Nigerian Startups Beat 4,000 Entries To Win Two Awards In Pakistan

Nigerian startups have secured two major recognitions at the SEE Pakistan 2026 World Startup Championship in Lahore, emerging with the country award for Growth and Innovation and an individual prize for Best Skincare and Beauty Products.

The Nigerian feat came after more than 4,000 applications from over 40 countries were received for the international startup competition, organised by OIC-COMSTECH in collaboration with the Association of Private Sector Universities Pakistan (APSUP).

Zara of Nature’s Sleek Limited, an entrepreneur supported by the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) Technology Incubation Centre in Minna, Niger State, won the individual award for Best Skincare and Beauty Products.

The Nigerian delegation also clinched the Country Award in the Growth and Innovation Category, placing the country among the delegations recognised at the international startup championship.

Speaking on behalf of the participating entrepreneurs, Mr Ndotehyin Kingsley Ekanem, developer of a medical oxygen generator, said the awards followed months of preparation and training under NBTI’s Technology Incubation Programme.

Ekanem said the programme exposed participating entrepreneurs to training in areas including ISO 9001:2024, project management, export preparedness and corporate marketing, which he said strengthened their readiness for the global competition.

He said the entrepreneurs were nominated following an invitation issued by the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and NBTI on June 10, 2026, for entrepreneurs across the Board’s technology incubation centres to participate in the championship.

The Entrepreneurs

According to him, the Nigerian delegation participated in a boot camp after arriving in Pakistan, where they engaged in business-to-business and business-to-consumer activities before the championship finals.

At the finals, the participating countries were given exhibition booths to display their products and engage venture capitalists, angel investors and potential business partners.

“This is where SEE Pakistan turned up to see Nigeria,” Ekanem said while describing the attention attracted by the Nigerian exhibition booths.

The individual award winner, Zara of Nature’s Sleek Limited, was promised 100,000 Pakistani rupees, estimated at about ₦490,000, as financial support.

The achievement has also prompted the participating entrepreneurs to seek greater government support to enable them move from international recognition to large-scale production and commercialisation.

The entrepreneurs appealed to the Federal Government to provide financial assistance for the international commercialisation of their products and requested that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology facilitate their presentation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for national recognition.

They also called for NBTI and Federal Government intervention with their respective state governments to provide appropriate facilities and infrastructure for participating entrepreneurs.

According to the team, such support would enable them establish permanent production facilities, expand their businesses, create jobs and increase their contribution to local economies.

They further requested ₦6.83 million per participant in logistics support, citing additional expenses incurred during the trip, including extended accommodation, local transportation, feeding necessitated by dietary requirements and flight-related logistics.

Reacting to the achievement, NBTI Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Kazeem Kolawole Raji, congratulated the entrepreneurs and commended NBTI staff, centre managers, mentors and technical officers who contributed to their preparation.

Raji said the performance demonstrated the potential of Nigerian entrepreneurs to compete on international innovation platforms and highlighted the importance of incubation, mentorship, product development and commercialisation.

He said NBTI would continue to support technology-based enterprises and strengthen connections between Nigerian innovators and international investors, markets and strategic partners.

For the entrepreneurs, the Lahore experience has provided international exposure, investor access and recognition, while also highlighting the funding, infrastructure and commercialisation challenges they say must be addressed if Nigerian startups are to translate innovation into sustainable businesses at scale.