Itanna concluded its 2019 Accelerator program on Thursday 14th November, by hosting its second annual Demo Day. At the event, the three participating companies presented their businesses to investors, Honeywell Group executives and other industry leaders.
The Demo Day follows Itanna’s three-month Accelerator program, which connects participating companies with the creativity, imagination and expertise of Itanna and provides them with unprecedented access to Itanna and Honeywell Group’s leadership team, mentorship, and support. This year’s Itanna Accelerator companies focused on a range of innovative technologies in areas such as Health, Real estate and Education
The demo day included a panel discussion; focused on how to choose the right funding model for businesses, was composed of leading venture capitalists and experienced founders who have raised and are in the process of raising venture capital. The panel, which was facilitated by Charles Ifedi (Adviser, Itanna), included Ayodeji Adewumi, (President & Co-CEO, Gokada and Director, Africa, Rise Capital), Adia Sowho, (VP of Growth at Mines.io) and Lanre Oyedotun (CEO, Fieldinsight)
Many companies that have been part of the Itanna Accelerator since it launched in 2018 continue to collaborate with various divisions of the Honeywell Group on exploring new market opportunities and expanding their market access.
Speaking about the reason Honeywell Group started Itanna, Tomi Otudeko, Director of Itanna and Head Innovation and Sustainability at Honeywell Group stated that “Itanna allows us to partner with the growing Nigerian tech ecosystem by identifying and supporting tech and tech-enabled businesses that can leverage our experience and network to grow. We allow them to stand on our shoulders, to transform themselves into strategic enterprises that would catalyze economic growth”
In addition, Tony Idugboe, Head of Investment at Itanna said “We are very thrilled with the calibre of entrepreneurs the Nigerian Tech ecosystem has to offer. At Itanna, we worked with each company on an individual basis to stress-test their value propositions and their core business models so they can emerge from our program as stronger companies. We believe in each of these companies and are extremely excited to see what these companies are now capable of achieving”
The three (3) startups that participated in the demo day were selected from over 200 applications received from eight (8) African countries. The three startups are: Gerocare, a company that leverages technology and traditional African family values of adult children taking care of their parents to provide a structure for medical care for the elderly Simbi Interactive, which uses interactive questioning and answering to help students learn, master and evaluate themselves in any subject and E-Estates, a mobile/web solution that helps estate managers coordinate their affairs and interaction with residents effectively.
These startups received investment to the tune of thirty thousand US dollars ($30,000) coupled with training and mentorship from leading industry experts in the form of legal and HR workshops, classes on technology, business and marketing, reviews of revenue/pricing model, operational metrics, mentorship sessions and guest lectures from some of Nigeria’s most renowned entrepreneurs and business icons.
Itanna is constantly evaluating and redesigning its Accelerator programme to deliver exceptional impact in the African Tech Ecosystem. It is Itanna’s objective to be the leading change agent using Enterprise to Ignite and champion entrepreneurial talent and disruptive Technology in the Nigerian tech ecosystem.
Itanna operates from her Enterprise Factory located in Iganmu, the heart of industrial Lagos where businesses are built. The state of the art 627 square metres collaborative space boasts of workspaces, offices, meeting rooms and conference space. The partners for the second accelerator program include: Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, Amazon Web Services, and First Registrars
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