TECH | STARTUPS
First, Flutterwave is not on this list. Along with many other names you might be familiar with. The list is not an exhaustive one. It turned out too lengthy, and I have split it into two articles of five each.
I will like to state my bias in “cooking” this list. Some sectors interest me, and there are founders with whom I have interacted. Hence, my very biased list.
But first, there is a question that hangs in the air.
What Makes A Startup “Nigerian”?
In today’s world, it can be quite nuanced to tell whether a startup is Nigerian or not. The possibilities of running fully remote teams, incorporating in North America (read Delaware 😉) and serving a global audience from day one make the term “Nigerian startup” somewhat hazy to describe.
The debate on what startups should be called Nigerian or African would remain for a long time regardless of the simple definition later offered here. A Company like Jumia gives a perfect case for debate.
It is the largest e-commerce platform in Africa. Operating in over ten countries on the continent. A German Stock Corporation. The majority of its staff are Africans. Its Founders are European. Its Tech and Product team are in Portugal. Jumia was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019. A company hitherto described as an African startup and unicorn until its IPO.
So, how African is Jumia?
Is it African at all?
It brings to mind the heated Twitter debate raised by Future Africa’s Iyinoluwa Aboyeji on startup CEOs living outside Nigeria yet “building for Nigeria”. The existence of corporate structures outside Nigeria added to the mix. Technically and legally, many of these startups are American companies.
So, how Nigerian are these startups?
If they are to file IPOs, would they be on the NSE or NYSE?
Setting up a corporate structure outside Nigeria is viewed as a strategic move to raise capital from foreign investors. Some say it protects them from the volatility of regulation. I do not entirely agree with the latter.
Twitter having its corporate structure outside Nigeria and lacking any physical office here, was not unreachable by regulators. Companies whose operations rely heavily on the internet are never too far from the reach of regulators. A few directives to telcos, and you are offline.
I believe the term “Building for Nigeria” should be viewed as what it is; running a business in Nigeria. It is not some nationalist move to build for Nigeria. If you don’t run your business here, others will. Nobody is doing the country a favour by setting up here. Startups are businesses like any other. They are set up with a profit in mind; whether or not profit is pursued early.
Going by these, the location of corporate structure and founders can’t be insisted on as criteria for who is a Nigerian startup or otherwise. If the former is insisted on as a criterion; none of the popular startups is Nigerian. They’re mostly American. That is not a good indicator but is a discussion for another day.
I’d try to give a definition that should fit;
A Nigerian startup is a young company whose primary market is in Nigeria. Where “young company” refers more to the stage of growth than the number of years of existence.
To validate the definition, we can run a small test. Replace “A Nigerian Startup” with any startup that you think is Nigerian. If the test fails, let me know in the comments, else you can stash my Cowrywise (tolugrey) for my wisdom 😎
Before we leave the subject. You should check out Opay. One of Africa’s recent unicorns. Is Opay a Nigerian startup? An African startup?
Let’s get into the list. Beginning with a way to make some cash.
Some Extra Cash For Ajala The Travella
If you live in Lagos, you’d have seen the rise in delivery bikes joining okadas to choke the streets. The numbers mean either there is significant growth in the volume of transactions involving goods, the demand for home delivery or both. Even with the rise in the number of existing delivery companies; it is not uncommon to see tweeps tweet that they are in search of a delivery company to help with deliveries.
I am not a fan of the increasing number of fuel-powered vehicles (cars, bikes et al) on the road as they only increase our carbon footprint and road-related accidents. Travella is doing something very different. But, a quick story first.
I ordered a shirt on Instagram and the vendor said delivery would cost me ₦1k. Within Lagos! I asked where his shop is and he said Surulere. I live in Surulere 😅 I took a bus to meet him and collect the shirt; I spent ₦400 in total.
The interesting part is that there are hundreds of people who ply that route daily. One of them could’ve picked up the package from the vendor at his bus stop and I’d collect it from them at my bus stop. That is where Travella comes in.
Travella is expanding the logistics market by including those who have been involved in logistics all along but not getting paid for it; you and me. Travella’s proposition is simple; since people already move from place to place, they can handle deliveries and get paid for them instead of dedicated vehicles.
Travella is the Uber for logistics. While Uber connects riders and drivers, Travella connects package owners and travellers.
The startup benefits businesses immensely as deliveries would be cheaper, negotiable and round the clock. While delivery companies would want to aggregate deliveries by location, it would be easier to get same-day deliveries done with Travella. The reason is simple; there will always be people plying every route possible.
