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The Lagos edition of the GITEX 2023 Expand North Star Pitch Competition is holding at the Eko Innovation Centre, Ikoyi, Friday May 12, 2023.
Four winners are expected at the Lagos final selection process where 20 finalists have already emerged from the over 200 applications received by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of the event.
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The Lagos edition, coming days after the Abuja edition where four winners were announced, begins the signing off of the 2023 edition of the DWTC GITEX Africa Startup Roadshow in Nigeria.
The roadshow is designed to discover talented African startups so as to expose them to global investors, mentors and partners. DWTC opened application portal weeks back for African startups to participate at the GITEX GLOBAL 2023 Expand North Star Pitch Competition.
All the winners from the Lagos and Abuja editions will enjoy full sponsorship to GITEX AFRICA holding in Marrakech, Morocco 31 May – 2 June 2023 and Expand North Star, GITEX GLOBAL holding in Dubai, UAE October 16-20, 2023.
The jury are all set for the Lagos edition. They include:
1. Olatubosun Alake, Special Adviser, Innovation & Technology, Lagos State Govt; Harvard Kennedy School; Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council.
2. David Omomia, Technology Enthusiast, partner of THCO, a Growth and Productivity company, co-founder and CTO, FINCRA
3. Sheila Ojei, Strategist | Stakeholder Management | Impact Communications Expert | Trinity College Dublin; Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF)
4. Aisha Raheem-Bolarinwa, Founder at Farmz2U | Techstars ’21 | Harambean | CIMA; Queen Mary University of London Farmz2U
5. Zion Thompson, Startup Growth Advisor | Venture Builder | Tech Advisor | Strategist | Mentor | Ecosystem Builder |Eviola & Co.
6. Oguntade Oladapo Adeseye, Founder @Nroute.ng, Innovator, Futurist, Tech Preneur, Mentor, StatechallengeNG initiator and Innovation Officer at NITDA @ngrinnovation, Sheffield Hallam University England, UK
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Lagos State are partnering with the DWTC to host the event.
“This is an African-focused event. The DWTC is partnering with the Nigerian government through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, NITDA; and other local partners including Lagos State government, Art of Technology, and Pinnacle for the Nigeria’s end of the initiative,” said Akande Ojo, president, Pinnacle Global Business Services Limited to IT Edge News in Lagos.
Pinnacle, an investment advisory & event management company, is the sole representative, Nigeria and West Africa for the DWTC.
