African-focused Venture firm Techcircle has announced the fifth edition of its startup pitch competition, Pitch2Win.
Scheduled for July 30, 2025, the competition will feature 15 startups from across Africa vying for a $10,000 equity-free grant, with over 30 global investors and prominent local VCs.
Successful applicants for Pitch2Win 5 will receive pitch coaching, mentorship, and one-on-one meetings with investors during the event. Application for the event closes by June 15, 2025.
The Pitch2Win competition launched in 2023 and has since become a launchpad for some of Nigeria’s most promising early-stage startups. The competition has helped project startups that have collectively raised over $50 million.
Techcircle assists African startup founders, corporations and government agencies with advisory, consultancy and support services.
“Pitch2Win is more than just a pitch competition. It’s a launchpad. We are proud to connect high-potential startups with the capital, visibility, and expert feedback they need to scale,” says Oo Nwoye, founder of Techcircle.
Last year’s winner, Regtxa, a platform that promotes financial inclusion, went on to secure an additional $400,000 in funding within a week of pitching.
Other startups, including Pharmarun, an online medical platform, Tyms, a software company and ZeroComplex, an AI software, have also gone on to secure funding following their participation in the competition.
This year’s panel features a mix of Japanese investors and top-tier Nigerian VC firms. The 2024 edition saw the likes of Hiro Mashita (SGverse/SGgrow), Yuzuru Honda (FreakOut Holdings and representatives from IVS, a Japanese crypto and startup conference.
Notable past participants of the competition include Reliance Health, LifeBank, Edves, Curacel, Lendsqr and Figorr (formerly Gricd).
This edition is set out to find visionary Nigerian-based innovators and founders, early-stage and tech-enabled startups (pre-seed to seed stage) and teams able to attend the physical pitch event in Lagos on July 30, 2025.
With the global investor spotlight shifting towards emerging markets in Africa, events like Pitch2Win offer a unique opportunity for Nigerian founders to showcase innovation on their terms without giving up equity too early.