For travellers, it is an opportunity to make some extra cash doing what you usually do; move from place to place. To think some of you even deliver goods for people for free. Never again, never again 😤
What if a package has an illegal item and law enforcement finds it on the traveller who had no idea? What if the traveller runs away with a package? Are there travellers from Nigeria to other countries and vice-versa on the app?
What happens if the package gets lost in transit due to robbery or something? Who bears the cost of a package damaged in transit? The Traveller or Travella? Saw what I did there eh 😏
If questions like these crossed your mind, then I must say that you will make a good pitch judge and startup investor. The Travella team is up to the task, clearly understands the assignment and is tackling those questions with insurance and verification of all users.
Next time someone says they are looking for someone travelling to Ibadan to help deliver stuff, tell them to use Travella. Travelling from school and need extra cash for junk to buy on the road, use Travella. Need to get a delivery done asap, you know where to go. It all starts with an account on Travella.
The Gig Economy is growing, and this startup is well-positioned to thrive in this space. If you do not know what the Gig Economy is, this article by Stears Business will help. Guess what? They are next on the list.
Stears And Its Daily Economics Masterclass
As an “Economist” of some sort, Stears is one of those startups that I was super duper excited to discover. Discovering that the cofounders are LSE alumni, I was ecstatic! I want to go to LSE too 🥺🤲🏾
Stears is called a media-tech company by some, but I’d call them a data company with a media product. The product is Stears Business. Stears Business is a daily business publication that gives data-backed, detailed explainers on the Nigerian Economy and business landscape. Helping you make sense of the Nigerian Economy.
Stears Business has grown from articles published freely by subject matter experts in its writers’ network to Premium articles available only to Stears’ paid subscribers written by its ever-growing team of writers. A subscription-based model is a tricky one. But when you know your onions, people will pay for your content.
For years, Nigerians have settled for publishers built to influence or distract, rather than inform. In turn, too many publishers are content with maintaining the status quo by reeling out low-quality content to drive clicks.
But, we have seen that our readers are different. You demand more. You do not just want to read the news, you want to understand it. You do not just want opinions, you want data.
Every click, share and comment reminds us of the same thing: we have found a community of readers who truly want to understand how the economy around them works.
— Preston Timeyin Ideh, CEO of Stears on the launch of Stears Premium
From Fashion and Entertainment to Energy and Technology, Stears Business covers many industries in Nigeria. Chinese Loans, Exchange Rate, CBN’s monetary policies, Oil subsidy, e-Naira, what do they mean? How do they affect you? Stears Business has all the answers. Seriously though, they do.
Stears Data is the less known data division of the company. They provide data and advisory to organizations. They are responsible for publishing several whitepapers and reports on some industries. They also have a Data catalogue that is slowly becoming a data inventory on population trends, access to finance, trade and several sectors.
Stears has two public data initiatives; a Covid-19 Index and an Election centre. The Covid-19 index is regularly updated, providing an infographic on Covid-19 cases across Nigeria. The election centre is a great place to go if you are looking for interactive visualizations of the previous elections (only 2015 and 2019 are available).
If you are not sure of the value you get from a subscription, Stears has something for you. Their articles on Wednesdays are free to read without a subscription. But first, you must have an account.
Do you want to participate in discussions on the Nigerian Economy? Yet you do not have an MBA or requisite knowledge of Economics, Finance? Then you should get a Stears Business subscription yesterday!
If you found the listed startups interesting, now imagine owning part of them. Yes. That is now possible thanks to the next startup, GetEquity.
You Can Now GetEquity In Startups
This is the only Fintech on the list. I am not exactly a fan of Fintech. There are too many similar products with very few that stand out. Like GetEquity.
As the name implies, GetEquity lets you get equity in startup companies. This Fintech is a lot more like a crowdfunding platform. But, in this case, the money raised is in exchange for equity in companies.
Startups can list on GetEquity, state their target raise, and you get to invest in them. Once a company reaches its target, the round is closed. I believe that GetEquity should be the go-to place to raise funding for startups that are not so popular. Besides, you get free PR as a startup listed on GetEquity.
GetEquity is simplifying private investment in tech-enabled companies for both startups and investors. You can invest as little as $10 in a funding round raised by a startup.
If a startup aims to raise $100,000 on GetEquity, it could do so privately using its deal rooms (like Herconomy) or publicly (like TalentQL and Spire). Technically, the startup has allocated $100,000 worth of its equity to the syndicate, i.e. GetEquity.
