as energy and logistics. And as with WallX, many of these enterprises have something important in common – the backing of powerful technology.
Another local industry benefiting from startup disruption is logistics. Trucki Technology, based in Ikorodu, is at the forefront of revolutionizing haulage management with artificial intelligence.
According to the startup, 80 percent of Africa’s logistics operations currently take place offline – meaning the process of payments and order fulfillment is disjointed and not integrated with the customer experience.
Trucki is transforming the outlook for cargo owners and drivers with its AI-driven logistics solutions. These tools encompass enhanced route planning and AI-powered prediction algorithms combined with an IoT-supported telematics system.
The partnership with Microsoft and Flapmax provides Trucki with the critical infrastructure needed to deploy AI-powered logistics solutions, empowering cargo owners and drivers while transforming the logistics industry.
Altogether, having received advanced training in California, USA, through FAST Accelerator, these startups have returned to Nigeria equipped with the skills and knowledge to drive innovation and growth in their respective industries.
Boosting Nigeria’s vibrant startup landscape
The ongoing challenge lies around how to integrate a greater number of the nation’s SMEs into the digital economy and supercharge their problem-solving capabilities.
Tackling these issues will rely heavily on the development of strategic alliances across sectors.
These collaborations are crucial in devising holistic approaches to the complex issues confronting small enterprises in Nigeria.
Beyond skills and access to market and finance opportunities, aspiring entrepreneurs are also in need of business mentorship to succeed.
Programs such as those facilitated by Microsoft for Startups Founders Hub prime local businesses for growth through industry-specific webinars designed to help startups scale, pitch coaching sessions that will help investors enhance their pitching skills, and investor community sessions that will connect startups with top investors from the Continental investor community.
More recently, these efforts are also being boosted by the rise of continent-wide events, such as the African Startups AI Fest, which are dedicated to advancing AI transformation in Africa. Spearheaded by Microsoft, the festival marks a new era of focus on empowering startups to drive global innovation using AI.
From financial inclusion to connectivity, Nigerian startups hold the answers to a myriad of long-standing societal challenges.
By providing these businesses with the tools, skills, and network they need, Microsoft aims to empower them to reach new heights and create broadscale impact.
Local innovators are not only building solutions for today, but also shaping the future of their industries and communities.
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