The ECOWAS Commission opened its second Startup Awards in Abuja on September 28, 2026, with 60 finalists from 1,499 applications across 12 member states competing for US$65,000.
The three-day event runs through September 30 under the theme “Scaling West African Startups for Digital Transformation, Regional Integration and Sustainable Value Chain Ecosystem Development to Drive Market Access.”
The programme is led by the Commission’s Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture.
Organisers recorded 8,679 registrations for the 2026 edition.
An evaluation process supported by the International Trade Centre produced the 60-strong finalist list, spread across six sectors: EdTech, FinTech, HealthTech, AgriTech and Food Systems, CleanTech and Green Innovation, and Tourism, Hospitality and TravelTech.
The top three startups will receive US$30,000, US$20,000 and US$15,000 respectively at the awards ceremony on September 30. The closing day also features investor deal rooms and a Ministerial High-Level Dialogue on MSMEs, Industrial Integration and Trade Development.
Before the awards, finalists completed a five-day masterclass covering business validation, market access, regional expansion, investment readiness, fundraising, ESG and pitching.
All 60 will additionally receive a six-month acceleration programme, mentorship, investor access, regional visibility and post-event support, and will join the ECOWAS Startup Network and the ECOWAS Private Sector Development Academy.
In his welcome address, Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, described the awards as an instrument for regional economic transformation, youth employment, inclusion, industrialisation and regional integration.
“Our ambition is not simply to produce award winners. It is to produce businesses that survive, scale, create jobs and compete across Africa and beyond,” he said.
Zuo congratulated the finalists and urged them to look beyond the competition, using the opportunity to build relationships, engage investors, identify potential partners and learn from entrepreneurs across the region.
“You competed against thousands of entrepreneurs across our region and emerged among the very best,” he said.
He encouraged the finalists to think beyond their national borders, pointing to the wider impact of successful businesses on the region.
“Because when your business succeeds, West Africa succeeds. When you create jobs, you change lives.
When you expand across borders, you strengthen regional integration. And when you build a successful regional enterprise, you help demonstrate what is possible in our Community.”
Representing ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton, the ITC’s National Coordinator for Nigeria, Natasha Akioye, emphasised the importance of equipping promising businesses with the skills, finance, networks and market opportunities needed to compete and scale across borders.
Also speaking at the event, Senator John Owan Enoh, Minister of State for Industry at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, highlighted the role of startups in Nigeria’s economic development.
He noted that Nigerian startups reportedly raised US$364.1 million in August 2026, while stressing that capital mobilisation is only one component of enterprise development.
Enoh said the long-term sustainability of businesses will depend on their ability to build productive capacity, create quality employment, access new markets, meet applicable standards and compete effectively over time. He subsequently declared the ECOWAS Startup Awards officially open.
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