Fourteen Nigerian start-ups participated in the just concluded African Summit 2018 held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from the 7th-9th of December 2018.
The Africa 2018 Forum was organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation (MIIC) and COMESA Regional Investment Agency with support from the IFC (International Finance Corporation).
The Forum aims at providing a platform for heads of state and government as well as private sector and business leaders in Africa and the world in order to discuss a wide range of business and development issues in the continent and to engage with some of Africa’s most important economic partners and stakeholders.
The “Africa 2018 Forum” focused on success stories while drawing lessons from the past. It was also designed to help stakeholders design solutions to spur investment and to accelerate job creation and more inclusive growth. It afforded participants a good opportunity to share their best practices in order to mutually benefit from the diverse experiences and backgrounds that Africa enjoys.
Fourteen Nigerian startups took part in the forum namely: Birdprenuer, Bridgebooks,Credpal, Formplus, InvoizPAID,Kolopay,Lucy.ng,Nature’s Bounty Trading as Reelfruit, One finance and Investment Limited (OneFi),Publiseer Digital Publishing,The AdireLounge, Tomato Jos Farming and Processing Limited, Proville and Youcheck Online Services Limited.
Special dignitaries at the event were: President of the Arab Republic of Egypt H.E. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, H.E Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, Dr. Sahar Nasr, Minister of Trade and International Cooperation, Egypt, Akinwumi Adesina, President, Africa Development Bank, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu and Executive Chairman and CEO, BUA Group.
According to one of the Nigerian contingents at the forum, CEO of KoloPay, Ayo Ogunlowo, the high point of the event was the networking session with potential partners and investor from different participating countries
Speaking on the event in a chat with Innovation Village, Ogunlowo said, “The event was a big success as participating businesses across Africa are exposed to business opportunities and collaborations. The African continent is endowed with enough qualified human resources to execute all required to make the continent great.
“While the Intra-Africa Free-Trade is being promoted, more local investors need to get involved in supporting small businesses in Africa as this make direct, immediate impact on its citizens.”
Commenting on the benefits of the event for KoloPay, he said, “the event has opened Kolopay to Investment opportunity from potential investors across Africa with great leverage to scale with established business relationships with potential partners across the continent. Also, the forum served as a means of publicity for the Kolopay brand within and across the African continent.”
