Access to capital, business support and mentorship is a critical factor in helping Nigeria’s growing pool of entrepreneurs move from ideas to sustainable businesses, as seed grants were awarded at the second Next Frontier Conference (NFC 2.0) giving early-stage startups funding to expand operations and reach more customers.
This practical support offered to early-stage founders was central to the vision of the conference, designed to move beyond discussions and create direct connections between entrepreneurs, capital and expertise.
Ann Tame, founder of Washup Weekly, a laundry pickup and delivery platform,won the business pitch competition with N700,000 as part of a N1 million seed grant, sponsored by Masterpiece Energies Limited.
Other emerging founders were awarded grants during the conference, which was convened by Chigbo Okeke, founder and lead consultant of Jobrole Consulting Limited, under the theme ‘Beyond Boundaries: Building the Future’.
The event brought together over 300 entrepreneurs, founders, professionals, investors and business leaders creating a platform for participants to connect talent, ideas, capital and opportunities for business growth, with conversations also on Nigeria’s changing employment landscape.
According to Okeke, solutions must move beyond economic dialogue to immediate capital, mentorship, and operational strategies for early-stage ventures.’We needed to go beyond conversations and create a platform where ideas, talent, capital and opportunity can meet to reflect our belief that the next generation of Nigerian businesses will be built by people willing to challenge conventional thinking, develop relevant skills, embrace technology and build across boundaries’, he said.
For Tame, the business emerged from an opportunity she and her co-founder identified in the growing on-demand services market, where platforms such as Chowdeck and Bolt had already demonstrated the potential of app-based convenience services.
‘My co-founder and I saw a gap in the laundry space with the existence of apps like Chowdeck and Bolt, but not necessarily anything for laundry. So our solution is that now, every week, you don’t have to think about washing your clothes. You just put the clothes in a bag, we come and pick it up, launder and bring it back, and you only have to pay once a month via a monthly subscription,’ she said.
With the new funding, Tame said the immediate focus would be on strengthening the business’s capacity to serve more customers and expand its reach.
‘The grant will help us get more machines so we can increase our operational capacity and marketing to get more users,’ she said.
Asides the winner, Adelani Adeyinka Adelaja, founder of DelayFree, a courier delivery aggregator and delivery cost comparison platform emerged as second runner-up with a grant of N300,000 to expand his customer acquisition efforts.
Other finalists who pitched high-potential ventures included Future Ahiate of Cafers, Buhari Salisu of Vision Link AI, and Yusuf Oladejo of DSGlobal Elevare.
Providing guidance and mentorship
The conference further provided emerging founders with access to experienced business leaders through a speed mentoring session, reinforcing the importance of guidance, networks and institutional support in shortening the learning curve for entrepreneurs.
Discussions focused on practical strategies for building sustainable businesses, developing relevant skills, leveraging technology and accessing capital in Nigeria’s changing economic environment.
Adora Ikwuemesi, PhD, founder and director of Kendor Consulting, said the country was moving towards a skills economy where earning capacity increasingly depends on specialised knowledge and the ability to solve specific problems.
‘We are in a skills economy, not in the job market. A good part of work and earning a living comes directly from your skill set, knowledge and ability to solve specific problems.
The conference also examined the challenges confronting early-stage businesses, including premature expansion, weak financial controls, inadequate customer validation and poor risk management.
Sola Oladunjoye, CEO of Aigle Limited, urged entrepreneurs to master their core business before expanding into new verticals, noting that sustainable growth requires operational discipline.
Technology was another major focus, with business and technology experts demonstrating how artificial intelligence can help small businesses automate repetitive processes, improve productivity and reduce operating costs.
Oludaisi Joseph, CEO of Kapacity Innovative Concepts, described AI as an amplifier of human expertise rather than a substitute for critical thinking, while Nigel Newman, co-founder and managing director of Big Five Assessment, highlighted the financial benefits his organisation had achieved through practical AI adoption.
For Okeke, the objective is ultimately to help build a generation of Nigerian businesses and professionals equipped to create value, compete effectively and contribute to the country’s economic future.
The conference aims to evolve beyond an annual event into a platform that continuously connects eeearly-stage startups grants, mentors and opportunities.