Nume Ekeghe
The Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, has been appointed honorary chair of the inaugural cohort of the Askya AI Growth Platform, a pan-African programme that will invest up to $2 million in 10 African Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups.
The programme, launched by Askya Investment Partners, will provide selected startups with up to $200,000 each to support their growth, with the investment coming without equity dilution for participating founders.
Beyond funding, the platform is designed to help the startups achieve product-market fit, strengthen their businesses and gain access to customers and markets needed to scale across Africa.
The initiative comes as the continent’s artificial intelligence ecosystem attracts growing attention over its potential to drive economic growth and create new technology businesses.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has estimated that inclusive deployment of AI could add as much as $1 trillion to Africa’s gross domestic product by 2035.
Askya AI Growth Platform is, therefore, seeking to channel part of that opportunity towards African founders building AI-native solutions, with the programme focused on increasing the number of companies developing technology on the continent rather than simply consuming products developed elsewhere.
For Eniolorunda, who built Moniepoint into one of Nigeria’s leading business technology platforms, the role provides an opportunity to support founders at an early stage of their journey and help them overcome some of the barriers to scaling technology businesses.
Eniolorunda said: “Africans can build solutions for people all over the world, and AI may be the clearest opportunity yet to prove it.
“Our young founders are ready; what they need is execution support and access to real customers. Helping talented builders go further is the work I care about most, and it is why I am glad to chair this first cohort.”
Also, Founder and Managing Partner of Askya Investment Partners, Babacar Seck, said Eniolorunda’s experience building a technology company around African market needs made him suited to guide the founders selected for the programme.
Seck said: “As founder and CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin has shown how to build a generational technology company that addresses real African needs, with ambition, relentless commitment, superior execution and authenticity.
“It is an honour to have him chair our first cohort and help show the way to the next generation of builders, as we back them to reach product-market fit and scale across the continent.”