Nigeria’s Hubpharm Africa and Services has emerged as the winner of the second edition of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Startup Award, defeating other emerging businesses across the sub-region to claim the $30,000 top prize.
Hubpharm, led by its Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Pharm. Tope Kareem, emerged ahead of Senegal’s Gaynako and Côte d’Ivoire’s myOpinion in the competition, which seeks to identify and support innovative businesses capable of contributing to economic development across West Africa.
Gaynako, led by Pape Natango Mbaye, emerged first runner-up and received $20,000, while myOpinion, founded and led by Steve Bah Blesson, emerged second runner-up and received $15,000.
Speaking at the event, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, said the Commission was seeking approval to increase the first prize from $30,000 to $50,000 to make the competition more attractive and competitive.
“As a priority, I am going to management to actually get the permission to now increase the award amount, from $30,000 to $50,000, so that it will become more attractive and competitive,” Zuo said.
He also announced that the Startup Awards would become an annual event, institutionalising a platform that began in 2021 to recognise and support promising entrepreneurs across the region.
The Commission also unveiled a Private Sector Academy aimed at equipping entrepreneurs with business knowledge, practical training and other skills needed to establish, manage and expand sustainable businesses.
According to Zuo, the initiative would complement the financial incentives provided through the Startup Awards by addressing some of the capacity gaps faced by emerging businesses.
He challenged participating entrepreneurs to look beyond the financial rewards of the competition and see themselves as leaders capable of creating impact within their communities and across national borders.
The Commissioner urged the entrepreneurs to draw inspiration from African business leaders who started small and built enterprises with regional and global footprints, citing Nigerian industrialist, Aliko Dangote, as an example.
He said entrepreneurs should not see themselves merely as business innovators but as individuals who had chosen to create change and make a wider impact.
The development comes amid growing efforts across Africa to harness the continent’s youthful population and entrepreneurial potential to drive job creation, innovation and economic diversification.
For ECOWAS, however, supporting startups goes beyond identifying innovative businesses, as entrepreneurs also need access to finance, skills, markets and an enabling environment to scale their operations across the region.
The establishment of the Private Sector Academy alongside the Startup Awards is therefore expected to strengthen the bloc’s support for emerging businesses by combining financial incentives with capacity development.
Hubpharm’s victory gives Nigeria a strong presence in the regional startup ecosystem, while the proposed increase of the top prize to $50,000 is expected to raise the stakes for future editions of the competition.
With the Startup Awards now set to become an annual event, ECOWAS is seeking to build a sustained platform for identifying, supporting and developing businesses capable of contributing to the economic transformation of West Africa.
