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Capacity building for agritech startups in Nigeria received a boost recently as the Impulse Start-up Accelerator programme was hosted in Lagos. The programme, an initiative of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), is supported by OCP Group and its subsidiary, OCP Africa. The programme is to help start-ups in the fields of agritech, agricultural biotech, mining tech and materials science and nanotech.
The OCP Group, UM6P and OCP Africa have created Impulse to contribute to the development of solutions to the challenges faced by the African smallholder farmer and to reinforce the innovation system of OCP Group through the creation of long term and mutually beneficial relationships with the start-up world. The programme is also designed to contribute to the development of innovation hubs in Morocco and the rest of the African continent.
Speaking on the initiative, the Programme Director, Impulse, Mr. Adnane Alaoui Soulimani, explained that Impulse is the first step towards the creation of a much bigger sector-agnostic accelerator called MassChallenge Africa, that will accelerate each year between 50 to 100 start-ups working on African challenges.
“Startups that will be selected for our programme will benefit from the mentorship of senior managers and business experts from OCP Group, one the world’s leaders in the fields of phosphate and phosphate-based fertilisers. Start-ups will also have access to potential business opportunities through OCP Group, UM6P and their ecosystems,” Alaoui Soulimani said.
In his keynote address, Mr. Ayodele Balogun, noted that until recently, much attention had not been paid to sustainable agriculture in Nigeria. “Effectively, we lose forex because we are not able to produce and process enough to satisfy ourselves,” he said.
To address this trade deficit, the Federal Government recently reviewed its agricultural policies to harness the potential of the sector in Nigeria and establish linkages that will boost the sector.
In this regard, the OCP Country Manager, Mr. Caleb Usoh, stated that, “OCP Africa is committed to supporting the Nigerian government’s effort towards the development of the agriculture sector. In 2016, OCP Africa entered into a partnership with the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FESPAN) under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, with the support of Nigeria Investment Sovereign Authority (NSIA).
