NG_Hub FbStart accelerator program graduates 15 Nigerian start-ups

In fulfillment of its commitment to support and empower local start-ups and upcoming entrepreneurs in realizing their business goals, Facebook in partnership with CcHub on Friday April 12 organised a Demo Day and pitching session for graduating startups of its NG_HUB FBStart Accelerator Program.

The session afforded the startups the opportunity to pitch their solutions, ranging from agritech, healthtech, e-transport, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, to investors and potential customers from around the world, and for the invited guests to have first-hand experience trying out their products.

The FbStart accelerator is a research and mentorship driven six-month programme for innovative and visionary teams daring to create solutions with advanced technologies.The accelerator programme provides the startups with the support they need to build and optimize value driven products and match them with resources from Facebook and CcHUB.

Speaking at the event, Kendra Nnachi, Startups and Developers Programme Manager, Facebook said: “We are really proud of the growth of the pitching startups and their solutions which are very crucial for the current realities in the country and for Africa as a whole.

We went around the country to different universities and hubs to search for people with innovative ideas and a passion for driving impact. Out of those communities came these 15 startup teams who have been working on their solutions for the past six months. We are proud of their progress, and hope that this experience will positively change their lives.”

Damilola Teidi, Director of Incubation, CcHub, described the partnership between Facebook and Cchub as beneficial.

“We partnered with Facebook last year because as an incubation hub, we understand the intricacies and issues facing startups in the country, especially in regards to funding. This year, we regard these pitching startups as harvested potentials and this platform presents an opportunity for optimization and funding for them.”

Among the startups and their solutions were RoadPreppers who designed Lara.ng, a chatbox for public transit directions in Nigeria and other developing countries; Quadron Studios who came up with QVES, a Virtual Reality safety training solution that prepares enterprise workers for emergency situations by use of immersive virtual training experiences.

Others include; Gricd Agroservices, whose product, GRICD Frij is an affordable and portable cold chain device for efficient storage of vaccines, blood and other health/agricultural products, as well as Vetsark, a web-based platform that uses disease report data to predict, prevent and manage disease outbreaks, for the benefit of livestock farmers, veterinarians and public health.

Other startups are DeepQuest AI, Project Move, Up NEPA, Treplabs, Plantheus, Cycles, Insyt, SayPeace, Chiniki Guard, Team Kanji, as well as Smart Electricity.