Top Nigeria Tech Companies in 2020

The world keeps revolving, and undoubtedly technology is one of the main driving forces to economic development and growth.

It brings about new innovations and inventions on how to handle and make things easier and faster to attain. Technology in Nigeria has really helped the country to attain certain heights in the economy, with technology efficiency and effectiveness is made possible.

 Let’s look at the top tech companies in 2020;

1) ULesson

When Ulesson launched in March 2020, Sim Shagaya probably didn’t foresee an epidemic that will completely disrupt education and traditional classroom learning. But he knew his product would bridge the education gap in Africa, and he launched.

 Few months down the line, Ulesson is providing unfettered access to quality education for learners in Anglophone West African countries, where ordinarily, access to quality education is a nightmare for millions, and with COVID-19, little or no learning is taking place.

Ulesson is an app-based home education kit for a student that leverages on network of tutors to bridge educational gaps for secondary school students in Nigeria.

The startup already raised $3.1 million to scale its audiovisual education content service across Africa. Ulessons is democratizing access to quality education in Africa.

2) 54Gene

54gene is a US and Nigeria-based African startup that collects African genetic code for use in health research and drug development. The company utilizes human genetic data from diverse African populations to improve the development, availability, and efficacy of medical products that will prove beneficial to Africans and the wider global population.

Lack of African-focused genetic research and a consequential ineffectual diagnosis for diseases peculiar to the black race has been a pain point for ages. 54Gene is changing those narratives.

The company has attracted investment rounds from US VC firms since its launch, the latest being a $15 million round closed in 2020 to scale its genome data bank operations and research collaboration efforts in Africa.

54Gene came in handy during the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria, providing a wide range of support for the diagnosis of the disease including raising a total of $500,000 to increase the testing capacity in public laboratories by at least 1,000 additional tests per day.

3) Flutterwave

Flutterwave is a San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech startup that provides B2B payments services for companies operating in Africa to pay other companies on the continent and abroad. The company is a graduate of the Y-Combinator accelerator in Silicon Valley.

Just few months into launch, Flutterwave had processed payments to the value of US$1.5 billion and 14 million transactions. The fintech startup has gone ahead to impact millions of payment service providers, global merchants, licensed money transfer operators, and pan-African banks, helping them to process payments in Africa with one API integration.

In January 2020, Flutterwave raised a $35 million Series B funding and announced a partnership with Worldpay FIS for payments in Africa.

The funding has helped Flutterwave to invest in technology and business development and to grow market share in existing countries in Africa. The company is also expanding its capabilities to offer more services around its payment products.

Flutterwave is empowering African businesses to thrive and we can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves in the coming years.

4) LifeBank

LifeBank is an healthcare startups that facilitates the transmission of blood from labs across the country to patients and doctors in hospitals they also deliver vital medical supplies such as oxygen, drugs, and medical samples for patients. Through the LifeBank app, people in need of medical care can request these supplies.

Two years after launch, the startup closed a $200,000 seed funding to drive its growth and improve on their offerings, an early indication of greater strides for the company. In 2019, Temie Giwa-Tubosun, Lifebank founder was crowned ‘Africa Business Hero’ at the inaugural grand finale of the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative. Jack Ma’s flagship entrepreneurship programme in Africa and a $250,000 was raised in cash prize.

 LifeBank launched its digital blood and oxygen Bank in Ibadan, Nigeria’s third most populous city. Although founded in Lagos State, LifeBank has steadily expanded, currently having branches in Abuja, Portharcourt and, Ibadan and there are many more

5) Paystack

Often described as a Stripe-like startup out of Lagos, Paystack provides online payment facilities to merchants and small businesses by way of an API and code, thereby solving payment problems for ambitious businesses.

Paystack in 2016 became the first startup from Nigeria to enter YCombinator program, based in Silicon Valley, after which they secured $120,000 early-stage investment from Y Combinator.   The early success of the startup, the zeal of its Ycombinator groomed founders, and transaction that ran into millions of dollars monthly. Investors could hardly resist the urge to throw some funding behind Paystack.

In 2016, Paystack secured a $1.3M seed investment from both international and homegrown investors. The startup announced, it raised $8 million in a series of funding in 2018.  It is also the biggest startup acquisition to date to come out of Nigeria. Stripe acquired Paystack for over $200 million in October 2020 to expand its API-based payments services into the African markets.

Paystack currently has around 60,000 customers, including small businesses, larger corporations, fintech, educational institutions, and online betting companies

6) Max.ng

Founded in 2015, MAX.ng is an on-demand motorbike hailing and delivery service platform that connects users to vetted professional motorcycle-taxi drivers in Lagos via a mobile app.

