Africa is a continent with very promising resources which include talents, like the sands of the oceans. Start-ups rise regularly in Africa putting African nations on the global economic stage as an asset and sky-rocketing the value of African youths.
Most people say it’s impossible to succeed in Africa especially in Nigeria but these startups are proof that Nigerian youths are hardworking and brilliant. They work tirelessly to make sure that the tarnished name of Nigeria is restored and Nigeria is brought back to her full glory.
Here is the list of African startups breaking the market:
- Hostel. ng
- NITEON
- Pillplus
- Qiqi farms
- Gorggies Empire
- Obasphere
- Millercor Industries Ltd
- Stemsbridge
- Onedabrand Design Agency
- AfriCAD Alliance
- Openhouse
- Famebirds
- ProSkillz Academy
- DunDun Communications
- The Brand Builders Consulting Agency
- Shel
- Luppon
- Looptel
- Trade Lenda
- Stemford
- FirstPointConnect Limited
- Fabriceight
- Winniecense Fragrance Nigeria
- Alliance QED
- Teinye Boyle Studios
- WaresPlanet
Hostel. ng
Currently, over 2.1 Million undergraduate students are studying across various higher institutions in Nigeria, with more than 70% of them residing off-campus. This means that 7 out of every 10 undergraduate students you meet in Nigeria have experienced a form of accommodation challenge, and with the student housing market growing at over 12% annually, this clearly shows that hostel accommodation is a big and growing problem, especially for undergraduate students and that the student housing market is very ripe for disruption.
Hostel. ng is a property technology company pioneering a new way of hospitality, using the existing hostel infrastructure across Nigeria to provide sustainable and affordable rooms for millions of undergraduate students both for long-stay and short-stay periods, creating wealth for them in the process.
Hostel. ng believes it is its responsibility to make the current accommodation challenges facing undergraduate students non-existent.
So as a student having difficulties renewing your rent, getting a hostel for the academic session, or even for a few days, Hostel. ng exists for you.
CEO: Davidson Okafor
Email: Davidson@hostel.ng
Website: www.hostel.ng
NITEON
Niteon is one of the outstanding startup of 2022 reshaping the export and trade industry in Africa after being Selected as one of the African startups to represent Nigeria at the Oxford international acceleration in the UK. Tony Nwose and his team are building the first solely African tradetech marketplace which will help over 700,000 African manufactures sell and trade in the international market.
They have registered over 7,000 African entrepreneurs and artists from over Nigeria,Ghana,South-Africa and Kenya and are selling to the U.S, U.K and Middle East Market.
They stand as the African trade center providing access to quality products at half the cost of delivery throught fiat and crypto payment options and the best price. There are over 650m Africans across the world who don’t have access to products and Niteon is digitalising a $64Billion and helping the non-digitalised African manufacturers move into the digital era.
Niteon appreciates the diversity of African culture and seeing Africa thrive on the global stage in every space is of their objective that is why they are backed up by the African union trade and industry and in the first 5 months after launching in September of 2021 generated $90,000 in revenue. Niteon believes the potential of the African market is enormous and with partners such as UPS and Flutterwave they are inviting individuals and institutions to take advantage of this opportunity now and tap into building an African trade center and the marketplace of the free.
CEO: Tony Nwose
Email: admin@niteonstore.com
Contact: +2348108035894
Website: www.niteonstore.com
Pillplus
The medical sector is going tech and pillplus is joining the train. Pillplus provides a platform for medical practitioners to connect with their patients with ease bridging the gap of waiting to see a doctor at a hospital which could take hours that not all patients may have.
It brings ease to patient-doctor relationships while maintaining the patient’s confidentiality. It is also a means for medical practitioners to earn while providing exclusive patient-focused services to their patients.
The Pillplus team includes Kester Okwuehi, a young Nigerian hailing from Agbor, Delta state. He has four years of experience in pharmacy practice and his goal is to make sure that every person has easy accessibility to their needed doctor. Seun Ajibade is a vibrant and ambitious Nigerian hailing from Ilesa, Osun state. He has five years of professional experience in software engineering and others.
