The Nigerian tech ecosystem, often perceived through the lens of a few dominant cities, presents a landscape where most of its vibrancy remains largely unread, like a book with only a few chapters explored. Key players and innovations are predominantly concentrated in just five locations: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, and potentially Uyo. This geographical bias has historically afforded founders and influencers within these prominent hubs unparalleled advantages, including extensive media exposure, robust community support, access to invaluable mentorship, and significant investor interest, leaving talent in other regions largely underserved.

As a pivotal stakeholder committed to fostering a more equitable and inclusive tech landscape, Technext is taking a decisive step to redress this imbalance. The organization aims to actively seek out and spotlight players operating outside these well-established ecosystems. Aligning with its corporate objective to comprehensively document the African tech narrative in an accessible language and to maximize social impact through expanded physical event plans, Technext has introduced a groundbreaking initiative: the Technext Tour and Tournament (TnT).

The Technext Tour and Tournament (TnT) serves as a crucial conduit to connect with the broader tech community across Nigeria, with future aspirations to extend its reach across Africa. Its primary goal is to uncover and narrate the underreported stories of the Nigerian tech community, bringing to the forefront the creative innovations thriving in these overlooked regions. TnT is designed to put these ingenious solutions at the vanguard of the tech ecosystem, providing an unprecedented opportunity to discover the next generation of impactful solution providers who are poised to significantly influence the African tech landscape.

The 'Tour' component of TnT is an ambitious journey scheduled between July 13th and 30th, encompassing visits to ten key cities across Southern Nigeria. These cities include Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Akure, Benin, Asaba, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Lagos. During this intensive period, the Technext team will engage directly with a diverse range of stakeholders, visiting tech hubs, media houses, university campuses, incubation centers, community groups, and government tech initiatives. This immersive tour aims to facilitate physical interaction with over two hundred thousand participants through a variety of events such as town hall meetings, educational lectures, and insightful panel sessions. Beyond direct engagement, millions more are expected to be reached through extensive coverage across radio, television, and online media channels, providing a holistic understanding of the aspirations and mindsets of the nation's future leaders. David Afolayan, Chief Executive Officer at Technext, articulated the mission: “Our goal is to storm tech hubs outside of Lagos to locate young people creating amazing solutions and solving problems, as well as showcase indigenous creativity for 3 weeks.”

Complementing the tour, the 'Tournament' aspect of TnT will feature mini-events in each of the nine non-Lagos locations visited. These events will include dedicated pitch sessions where select founders from local hubs will have the opportunity to present their innovative ideas to a distinguished panel of judges. The most impressive innovations will not only win valuable prizes but also secure a coveted spot in the final tournament, slated to take place in Lagos. The entire tour will culminate in a grand finale event in Lagos on August 4th. This highlight occasion will feature a high-stakes pitch session involving the qualifying winners from the nine regional locations, alongside promising entrants from Lagos. Participants will vie for significant cash prizes, invaluable mentorship opportunities, and other resources designed to help them transform their nascent ideas into thriving, full-fledged startups.

The Technext Tour and Tournament offers unparalleled partnership opportunities for sponsors, stakeholders, and interested organizations. This initiative provides a unique platform for direct engagement with an extensive audience, including approximately 250,000 students, an estimated 8 million radio listeners, and nine distinct startup communities spread across ten Nigerian cities. Technext has developed flexible sponsorship options tailored to enable brands to achieve strategic visibility among a predominantly Gen-Z demographic, a cohort known for its significant spending capacity and high adoption rate of new technologies. For further details on participation, pitching, or partnering, interested parties are encouraged to visit the official landing page or contact Anderson directly via email at [email protected].