Application Deadline: May 13th, 2022
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in 2021, commissioned an ecosystem mapping report of Nigeria’s startup and entrepreneurial ecosystem with emphasis on the agritech, health tech or cleantech sectors. The ecosystem mapping report highlighted noticeable gaps in the following subsectors within the Agritech innovation space; logistics, cold chain monitoring and insurance. In the HealthTech sector, gaps were discovered in the nutrition, mobile health/fitness apps, healthcare marketing and many more subsectors. Unlike the Agric and healthtech sectors, the cleantech sector in Nigeria is in its growth stage, and with the global shift towards environmental sustainability and responsibility, there is a need to support innovation in this sector.
Next Innovation with Japan (NINJA) Accelerator in Nigeria – 2nd Cohort is designed to enhance the Nigerian startup ecosystem by strengthening underperforming and necessary sub-sectors in sectors (such as agriculture, health and cleantech) in Nigeria. It is expected to have collaboration among participants in the supply chain, contribute significantly to economic growth and promote promising youths with innovative businesses.
The 2nd cohort of the Ninja Accelerator will be conducted entirely online.
Eligibility Criteria
- Your company must be legally incorporated in your country.
- Sector must be agri tech, health tech or clean tech (including finance/logistics in those sectors etc.)
- If you are a foreign company, your company must be legally incorporated with CAC in Nigeria prior to the commencement of the training.
- Applicants startups should be innovative and technology-driven.
- Funding stage should be pre-Seed, Seed and pre-Series A
Benefits:
Tailored Support for Business Growth
Expansion
Opportunity for foreign startups to expand into the Nigerian market
Opportunity
Opportunity to pitch to Japanese investors and corporates at the largest African-focused startup event in Japan
Legal Support
Support with legal incorporation of selected foreign startups in Nigeria
Timeline:
- APRIL
Call for application starts: April 18th 2022 - Call for application ends: May 13th 2022
- Selection Process: 1st screening by documents, 2nd screening by online interview – Mid-May – June 2022
- Finalization of Selection: Mid-June 2022
- Foreign Company Registration Period: June- July 2022
- Online Pitch event to Japanese/ International Investors: July 2022
- Training: August 2022
- Demo day: End of October 2022
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the JICA NINJA Acceleration Program 2022