Techpoint Awards 2020: Complete list of winners and Hall of Fame inductees

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August 30, 2020
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5 min read

Editor’s note [Updated on September 18, 2020]: Following GIG Logistics' request to exercise its legal rights, the company has been removed from the finalists in the Logistics Category of the Awards.


On January 1, 2020, Techpoint Awards (Nigerian startup edition) was launched, as part of plans to mark the fifth-year anniversary of Techpoint Africa.

Originally set to hold on the 2nd of May, 2020, the inaugural Techpoint Awards ceremony was rescheduled twice, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Finally, on August 28th, 2020, during the second day of Techpoint Build 2020, the awards ceremony was streamed live on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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A quick background timeline

  • On January 1, 2020, Techpoint Africa opened preliminary nominations to the public.
  • Preliminary nominations closed on February 29, 2020, after which valid entries for each category were screened and shortlisted by an in-house committee.
  • Shortlisted candidates were announced on March 18, 2020

The awards are grouped under three categories: Users’ Choice, Techpoint Editorial Choice and Judges' Choice (see independent panel of judges here).

Users’ Choice Award

Best Nigerian app (2015 - Jan. 2020)

This award is for a user-favourite app built by Nigerians for Nigerians. This is the only category that was completely judged by audience votes.

The top voted apps were CarbonPiggyVest, and Cowrywise

Winner: PiggyVest
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner PiggyVest

Founded in 2016, PiggyVest helps individuals and businesses manage their finances.

Editorial Choice Awards

Awards in these categories were judged by the Techpoint Africa editorial team, having extensively covered the Nigerian tech startup space over the last five years.

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New Startup of the Year (2019 - Jan. 2020)

Nominees included 54gene, Chaka, Eden, PlentyWaka, and uLesson.

Winner: 54gene
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner 54Gene

The biotech startup was founded in 2019 and offers a genetics testing platform to hospitals and pharmaceuticals.

Most Active Venture Capitalist (2015 - Jan. 2020)

Nominees included CRE Venture Capital, Omidyar Network, Ventures Platform, and Y Combinator

Winner: Ventures Platform
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner Ventures Platform

With the highest number of startups added to its portfolio within the review period, Ventures Platform emerged as the winner of this category.

Categories judged by independent panel

The winners of the next seven categories were selected by an independent panel of judges.

Most Impactful Independent Tech Community (2015 - Jan. 2020)

For their work in helping the tech ecosystem in Nigeria within the last five years, DigiClan, ForLoop Africa, Startup Arewa, Startup South, and Tech Skills Hack emerged as nominees.

Winner: DigiClan
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The community of digital marketing professionals at DigiClan came out tops.

Most Outstanding Startup Driving Financial Inclusion (2015 - Jan. 2020)

Kudi, OPay, Paga, and Riby Finance were the nominees for this category.

Winner: Paga
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner Paga

Paga, the mobile payment company enabling people to digitally send and receive money won. The company was founded in 2009.

Most Outstanding Electronic Payments Startup (2015 - Jan. 2020)

The nominees included Flutterwave, OPay, Paga, and Paystack.

Winner: Flutterwave
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner Flutterwave

The fintech startup was founded in 2016 and provides a payment service for global merchants and payment service providers.

Most Outstanding Agro-crowdfunding Startup

Agropartnerships, Farmcrowdy, Payfarmer, and Thrive Agric were the nominees in this category.

Winner: Farmcrowdy
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner Farmcrowdy

The digital agriculture platform connects farm sponsors with real farmers and was founded in 2016.

Most Outstanding Logistics Startup (2015 to Jan. 2020)

Nominees for this category included Africa Courier Express, Kobo360, and MAX Logistics.

Winner: Kobo360
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner Kobo360

The winner, Kobo360, is a digital logistics platform that aggregates end-to-end haulage operations. It was founded in 2017.

Most Outstanding Mobility Startup (2015 - Jan. 2020)

Pitting two motorcycle-focused startups with car-mobility startups, Bolt, Gokada, MAX.ng and Uber went head-to-head in this category.

Winner: MAX.ng
Techpoint Awards 2020 Winner MAX

Max.ng, also known as Metro Africa Express, emerged as the winner. Founded in 2015, the startup addresses the last-mile delivery and online-retail problems by using mobile and web platforms.

Big Tech Company Most Supportive of the Startup Ecosystem

None of the nominees provided the required information. Therefore, this award category was scrapped.

Hall of Fame inductees

After announcing the awards selected by our judges to these companies, we focused on recognising more greatness. We celebrated 5 outstanding individuals who have contributed immensely to the Nigerian startup ecosystem from 2015-2019 and inducted them into the Techpoint Hall of Fame.

Funke Opeke (Infrastructure)

24

Funke Opeke, founder and CEO, MainOne, for her work in helping internet accessible in Lagos and some parts of Nigeria, was inducted into the Infrastructure category.

Gbenga Sesan (Policy)

35

Gbenga Sesan, for his work with Paradigm Initiative, he was inducted into the Policy category of the Techpoint Hall of Fame.

Omobola Johnson (Governance)

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Omobola Johnson was inducted into the Governance category of the Techpoint Hall of Fame. The general partner at TLCom Capital was recognised for her impact on the Nigerian tech ecosystem especially during her time as the country's minister of Communication Technology. And also her work with Alliance for Affordable Internet.

Bosun Tijani (Incubators and Accelerators)

34

For his contributions to the tech ecosystem as co-founder and CEO of Co-Creation Hub, Tijani was recognised and inducted into the Accelerators and Incubators category.

Emmanuel Oluwatosin (Communities and Events)

61

Finally, Emmanuel Oluwatosin was inducted into the Communities & Events category of the Hall of Fame. He was recognised for his work with Mobile Monday, a not-for-profit organisation and community that focused on driving the development of tech in the country.

Endlessly amused by technology. @ulonnaya
Endlessly amused by technology. @ulonnaya
Endlessly amused by technology. @ulonnaya

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