By Adedapo Adesanya
ColdHubs has emerged winner of this year’s edition of FCMB Agritech EPIC Pitch 2020 competition, receiving N1 million in prize money as well as access to workspace and networks for innovation and collaboration.
Business Post had reported in July that the third edition of the programme would see the bank in close partnership with Passion Incubator grant funding of N1.5 million to two tech start-ups in the agriculture sector to support their business growth.
Other benefits for winners include mentor support, workspace, and access to market and networks, while entrepreneurs will also have access to Passion Incubator’s resources, partner organisation support, and business development services.
The application phase saw close to 2,000 agritech startups from over 16 countries around the world filing in entries, with 10 startups named as semi-finalists. After two days of semi-final pitches, six of those companies – all from Nigeria – progressed to the final.
ColdHubs, which designs, installs, commissions and operates solar-powered walk-in cold rooms, was named overall winner, while AgroHive, an HR-tech startup that helps agribusinesses access a consistent supply of skilled agricultural staff, came second and won N500,000.
The other finalists were Farmz2U, which helps farmers access tailored agricultural expertise using data and market access via system integrations; Beat Drone, which uses drones for spraying, crop health assessment and farmland mapping.
Others include Tradebuza, which digitises commodities sourcing and trade for large agribusinesses who run out-grower schemes; and Farmspeak Technology, which manufactures IoT-powered that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose poultry diseases.
Speaking on this, Mrs Rolayo Akhigbe, divisional head of transaction banking at FCMB said, “We are passionate about supporting Nigeria’s tech ecosystem and this initiative is one of the ways through which we are building and accelerating the growth of the agri-tech startups in Nigeria, as well as the larger African continent.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCMB Agritech Epic Pitch 2020 was the first virtual edition of the initiative, however, it delivered the same value to participants, as demonstrated in previous editions.
Modupe Gbadeyanka