Lagos – Five startups and one investor emerged as winners at AfricArena Lagos Fintech, Mobility & Logistics Summit.
Held at Eko Hotel And Suites on Victoria Island, Lagos in Nigeria, the summit was a visceral triumph of West Africa’s strong fintech, mobility, and logistics ecosystem.
This summit, hosted in collaboration with AWS Startups, GIZ, Redington, VonTech Group, and Methys, showcased West Africa’s prowess in producing a dazzling array of world-class tech talent.
The summit, which took place along the 21st AVCA Conference and VC Summit, brought together global venture capitalists, industry pioneers, and emerging startups for a full-day event focused on pitching sessions, strategic networking, and partnership opportunities.
Being a participant at the event was dynamic as Lady Kay, Head of Communication and Social Impact at Salad Africa, narrated Africa’s tech success story with her excellent storytelling skills as the event’s Master of Ceremonies.
Deepankar Rustagi, founder and CEO at OmniRetail Technology, gave an insightful keynote address titled “Narrating the Fintech Journey: From Headlines to Hustle.”
Jane Egerton-Idehen, CEO at Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited and founder at VonTech Group, said: “Startups continue to help drive the digital economy in Africa using technology to empower and create impact.
“This year’s AfricArena Lagos summit, with over 20 startups showcasing sectors like fintech, logistics, and mobility, has proved this as startups continue to solve Africa’s pressing needs.
“It has shown the value in supporting startups to attract funds, meet investors, and find access to strategic partnerships.”
Daniel von Ritter, Head of Component at GIZ/Digital Transformation Center Nigeria, said: “For GIZ/Digital Transformation Center Nigeria, the partnership with the AfricArena Lagos Summit aimed to give the participating startups from the just concluded techmybiz acceleration program the opportunity to show their progress and to attract potential investors and partners.
“All in all, I can say this partnership has fulfilled all expectations, and I would like to thank and congratulate AfricArena for a very well-prepared and successful debut in Lagos.”
Dan Mabbyalas, AfricArise Director and AfricArena Head of Product & Programs said: “We are incredibly proud of the success of the AfricArena Lagos Summit 2025.
“This year’s summit was more than just an event – it was a powerful gathering of Nigeria’s most dynamic founders, investors, and ecosystem builders, united by a shared vision for Africa’s future.
“We witnessed bold ideas, game-changing innovations, and the undeniable spirit of collaboration.
“Congratulations to all the startups who pitched and especially to our winners – your journey is just beginning.
“If this summit proved anything, it’s that the African tech ecosystem is not only rising — it’s unstoppable.”
Each of the 20 pitching startups demonstrated their diverse and versatile skillsets that have empowered them to build and scale innovative, ground-breaking startups.
As the event culminated in the award ceremony, the five best startups and one investor were announced as the winners of the following awards:
- Best Fintech Startup Award: PaySika (Roger Nengwe Ntafam, Founder & CEO, Cameroon)
- Best Logistics Startup Award: Retail Loop (Emeka Ehinze, Founder & CEO, Nigeria)
- Best E-Commerce Startup Award: Kamel (Aminu Ibrahim Hashim, Co-Founder & CEO, Nigeria)
- Best Energy Startup Award: Koolboks (Lolade Alonge, Business Communications Project Manager, Nigeria)
- Best Seed Startup Award: Vetsark (Blessing Mene, CEO, Nigeria)
- Most Attractive Investor Award: Al Mada Ventures (Morocco)
- Most Promising Entrepreneur Award: Adashi (Ahmed Idris, Founder, Nigeria)
Roger Nengwe Ntafam, founder & CEO at PaySika receives the AfricArena Best Fintech Startup Award from Vaibhav Kinkar, Partner Sales Leader at AWS with AfricArena founder and CEO Christophe Viarnaud looking on (All images: Kinno Media) 
Aminu Ibrahim Hashim, founder & CEO at PaySika receives the AfricArena Best E-Commerce Startup Award from Gilbert Kiprono, Brand Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa at Redington with AfricArena founder and CEO Christophe Viarnaud looking on 
Mukami Wainaina, Investment Officer at Al Mada Ventures won the AfricArena Most Attractive Investor Award at the AfricArena Lagos Fintech, Mobility & Logistics Summit 
Nafisah Abrahams, AfricArena Chief of Staff; Christophe Viarnaud, AfricArena founder & CEO; Blessing Mene, CEO at Vetsark; Dan Mabbyalas, AfricArise Director and AfricArena Head of Product & Programs and Lucas Zimmerman, GIZ Startup Advisor
The winners each won eligibility for up to US$25,000 in AWS Activate credits, and they automatically advanced to the grand finale at the AfricArena Grand Summit, which will take place in December in Cape Town, South Africa.
Mukami Wainaina, Investment Officer at Al Mada Ventures, who received the AfricArena Most Attractive Investor Award on behalf of Al Mada Ventures, said: “We are grateful to have won the AfricArena Reverse Pitching competition.
“Thank you for letting us VCs have our five minutes of fame and shoutout to the founders who make pitching look easy!”
Ahmed Idris, founder and CEO at Adashi who won the AfricArena Most Promising Entrepreneur Award said: “Winning this award is a powerful affirmation of the vision and resilience behind Adashi.
“It’s more than personal recognition – it’s a signal that African-built solutions, like ours, can transform how communities access savings, credit, and financial dignity.
“This award fuels our drive to keep building, innovating, and lifting more lives through technology.”
Aminu Hashim, CEO at Kamel, who walked away with the AfricArena Best E-Commerce Startup Award, said: “Being recognized as winners of the E-commerce Track serves as a great validation of the work we’re doing at Kamel.
“For our team, it’s more than just recognition, it’s a boost of confidence, momentum, and visibility as we continue to build a platform that makes e-commerce more inclusive and accessible for entrepreneurs across Nigeria and beyond.
“We’re incredibly grateful to AfricArena, GIZ, and other partners for shining a light on startups like ours.”
Excited about her win, Lolade Alonge, Business Communications Project Manager at Koolboks said: “We are honored to have won the Best Energy Startup Award at the Africarena Lagos Summit.
“This recognition validates our team’s hard work and dedication to innovating in the energy sector.
“The $25 000 AWS credit will be a game-changer for us at Koolboks, enabling us to scale our predictive maintenance IoT platform, ensuring our vision of continuous cooling for our clients, even in the absence of electricity.
“With AWS, we’ll be able to optimise our infrastructure, enhance data analytics, and improve our platform’s reliability, ultimately delivering more value to our customers.
“This award not only boosts our credibility, but also opens up new opportunities for collaboration and expansion.
“We’re excited to represent Africa’s innovative spirit at the grand finale in Cape Town, and look forward to continuing our journey towards transforming off-grid refrigeration across Africa.”
The AfricArena Europe Scale Tour 2025 is happening in May, where AfricArena will take the best African tech startups to the AfricArena London Summit and the AfricArena Berlin Summit. Get your tickets to London or Berlin here.