CEO: Kester Okwuehi
Contact: 09047595051
Website: http://www.getpillplus.com
Qiqi Farms
With the rising fame of Agrotech, Qiqi farms are Africa’s leading startup farm that uses technology to scale up the production of local organic food products, ensuring more nutritious meals are accessible and affordable to all Africans. Owned by Favour Adeleke and founded in 2019, Qiqi farms’ objective is to reduce the high rate of hunger and food wastage in Nigeria to create a hale and hearty Nigeria for this generation and the coming one by ensuring that every Nigerian doesn’t just eat but enjoys the value of healthy and nutrient-filled food products.
Qiqi farms presently feed over 300 families across 5 Nigerian states with their products distributed across 20 supermarkets. They are focused on adopting new ways to meet the needs of the Nigerian people.
They are committed to achieving the UN sustainable development goal number 3, good health and well-being by distributing farm-fresh food produce and bridging the infrastructural gaps in the food value chain across Africa.
CEO: Favour Adeleke
Contact: 0808 647 0977
Website: http://www.qiqifarms.com/
Gorggies Empire
With the difference in weather and climate between the Caucasians and West Africans, the use of makeup products is limited. From trying to get the perfect blend for the brown skin to getting the perfect texture of foundation. In all these, also make sure that your makeup doesn’t smudge due to the hot weather so you either grab a rechargeable fan or pray you have enough energy in your hand to flap them.
Gorggies Empire had come to change the narrative by providing affordable and luxury cosmetics that suit our climate. It doesn’t just stop at that, these cosmetics are anti-acne, anti-bacterial, and the best part, anti-transfer. So, you can hug properly with your makeup on without panicking over the other person’s outfit.
Other beauty services include; Brow Microblading, Semi-permanent Lashes, Bridal makeup, Makeup for musical videos, Everyday makeup, Makeup for parties and events, Photography, Training, Sales of cosmetics, Beaded accessories, and Consultancy.
Affordable luxury at its best!
CEO: Elizabeth Opuogbo Adetula
Email: lizzyadetula@gmail.com
Contact: +234806 954 1747
Website: https://gorggiesempire.business.site
Obasphere
Technology wants to make life easier and stress-free for us and that is exactly what Obasphere is to SMEs.
This startup provides digital solutions for employers and their employees. How?
The problem they are solving is to prevent employees from being easily overworked due to manual business operations that lead to more mistakes, especially employees in SMEs.
Their solution?
By making use of the software, RoiERP. This software removes the burden of employees needing to complete manual processes (which leads to repetitive tasks, and the likelihood of mistakes) by enabling a custom-built cloud-based solution that enables all of the various processes that are essential to running a business, including inventory and order management, accounting, human resources, customer relationship management (CRM), and beyond.
Obasphere gives you a seamless and better working operation, it doesn’t stop there, it suits both big and small business unique operational needs. That’s a big win!
Co-Founder/CTO: Damilola Adesanya
Contact: +234-708-303-3039
Whatsapp: +234-706-444-5940
Email: hello@obasphere.com
Website: www.obasphere.com
Millercor Industries Ltd.
Millercor is an AgTech and Agro commodities processor, trader, and exporter.
They process agricultural commodities into semi and finished products like beans, soya beans, sesame seeds, sorghum, millets, cashew nuts, split ginger, shea butter, etc. The company’s mission is to grow Africa crop production and processed staple foods for exports while committing to bringing in investments from Western countries.
Millercor also provides farmers with quality seed inputs, proper tools and machinery, and fertilizers amongst others using technology. They increase Africa’s small and medium holders farmers’ productivity and revenue growth in the Agri-food value-chain space, and alternately reduce poverty, end hunger and high rising cost of foods in Nigeria and across Africa, and beyond.
Founder/CEO: Segun Irelewuyi
Email: business@millercor.com
Contact: +234 803 637 1714
Website: https://www.millercor.com
Stemsbridge
Learning online is the newest and most utilized style of learning in the 21st century.
An estimated 10 million graduates enter the African workforce each year with little to no skill to thrive in the professional field and their career paths. Access to higher education in sub-Saharan Africa is lower than the global average by at least 20%, according to the Africa-America Institute.
