Development Bank Connects Innovators, Investors At 2024 DBN Techpreneur Summit

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has further bolstered the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) within the Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem by facilitating direct interface between investors-ready tech innovators and potential investors, thereby offering qualified techpreneurs opportunity to secure financing deals during the just-concluded annual flagship tech event, 2024 DBN Techpreneur Summit 3.0, held on Thursday, July 10, 2024, in Lagos.

This is even as the keynote speaker, Dr. Celestine Iwendi, an international scholar and Head, Centre of Intelligence of Things, University of Bolton, United Kingdom, admonished Nigerian tech innovators to intensify efforts on research and development of more innovation-based solutions that can help in addressing the numerous social and environmental challenges in the country.

Speaking at the summit, the Managing Director/CEO, Development Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, disclosed that the interface between the tech innovators and potential investors was made possible through partnership between DBN and Addium Capital with the setting up of DealRoom – an exclusive session during the summit that offered opportunity for techpreneurs to meet with potential investors directly.

He stated further that the reason for integrating DealRoom into the summit was to bridge the gap between capital seekers and investors, thereby catalysing funding opportunities and fostering regenerative growth within the Nigerian tech ecosystem.

“By providing a platform for startups to pitch their ideas, network with investors, and explore funding opportunities, the summit seeks to bridge the gap between innovative tech ventures and capital infusion. This emphasises the importance of fostering an environment conducive for investment in Nigerian technology startups, driving economic growth and accelerating job creation,’’ he said.

Dr. Okpanachi added that the innovative concept was also to encourage entrepreneurs to develop innovative solutions that not only drive financial returns, but also generate positive social and environmental impacts specifically for Nigeria. “This underscores the importance of aligning entrepreneurial endeavours with the broader goals of sustainable development, creating a more inclusive and resilient economy.’’ he stressed.

As part of this year’s DBN Techpreneur Summit, a pitch session also held during which 20 tech innovators cutting across green/renewable energy, recycling, fintech, e-commerce, business financing, insurance, nutrition, health, agriculture, transportation, automobile spare parts, and other sustainable innovations showcased innovative ideas. At the end of the pitch presentations, four successful winners received a total prize sum of N20 million as seed money. The winners are; Niteon, PowerLab Limited, Powerful Technology, and TradeLenda.

The DBN boss noted that the bank’s significant impact on Nigerian MSMEs, since it commenced full operations in 2018, include support for women and youth-led businesses, with 72 percent of the beneficiaries being women and 24 percent youth.

Dr. Okpanachi added: “In addition to lending, DBN also provides technical assistance to Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to encourage them to lend to the MSMEs. But that’s not all; DBN also assists in capacity building for MSMEs through our various initiatives, one of which is the Techpreneur Summit, which was initiated to better understand the needs of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem to provide sustainable financial solutions to them.’’

The keynote speaker, Dr. Iwendi, speaking on the theme for this year’s summit, ‘Catalysing Tech Innovation: Empowering Entrepreneurs for Regenerative Growth,’ disclosed that there was a huge market for tech innovations in Nigeria with the myriad social, economic and environmental challenges facing the country. He said innovative solutions could help solve and overcome many of them, including food insecurity, rising general insecurity such as insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, cybercrimes and Internet frauds.

“The growth of the tech sector has been catalysed by increased Internet penetration and smartphone adoption, and Nigeria is benefitting from local and foreign investors in the tech sector. Lagos is Nigeria’s tech hub and the only city in Africa included in the Global Top 100 Startup Ecosystems for 2023, meaning Nigeria is coming up. With a population of over 200 million coupled with multifaceted social, economic and security challenges, Nigeria offers a vast market for tech-driven solutions,’’ he said.

Dr. Iwendi, a technology specialist with interest in Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Robotics, Wireless Sensor Networks and Communication Systems, however, lamented the slow adoption rate of AI in the country, saying while Nigeria was still scratching the surface, Asian countries including China and Indian have already advanced into the second level of AI development and deployment.

He called on the government and industry stakeholders to collaborate in tackling the challenges faced by Nigerian techpreneurs, including inadequate funding, dearth of infrastructure, regulatory issues, inadequate skilled talents, low market penetration and scalability, while advocating urgent need for the reform of the country’s education curriculum towards equipping the youth and graduates for the future of work, which is tech-driven.

The keynote speaker further listed strategies for attracting investments into the nation’s tech sector, among which are building investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy by ensuring transparency and accountability in the systems, creation of attractive investment opportunities through clear business models and potential for scalability, building local and international partnerships, increased government incentives and support programmes like DBN is doing, and increased investment in tech education and skills development.

A panel of eminent industry and business leaders from across diverse segments of the innovation ecosystem also shared insights and perspectives on the limitless opportunities and potential within the Nigeria’s tech sector, and affirmed that the technology frontiers were advancing rapidly, while urging that the nation must take advantage of technology to accelerate real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, solve socio-economic problems and improve the overall well-being of the people.

The distinguished panelists included Kristin Wilson, Co-Founder/Chief Strategy Officer, Spurt, a people technology and strategy solutions company; Ugo Dre, Founder, Nairametrics, an online business and financial publication; Dr. Bayo Adekanmbi, a transformative leader and Convener, Data Science Nigeria; and Solape Akinpelu, Co-Founder/CEO, HerVest, a fintech company that provides inclusive finance to African women. The panel was moderated by Jeremy Dan-Okayi, DBN’s Head, Strategy, Policy and Innovation.