The grand finale of the South East Pitch Competition by the Southeast Development Commission (SEDC) is slated for May 25th.
This event will be followed by an investment ceremony on May 26th to celebrate the winners of the venture capital initiative. The Southeast Pitch Competition is an initiative of the SEDC that aims to inject N70 billion into the Southeast tech ecosystem.
The venture capital initiative is for early-stage and advanced startups competing in the incubator and accelerator categories. They are competing for a respective $5,000 and $20,000 seed fund from the N70 billion seed money earmarked for the project by the SEDC.
The funding program is available to startups in only ten tech categories, a narrow and specific scope for applicants. The fields include
- Manufacturing and Industrial Tech
- Agritech and Food Systems
- Fintech and Financial Inclusion
- Commerce and Logistics
- Healthtech
- Clean Energy
- Edtech
- Creative Economy
- Proptech
- Digital Economy and Saas
209 Startups Move to the Next Round
After weeks of rigorous selection and vetting, the SEDC selected 209 startups from its over 1,000 applications for the next round of the event. The 209 startups consist of 82 incubator startups and 128 accelerator startups.
According to the SEDC’s website, the following criteria were used in the selection process for both categories. Eligible applications were evaluated across five core criteria, each scored on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high).
Accelerator Track
- Problem–Solution Fit
- Execution & Progress
- Market Opportunity
- Technology Component
- Traction & Revenue
Incubator Track
- Problem–Solution Fit
- Execution & Progress
- Market Opportunity
- Technology Component
- MVP Validation & Early Signals
The venture capital initiative is supervised by an advisory committee which consists of ten experts from various fields. The SEVC program marks the first major initiative by the SEDC to have a direct impact on the masses. Since launch, the commission has focused on strategic sessions and ideation, drawing angst from critics who want to see more material impact on the southeast.
The SEDC CEO is an experienced administrator who cut his teeth at the Anambra Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA). He believes the Southeast can become a $1 trillion economy by 2036 with sufficient regional collaboration among its member states.