Although, Africans want to learn from the top schools around the globe, increase their value, and build a compelling personal brand but cannot afford it.
Stemsbridge is proffering solutions by developing a 100% learning platform to help undergraduates, graduates, SMEs/business owners, employees, and Corporate organizations across more than 54 countries in Africa and beyond access global high-quality online education easily from the world’s best institutions with an affordable flexible and convenient payment terms. They provide learning opportunities on a global scale.
Stemsbridge looks to break the educational barrier between Africa and the global stage. They are the future of tomorrow’s professionals and leaders for Africa and beyond.
Stemsbridge, your easy access to global learning!
CEO: Victor Etimedok Aniefiok
Email: contact@stemsbridge.com
Contact: +2347031387774
Website: https://stemsbridge.com/
Onedabrand Design Agency
Given the rise of small and medium-scale businesses in Africa & the globe, the need for businesses to build lasting brands has become as critical as any other aspect of any business, since they are all fighting to have a reasonable share of the market where they play in. This identified need is what ONEDABRAND seeks to meet through their service offerings.
ONEDABRAND is a design and branding agency in Lagos, Nigeria that helps small, medium and large-scale businesses develop timeless, memorable, unique and ‘onedaful’ brands, in order to position them for relevance and competitiveness.
With their service offerings which includes but is not limited to: brand strategy, brand identity, visual communication, and digital design, they help small, medium & large scale businesses across a number of industries (healthcare, education, legal, food, beauty, consulting, lifestyle etc), position their brands (businesses) for relevance & competitiveness.
With these branding efforts, these businesses are able to penetrate the market they play in more effectively; achieve top-of-the-mind awareness; command a higher price for their product & services, and also increase their market share.
ONEDABRAND – transforming businesses into timeless brands.
Founder: Ifeoluwa Sopeju
Email: hello@onedabrand.com
Phone Number: +234 803 360 0272
Website: www.onedabrand.com
AfriCAD Alliance
Founded during the Growth Africa Startups sponsored Lagos Business School custom executive training, AfriCAD alliance is an online platform that brings professionals and paraprofessionals in the engineering sector together.
It facilitates the initiation and conclusion of transactions with ease thereby controlling fraud, eliminating mediocrity, and minimizing financial loss while at the same time promoting high professionalism, standards, and efficiency across the engineering ecosystem in Africa.
AfriCAD alliance promotes transparency between professionals and industries in the engineering sector while carrying out various projects.
The startup is co-founded by entrepreneurs with foresight having a singular objective: To utilize technology to bridge all the gaps in the design, engineering, manufacturing, and construction industries.
CEO: Abdulkareem Oladimeji Olatunji
Email: africadalliance@gmail.com
info@africadalliance.com
www.africadalliance.com
openhouse
With the rate of japa in Nigeria, some Nigerians in the diaspora are doing the opposite. Securing properties! There’s a saying that goes, “Do not forget your Father’s land.” These Nigerians are doing very well in remembering and because of this cultural virtue, they are starting to own properties.
Securing properties should be easy if you have a relative in Nigeria, or not. Due to the trust issues among family members and the fraudulent activities, Nigerians are known for, openhouse has decided to bridge the trust gap.
Openhouse assists Nigerians overseas to invest in real estate, and buy and secure properties while they are away. Giving their clients peace of mind and Assets.
Its mission statement is, “To be the top-of-the-mind pan-African
real estate brand for Africans in Diaspora to stay rooted.”
Victims of failed investments in real estate and failed property transactions should wipe their tears and brace Openhouse.
CEO: Ezeafulukwe Peace Adetutu
Contact:+234(0)9026648807
Famebirds
Online Marketing has become a norm in the 21st century because everyone is on social media. At the same time, SMEs are rising and falling with both the hopes of selling to a wide audience via digital channels and the difficulty of reaching the right audience, particularly on social media.