 Lagos being the most populated city in Nigeria and a road transport system that is largely inefficient, moving from one place to the other is still a nightmare for most Lagosians.  An on-demand hailing service like Max.ng makes life easier for commuters who can escape the most notorious traffic congestions that Lagos is known for.

In June 2019, the company announced plans to introduce e-bikes after closing a $7 million round led by Kenyan Venture capital firm, Novastar Ventures, and Japanese multinationals, Yamaha.

In August 2020, it finally unveiled these bikes. Plans are also underway to venture into water and tricycle transportation, as well as the deployment of mobile payments in partnership with MasterCard. The startup also plans to expand to 10 cities in West Africa.

7) Kobo360

Kobo360 is a Nigerian freight logistics startup that uses technology to connect cargo and truck owners with drivers and customers. The app makes it easy for logistics managers to schedule and monitor trips from the comfort of their homes.

Founded in Lagos in 2017 by Obi Ozor, a former JPMorgan and investment banker, and Ife Oyedele. The startup has a fleet of more than 10,000 drivers and trucks operating on its app. Some of their top clients include Honeywell, Olam, Unilever, Dangote, and DHL. Kobo360 also launched its own driver working capital finance program, KoPay, KoboSafe insurance product, and KoboCare.

 The signing of a landmark continent wide free trade deal aimed at bolstering intra-African trade. The operations of Kobo350 are all the more important and coming at the right time.

In 2019, Kobo360 raised a $20 million Series A round led by Goldman Sachs and $10 million in working capital and financing from Nigerian commercial banks. The startup had been accepted into YC’s 2018 class and gained some working capital in the form of $1.2 million in pre-seed funding led by Western Technology Investment.

 The latest funding shall help Kobo360 to build out its Global Logistics Operating System — GLOS . A blockchain-enabled platform that will help the company transition to more supply-chain services.

8) EDUSKO

Edusko is a Nigerian ed-tech startup that uses technology to connect African parents with verified and suitable private schools. The company is a seamless marketplace and enrollment platform for schools that also allows parents to make informed school choices. It also enables them to access school fees discounts and education finance from their homes.

Founded in 2016, the Company serves over 200,000 monthly users, mostly Sub-Saharan African parents who use the platform to solve their children’s education needs ranging from finding a suitable school to accessing education finance and enrolling their kids with ease. The startup has a presence in more than 50 cities in Nigeria and Ghana and has over 4,000 verified private schools in Nigeria, Ghana, UK, and the US.

The company organizes annually one of the largest education summits in Africa. The Business of Education Summit; an event that brings together education policymakers, school owners, educators, and education stakeholders in Africa to discuss actionable solutions to problems in the African education system.

In 2020, Jide Ayegbusi, founder and CEO of Edusko was one of the three startups from Nigeria selected by Westerwelle Young Founders Programme 2020. The startup was also top 50 at the annual Jack Ma’s African Business Heroes in 2020.

9) Piggyvest

One of the notable startups currently redefining the FinTech industry in Nigeria is Piggyvest. Founded in 2016 as piggybank.ng.  Piggyvest offers online savings plans and investment opportunities to Nigerians. The startup looks to grow millennial Nigerians and the country’s informal sector.

In 2018, the company raised a $1.1M seed funding to secure a micro-financing license from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Four years into their journey, Piggyvest has over 350,000 users who they help manage their finances in a very simple way.  PiggyVest users save & invest billions of Naira every month.

10) Farmcrowdy

Agriculture offers Nigeria a great economic gain and global relevance. This is where Farmcrowdy has positioned itself.

Farmcrowdy is Nigeria’s first digital agriculture platform and a globally recognized Agritech company. It connects small scale farmers across Nigeria with smart farming techniques. It also creates quality farm inputs, and access to broader markets to earn a decent profit margin.

Farmcrowdy has a vision to be the foremost digital agriculture platform in Africa. The company is admired for its impact on collaborative food production and boosting food security across the continent. The impact of its activities is great. It is also empowering small scale farmers as a way of contributing to increasing domestic food production and security.

 Over 12,000 rural farmers have been able to keep their jobs, expand farm operations five times more and increase their income by 80% since Farmcrowdy launched in November2016. The company has received several awards in Nigeria and the continent. Farmcrowdy was founded by Onyeka Akumah, Ifeanyi Anazodo, Akindele Phillips, Jimoh Maiyegun and Tope Omotani.The Company raised more than $2.4m in funding.