Nigeria is still a leading hub for entrepreneurs in Africa despite the difficult business environment. The country has earned this position as a result of its population and its increasing number of start-ups support organizations active in the ecosystem, as well as the growing number of entrepreneurs. As a result of this, we are yearly seeing more innovative entrepreneurs providing solutions to societal challenges, causing disruption in their sectors, and at the same time creating jobs.
On this note, 9jaTop10 takes a close look at some of these start-ups who promise to make some serious waves in the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem in 2020. The criteria adopted in our assessment and listing entails but not limited to social and economic impact, international recognition, and growth, the structure of the business, expansion, and potential for growth. Worthy of note is the fact that the entrepreneurs are not in any particular order.
1. Adepeju Jaiyeola – Mothers Delivery Kits
Jaiyeola studied Law at Obafemi Awolowo University, but she has since decided to move to the health sector to make impacts. She had an unforgettable experience in 2011 which later became an inspiration. She lost a very promising close friend at childbirth. This experience made her wonder what women in rural communities without education, money, and good jobs could be going through. This curiosity made her go to these communities and saw things herself. The difference here is that she decided to do something about it.
In 2014, she founded Mothers Delivery Kit to reduce maternal mortality in rural communities. In the same year, Maternal mortality in Nigeria was 814/10,000 live births, so she needed to do something to reduce this phenomenon. The kit provided by her start-up is an assembly of all the things a woman needs at childbirth. The kits are not completely free, but sold at the barest amount of $5. Since 2014, she has sold more than 500,000 kits across 346 communities in Nigeria. She has also been privileged to receive the support of the United States African Development Foundation in kicking off Mothers Delivery Kits.
2. Temie Giwa-Tubosun – LifeBank
She is the founder and CEO of LifeBank, a start-up that works with hospitals to find lifesaving medical products. Tubosun came into limelight in November 2019 after winning Jack Ma Foundation’s Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative, $250,000 in Ghana. So far, Lifebank has distributed more than 16,000 units of blood, registered more than 35,000 donors, and partnered with over 400 hospitals to save more than 4,500 lives.
3. Abasi Ene-Obong – 54gene
He left his role as a Management Consultant in the pharmaceutical sector to move back to Nigeria to build Africa’s first biobank. It was founded by this young entrepreneur in July 2019 to unlock the African genome and advance the understanding of the world’s most genetically diverse populace. Supported by investors including Fifty Years Ventures, KdT ventures, amongst others, 54genes focuses at equilibrating healthcare for people of African origin while improving the quality of medical care all over the world.
4. Chibuzo Opara – DrugStoc
DrugStoc is a multi-channel, cloud-based platform with more than 7,000 high-quality drugs, co-founded by Chibuzo Opara. Opara is a Medical Doctor and Health Economist, while his co-founder, Adham Yehia is an expert in health facilities management. This drug firm works with over 800 pharmacies and with the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria, which has over 2,000 registered members. The amount of prescriptions through hospitals and pharmacies that the firm serviced in the last two years is over two million.
5. Adetola Rilwan Nola – Veritasi Homes
He is a passionate entrepreneur who is on a mission to improve individuals’ wellbeing through the provision of affordable housing for low-income Nigerians. Nola was listed as one of the Forbes Africa 120 Game Changers in 2019 and was moved to found Veritasi Homes and Properties Limited in 2017 because of his desire to help Nigerians own their own homes. Impressively, Nola now has 18 full-time employees, 1,300 realtors and 12,000 real estate consultants.
6. Akomolafe Bankole – Akotex Group
He was also listed as one of the Forbes Africa 120 Game Changers in 2019. At age 26, he has made a notable impact in the Nigerian Business world. He is the Managing Director of Akotex Group, a conglomerate of four businesses across many industries, including elevator fitness, real estate/construction, wellness, and technology.
Drawing from his rapid rise over the past years, there is a great chance that his business would soon become a top brand in Nigeria and Africa at large.
7. Anike Lawal – Mamalette
Anike was inspired to establish her company because of her first experience as a mother. Then, she needed a health platform to seek answers to questions on maternal health. Lack of such made her establish Mamalette in 2013. The business partners with some medical practitioners and health experts who provide answers to questions asked by mothers and would-be mothers. Mamalette’s online network has grown and reaches over 40,000 mothers monthly. Over a million persons have visited the site since inception.
8. Angel Adelaja – Fresh Direct
She founded Fresh Direct in 2014 to make agriculture easy and fun for young people, empower them with employment and encourage them to be successful employers of labour. She further created a stackable container farm utilizing shipping containers, where a single container can produce vegetables grown on one-and-a-half acres of land. Her business also creates low-tech affordable technologies from native materials to make farming simpler.
9. Etop Ikpe – Cars45
He is a veteran entrepreneur with a wealth of experience in automobiles, marketing, transport, and mobile communications technology. Cars45 raised a $5million Series from the frontier Cars Group in May 2017, according to Forbes. In 2018, he was listed as Forbes under 30 most inspiring entrepreneur in Africa. His businesses have created thousands of direct and indirect jobs for Nigerians.
10. Wole Akeju – Redbox Deluxe
Interesting enough, Wole’s inspiration was as a result of his passion for food. The business was launched in 2019, and has since developed from a single outlet to four outlets currently. It has further partnered with Opay Foods and Jumia amongst others, to ensure the effective delivery of food to its clients anywhere in Lagos and its environment. The business currently has 8 full-time and 25 part-time employees, all Nigerians.
We have got Great Talents in Nigeria.