But there’s influencer marketing where the likes of Davido are advertising for Munch it. As a business owner, you start wondering if getting Davido was that easy but in the real sense, it is not. It’s one thing to gain access to your preferred influencer, get the ads rates and then negotiate a favorable deal. These few steps are a long way from A, B, and C.
Famebirds is the first influencer marketing platform in Africa that easily connects businesses to influencers. Famebirds promotes businesses by building their brand visibility and presence through advertising by using the power of influence to drive their target audience.
CEO: Lilian Akwunwa
Email: famebirdstech@gmail.com
Contact: +2347068409697
Website: www.famebirds.com
ProSkillz Academy
Getting the right training for industry professionals and business owners in Nigeria can be challenging especially when seeking the proper balance of quality, convenience and cost.
ProSkillz Academy provides cutting edge programmes for businesses & individuals alike looking to upskill across the globe. They provide quality-infused training for corporates in the public and private sectors including SMEs. The company specializes in courses like Project Management (PMP) certification among other learning solutions such as B2B Sales/Business Development, Customer Service, Human Resources, Procurement, Logistics, and Supply Chain Management, Health Safety and Environment, Quality Management, Business Analysis, and Digital Marketing. Their facilitators are highly skilled, internationally certified, and industry experts in their various fields.
Staff from companies like Sterling, Total, Clina-Lancet, Sanofi pharmaceuticals, First Bank, LaFarge, Unilever, and Airtel have trained with ProSkillz Academy and offered great reviews.
ProSkillz Academy offers training online, in-house (client’s site) and at their learning centers in Ikoyi and Victoria Island, Lagos.
Founder: Omoyemi Coker
Email: ycoker@proskillzacademy.com
Contact: +234 809 208 0084
Website: www.proskillzacademy.com
DunDun Communication
Startups and SMEs are just as their names imply and they are mostly in need of skilled professionals that can join hands in taking the high and going big in the market sector.
DunDun Communications connects skilled professionals to startups and SMEs. They also provide additional skills and training for the growing African workforce and then link them to short-term gigs and project-based jobs.
CEO: Abasiama Akpan
Contact: +234 708 585 4791
Website: www.dunduncommunications.com
The Brand Builders Consulting Agency
In the business sector, content is king to get you the right clients. Creating the right content for a brand can make or mar a business.
The Agency helps brands by creating compelling copies, SEO-worthy content, content writing, and other writing services.
Having a good brand works for every business but a visible brand is a goal. Consulting is also a service rendered by the agency for Authors and writers looking to grow in their craft and looking for an accountability partner.
The owner, Chinaemerem Ogbuaku, is an author and writer with over 3 years of experience. She has a book titled, “Building Brand Visibility. If you are someone looking to build your brand, this is the book for you.
CEO: Chinaemerem Ogbuaku
Email: chinaemerem.ogbuaku@gmail.com
Contact: +234 805 559 6620
Website: https://tbbca.osaitech.dev/#services
SHEL
Procurement and logistics have become the most used service in Nigeria with a lot of difficulties. For example, you order a pair of shoes and you paid before delivery. The vendor calls and tells you, “Your shoe is on its way.” The dispatch rider then calls you and tells you the same thing. Awaiting your parcel, the rider calls you 30 minutes later for your location (which the vendor already gave him), you describe your location to him and he says, “ok” and hangs up. Another 30 minutes and you have not heard from him. 40 minutes, 1 hour. You are beginning to wonder if something happened or if the dispatch rider has taken your shoe for himself and the vendor doesn’t seem to be reachable. You are just trying to figure everything out at the same time because your money cannot just go like that.
Shel has decided to solve these inefficiencies by introducing a tracking,
Costing, and real-time delivery system to enhance service delivery and give consumers fewer heartaches with easy use. All at our fingertips.
An easy world is a happy place to be.
CEO: Phrank Ekweozor
Email: spiffyharris@gmail.com
Contact: +2348033336660
LUPPON
Street wear fashion just got to a whole new level with Luppon inscription. Los-Angeles based fashion and luxury clothing brand Luppon was launched on March 25 2022 and has been making waves in the African market. Luppon inscription is for affluent young trendsetters , celebrities, high profile and high networth individuals who want to be trendy in various kinds of streetwear.