The syndicate (GetEquity) tokenizes the $100,000 on its platform. For a company raising $100,000, there would be 10,000 tokens issued worth $10 each. If you decided to invest $50, you have purchased 5tokens. Tokenizing equity is an innovative approach by GetEquity. It makes it easy to move equity around.
How so?
Since GetEquity issues tokens to you and other investors, you can sell your tokens, buy tokens from others and gift tokens too. All the tokens are within the syndicate; GetEquity.
But isn’t the money invested in startups?
Yes, it is. By tokenizing what you hold, you can buy a startup’s tokens from people who purchased before the round closed or sell your tokens. You can sell at a higher price than you bought.
If you run a startup and want to raise funding, you should use GetEquity. If you plan to create a syndicate of your own, run an investment community, or make ESOP easier for your team as a founder, GetEquity is your one-stop-shop. When I said GetEquity is one of those Fintechs that stand out, I meant it.
Some Selah For Digital Creators From Selar
So, If you are a Bible student, you would know Selah has no precise meaning. And for that reason, I am giving it a new definition here; Money and Ease 🤑
Selar (I believe it is pronounced seller) is a mashup of Gumroad and Shopify for creators across Africa. Gumroad allows people to sell digital products to anyone anywhere in the world. Shopify allows the creation of e-commerce stores to sell products of all kinds to people everywhere.
Selar provides a means (read e-commerce store) for digital creators to sell. They do this without spending so much to get their products and services online. While the focus remains on digital products, Selar now allows non-digital products.
So far, the company has acquired over 17,000 users. In 2020 alone, the company recorded over ₦100 million ($270,000) in transactions. That figure ensured that the company was cash-flow positive, going into 2021.
All you need is to set up an account (this is free), upload your products with details, give a price and create a custom link to it. You share the link and begin receiving payments from anywhere. These products could be online courses, ebooks, consulting/coaching, designs, and the one I find most interesting; tickets.
This milestone of paying over $1,000,000 to African creators in 2021 is more than just a bragging right. For us, it means a million things; as a bootstrapped team of 9, building a product that serves this many people and giving them the means to earn a living in a way that they’ve never been able to, speaks volumes.
— Douglas Kendyson, Selar’s CEO on its One Million Dollar Milestone
Going from $270k in transactions to $1m is hooooooooooge!
My interest in Selar heightened when I discovered in an article by its CEO that they had not raised any external funding, save a 2018 grant from the Tony Elumelu Foundation. With fundraising owning the spotlight in Nigeria’s startup space, it is notable to see a startup gaining traction that is not making headlines for fundraising. Not an easy job bootstrapping.
Kudos to Douglas Kendyson and his team!
Bringing Releaf To Nigeria’s Oil Palm Sector
Many older Nigerians are obsessed with the idea of a country driven by Agriculture. They reminisce the days of Cocoa House and Groundnut pyramids. The days when Nigeria was a top exporter of Oil Palm. A position now occupied by Asian economies.
The catchy part is how data can be spun to validate this idea. Just bring up the global market value for a commodity and bam, you’re building a solid case for young Nigerians to go to the farm. This outdated ideology is evident in several actions taken by the Nigerian government and spearheaded by the CBN governor.
Agriculture is not bad. Trying to drive agricultural productivity by throwing money at farmers and shutting importation is a duo bound to fail. In what has become one of my favourite TED talks, Ghanaian entrepreneur and investor; Sangu Delle, makes a very compelling case for Macro credit as opposed to Microcredit on the continent and gives an example that would give you a sense of how best to approach agriculture on the continent. You should not skip it.
If the CBN governor had taken the Macro approach instead of the unending loans to farmers, we might have just given him the Presidential ticket. If you have his number, share Sangu’s video with him. He still has some time to redeem himself or leave with his current tag; the country’s worst central banker ever.
If you watched the video, you will already understand Releaf’s value proposition. Releaf is not creating Banana flour, like Stawi. Releaf is reducing wastage and supporting farmers by developing processing technology for Oil Palm. It developed Kraken for efficient crushing of Palm nuts and sells directly to companies that use Palm Oil as raw material. Considering the environmental implications of farming Oil Palm on a commercial scale, Releaf’s approach saves us the potential environmental degradation. You can read more about Releaf and see why their approach to Agriculture needs to be replicated here.
As always, feedback is welcome 🙏🏾
Till I take out time to complete the second part of this article. Adios!
