The Executive Director of Financial Service Innovators (FSI), a non-profit organisation enabling startups within the technology and financial space, Mrs Aituaz Kola-Oladejo, says it has doled out over N50m to start-ups in the country since its launch in 2021.
Speaking at a media parley to mark the 3rd anniversary of the organisation, Kola-Oladejo noted that Nigeria has become a centre for research and technology innovation and the company has had both direct and indirect impacts on the nation’s technology ecosystem through empowerment, entrepreneurship and mentorship.
She said FSI has over the years, been able to promote open innovation amongst top players in the tech ecosystem and enhancement of access to Fintech APIs.
“So far, 16 Fintech API partners including banks already have 321 API end-points on the innovations sandbox, while 125 Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) have been created from the sandbox.
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“With 728 corporate members, 3,438 individual members, 2,535 student members and over 1,900 participants in nine innovation challenges, FSI has indeed come a long way,” she said.
She added that the company has organised nine hackathons aimed at addressing financial inclusion challenges in agriculture, transportation, health, trade and commerce, as well as energy while playing a leading role in the promotion of innovative culture in tertiary institutions across the country.
“Right now, FSI has 2,535 student members and 712 campus ambassadors since its launch in 2021, while three universities have shown interest in adopting the FSI platform for tech innovation,” Kola-Oladejo said.
She added that “FSI has offered 141 free start-up clinics, had 114 participants in our business validation series, while $81,000 was awarded to winners of our innovation challenges to commence operations as start-ups.”
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