Luppon produces premium quality wears like T-shirts, hoodies, overalls, joggers, underwears, sneakers, caps, bags, and many more. Along with the comfort they provide, they also make you look confident and classy. In Luppon’s words, ” The label is crafted to capture the true essence of modernity and youthful elegance, with the fusion of its iconic logo, it encapsulates a carefree spirit and brings a premium lifestyle in the diverse street.”
Luppon gives you the 3Cs of fashion, comfort, confidence and class.
Now that is everyone’s kind of luxury.
CMO / Co-founder : Femi Adegolu
Email: Lupponofficial@gmail.com
Website: www.lupponofficial.com
Looptel International limited
The slogan for MTN is, Everywhere you go. This slogan sometimes seems like a hopeful saying because, well, it’s not in most rural areas and when it is there, you have to either stand on a hill or put your phone by the window. Remember the stress. Looptel has decided to make “MTN, everywhere you go” a reality and connect you to your loved ones that are mostly “unreachable”.
Looptel seeks to solve this problem by partnering with service operators to provide network coverage for voice and data in places with poor or low service. They have over 15 years of experience in the Telecoms, power, and electronics industry with major players in using solar power systems for off-grid communities and are presently building telecoms’ last-mile connectivity in collaboration with major operators.
We can now talk to loved ones who are mostly unreachable. Thanks to Looptel International limited.
CEO: Akinlabi Akinbo
Email:akina@looptel.com; looptelinternational@gmail.com
Web site: https://looptel.com
Phone:0808 5248997;08038783596
Trade Lenda
In today’s Africa, getting loans looks like the easiest thing to do but for MSMEs, it is a different story. According to statistics, MSMEs provide up to 84% of jobs in Africa and it makes up 50% of Africa’s GDP. Although, with the difficulty of getting funds, they will not last longer than 5 years.
Trade Lenda is a digital financial service providing credit to online and offline MSMEs in Nigeria’s supply value chain sector. The big idea behind our company is to reduce missed opportunities as a result of a lack of credit for MSMEs, which we believe will lead to business growth. Unlike other companies, it takes us 6 hours to approve and disburse after request which is 4x faster than most, we do not take the collateral and we can provide ethical financing.
According to Business Day earlier in 2022, “Trade Lenda has supported more than 500 MSMEs in Africa’s biggest economy with over $800,000 (NGN 332.8 million).” Trade Lenda allows MSMEs to move beyond just regular small businesses but to grow and scale with various inclusive financial services.
CEO: Adeshina Adewumi
Email: adeshina@tradelenda.com
Contact: +2348062937739
https://tradelenda.com
Stemford
They say, “when you stop learning, you start dying.” Learners are winners. Stemford paves the way for everyone who wants to increase their knowledge either for career purposes, professional add-ons, or just for knowledge from the comfort of their homes.
Stemford provides access to quality, technical and professional training for people who are avid learners across Africa.
Learning just gets easier by the day and Stemford has made it easier.
CEO: Flora Anusiobi
Email Address: stemfordhq@gmail.com
Website: https://stemford.co
FirstPointConnect Limited
Nigeria as a Gas producing country enacted a Gas Master Plan to get affordable cooking gas to homes, either for power generation, cooking, heating, and cooling.
FirstPointConnect is an energy company that has a unique way of bulk storage of LPG metered in a safe way to your homes and power plant as approved by the Department of Petroleum Resources.
The uniqueness of this smart distribution, will bridge the gap of poor quality of gas, pay as you can afford, and reduce the overdependence on electricity to power A/C and Water Heater by direct replacement to gas-fired heaters and coolers.
The introduction of smart metering allows for convenient recharge and summary of usage.
Modern problems, modern solutions.
CEO: Engr Seun Arogundade
Email: seun.arogundade@firstpoointconnect.com
Contact: 09066341036
Website: www.firstpointconnect.com
Fabriceight
African culture is rich and diverse but not expressed enough. For a culture that is so rich and full of colors and wonders, it doesn’t get the required attention it deserves.
Over the years, African culture has been showcased in various ways like music, museum, dance, and various other ways.
