The banquet hall in Aso Rock earlier today hosted individuals from different sectors in government and in the technology ecosystem. Although the Aso Villa Demo Day (AVDD) finale was meant to have taken place months ago, Mark Zuckerberg’s appearance at the event was a good surprise for the startups present.
The AVDD had in attendance Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Communications Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg.
Mark Zuckerberg, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo and Adebayo Shittu with the 30 finalists before entering the banquet hall.
After taking several pictures outside the hall with attendees, Mark moves on to the startup exhibition area
Mark engages entrepreneurs at the startup exhibition area of the hall.
Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo walks into the banquet hall with Mark Zuckerberg.
Everyone rises for the National Anthem.
Iyin Aboyeji of Flutterwave climbs the stage to give opening remarks.
Aso Villa Demo Day attendees watch video documentary showcasing all startups that made it to the final rounds of pitches
The 3 finalists Shuttlers NG, Tracology and RecyclePoints are welcomed to the AVDD stage to give their final pitches.
Mark Zuckerberg climbs the AVDD stage to provide feedback on the pitches.
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo climbs the AVDD stage to respond to Mark’s speech and also give his remarks on the pitches.
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo concludes his remarks as everyone applauds.
Mark receives Prof. Yemi Osinbajo back to his seat.
Everyone rises for the National Anthem to close the maiden edition of AVDD.
Aso Villa Demo Day Finale in Abuja came to an end in an emphatic fashion.
During the event it was made clear that the three startups Shuttlers NG, Tracology and RecyclePoints will be given a prize money of ₦3 million each.
Aso Villa Demo Day isn’t all about the proceedings that went down in Abuja today, the memories take us two months back when it all started at the Land Mark Event Centre in Lagos after which the 30 startups were selected.
