Two Nigerian startups have emerged winners of the NBA Africa Triple Double Accelerator programme held at the NBA headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, September 25.
Festival Coins and Salubata – both from Nigeria, as well as HustleSasa from Kenya and UBR VR from Egypt were named prize winners at the event held on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) in New York.
While Festival Coins and Salubata claimed first and second place prizes respectively, HustleSasa and UBR VR secured third and fourth places. The prize winners received awards of $50,000, $40,000, $30,000, and $20,000 respectively; and the six other finalists each received a $10,000 prize.
Four Nigerian businesses were among the 10 finalists of the inaugural NBA Africa Accelerator programme, launched in April, in partnership with ALX Ventures, to support the continent’s technology ecosystem and the next generation of African entrepreneurs.
The four winning businesses will be awarded financial support and mentorship, including an opportunity to participate in workshops and development programs facilitated by NBA Africa or its partners.
Festival Coins’s Tix Africa platform was recognized for its no-code operating system that enables event organizers to efficiently manage payments and registrations for events in Nigeria and Ghana. Its co-founder and CEO, Folayemi Agusto, highlighted the company’s partnerships with global financial service providers like MasterCard and a remarkable year-over-year revenue increase of 364%.
Salubata, on the other hand, was awarded for its innovative modular shoes made from recycled plastic waste. As a graduate of the Techstars accelerator, the company dedicates five percent of its profits to empowering women and youth in underserved communities, according to its COO, Yewande Adebowale.
HustleSasa provides live event services that support payment processing, attendee check-in, merchandise sales, etc; while UBR VR delivers state-of-the-art in-person virtual reality (VR) experiences across Egypt.
The 10 finalists were selected from an initial pool of 700 early-stage African startup businesses to pitch their ideas to a panel of five judges.
The other six finalists included Nigeria’s Buzza and Naemo Global, as well as Backrest from Rwanda, Gara from Côte d’Ivoire, Power to Girls Foundation from Ghana, and Vambo Technologies.
Announcing the winners, NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum stated that each of the remaining six finalist companies would also receive $10,000 in recognition of their efforts.
The judges included Accelerate Africa Co-Founder and CEO Iyinoluwa Aboyeji; NBA Assistant General Counsel, Technology, Software Licensing and Digital Platforms, Franciscus Diaba; Managing Director, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Rwanda Crystal Rugege; Chegg Inc. Executive Chairman Dan Rosensweig; and Partner at Development Partners International Joanne Yoo.
In his opening remarks, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated, “The entire NBA is committed to Africa. We see enormous opportunity there—not only to develop the game of basketball but also to create economic opportunities. And that’s what today is about.”
Speaking about the finalists and winners, NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi said, “Congratulations to all of the incredibly talented entrepreneurs who participated in this year’s program, with special recognition to the 10 finalists and four distinguished winners.
“These outstanding companies have demonstrated the creativity, drive and determination to shape the future of sport in Africa and will help the continent take its rightful place on the world stage. We look forward to following their successes for many years to come.”
In addition to Silver and Akamanzi, remarks were made by NBA Africa Vice President and Country Head for Nigeria Gbemisola Abudu, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo (who participated virtually). Former NBA player Joakim Noah and several African business leaders also attended the event.
NBA Africa is an affiliate of the US National Basketball Association (NBA). The NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator is open to early-stage startups in Africa that develop solutions in event management and ticketing, youth development, AI, and digital marketing.