Fabriceight is an Afro-centric clothing brand that expresses African culture by painting beautiful African stories through wearable casual pieces. Promoting African culture through unique clothing and style.
CEO: Akinyemi Akinjiola
Email: aakinjiola@gmail.com
Contact: +2348063777394
Website: www.fabriceight.com
Winniecense Fragrance Nigeria
The fragrance business in Nigeria has been monotonous for a long time. Oil perfumes from designer perfumes, diluted pocket perfumes, regular body spray even scented candles. And then, sometimes the scents contain ingredients that are not good for some people causing allergic reactions.
Winniecense is a niche Perfumery that produces safe and hypoallergenic scents and products for individuals and brands that have various fragrance needs creating a safe environment and lifestyle for everyone. They also have an academy that trains in the art, science, and business of perfumery to reduce poverty and grant skills and help the economic growth of Africa.
Learning the art of perfumery will help people to start their businesses and also discover new scents in the perfume space.
CEO: Winniefred Uwujele
Email: winniecense@gmail.com
Contact: 08188293010
Website: www.winniecense.com
Alliance QED
Alliance QED is bringing everything engineering back to Africa. They are revolutionizing engineering practices and processes in Nigeria by perfecting the adoption of the integrated Computer Aided Design-Computer Aided Engineering-Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD-CAE-CAM) model.
They are building a seamless system for the three processes to work smoothly in designing, simulation, and modeling which then reduces cost, and time and eliminates errors. In doing this, they bring back over $3 trillion (annually lost in engineering imports and inefficiency) by stimulating local design, production on demand, zero waste, smart production, and precision manufacturing.
Alliance QED looks to design and manufacture green mobility, small-office-home-office power solutions, machines for agro-processing, waste management, cold storage, and food security. This startup seeks to establish a full-fledged design, simulation, and prototyping studio with partnerships with existing manufacturers within Nigeria, Africa, and the world at large.
As Alliance QED expands, it will establish its own multi-purpose CAD-CAE-CAM facility in the Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti Industrial Park (ABUAD-IP).
CEO: Adebayo Afure Olubobokun
Email: allianceqed@gmail.com
info@allianceqed.com
Tel: +2348033243803; +44 7466114834
www.allianceqed.com
Teinye Boyle Studios
This eponymous boutique studio is famed for her excellent prowess in brand storytelling; from script to screen. TBS is helping People, Products, and Services tell better stories in form of copywriting, content writing, scriptwriting, media production, event production, etc.
Established in 2013 under the soubriquets: Opubila (2013-2014) / Mauve Nigeria (2015-2017) with the same excellence in strategic Content, Tv, Event, and Film production.
Teinye Boyle Studios is however taking yet another direction of expertise to now focus majorly on its founder’s two most important interests: Fashion and Film, the future phase of Teinye Boyle Studios will be to tell authentic African stories using wearable art (fashion) and motion pictures (film)
Creator: Teinye Boyle
www.teinyeboyle.com
WaresPlanet
Do you know that on average, people spend half an hour daily in the bathroom?
We don’t know about you but it doubles as a think-tank also. Many allude to the fact that their best eureka moments are in that little white room. Your bathroom furniture doesn’t have to be bland, you know!
Most people are tempted to choose products based on aesthetics alone, but this could be disastrous if you don’t consider other factors like functionality, quality, and price.
While Exploring the market for sanitary wares can be so overwhelming. With many options offering the same products and services, it can be difficult to find the best option to provide you with your needs and more.
WaresPlanet is here to make that shopping experience of Building materials (sanitarywares) memorable, by using cutting-edge 21st-century technologies to save time while providing top-notch services from quality products, design, installation, maintenance, and after-service delivery at the comfort of your home/office.
CEO: Emmanuel Eventus James
Phone: +234(0)7057137138
CONCLUSION
From accommodation to Agrotech to fashion, engineering, education, retail, and storytelling, these African startups are taking Africa to the next stage of her glory and taking Nigeria to a whole new level. Every one of them needs proper funding and willing investors to push them forward to achieve their goals to the last point and more.
