The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has announced the second edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI 2.0), with a combined prize value of $220,000, for Nigerian star-ups.

The prize goes with an all-expense paid, five-week training at Draper University, Silicon Valley, USA, for young Nigerian winners, according to a statement by the organisation, in Abuja, yesterday.

The maiden edition of the NPI Programme commenced with over 2,000 applications and a rigorous selection process, from which 25 start-ups proceeded to the accelerator phase.

Following this, 10 finalists advanced to the Demo Day to pitch their refined solutions to a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs, innovators, and technology business leaders.

The first three start-ups and seven runners-up clinched a combined prize value of $255,000.

Deriving from the success recorded in the first edition of the innovative programme, the NSIAy has expanded the value proposition to include an all-expense paid training programme at a top-rated university in Silicon Valley, USA, the opportunity to pitch to angel investors, secure additional investment and gain global exposure for the top 10 finalists.

Speaking on the second edition of the NPI programme, the Managing Director, Aminu Umar-Sadiq described the NSIA Prize for Innovation as a clear demonstration of the Authority’s support for the Nigerian tech eco-system and the unique opportunity it presents to enable innovation and ultimately improve socio-economic indicators.

“With the second edition of the programme, the Authority is set to reposition home-grown talents for global relevance,” the MD said.

He added, “The NPI programme is a multi-year commitment of the Authority to support entrepreneurship, empower innovators, create jobs, and enable the Nigerian tech ecosystem.

“It is designed to encourage and support ingenuity within the digital sector and to fund new solutions that could result in transformative and scalable positive impact.

“It is a business enhancement initiative to support early-stage, growth-driven solutions through education, mentorship, and financing before positioning these startups for global relevance.

“The program further validates NSIA’s focus on advancing early-stage homegrown solutions within key priority sectors including financial services, agriculture, power, healthcare, education, and manufacturing among others.”

The NPI programme Is a phased competition broken into 4 stages:

Pre-selection stage: where innovators submit their application through the application portal.

Accelerator stage: where the top finalists participate in a virtual and in-person training boot-camp.

Demo Day: where the top ten finalists pitch their solutions to a panel of tech experts and judges.

Post Demo Day stage: where the top ten finalists participate in an all-expense-paid training programme in Silicon Valley, USA. (Vanguard)