Nigeria’s Hubpharm Africa and Services has emerged winner of the second edition of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Startup Awards, securing the $30,000 top prize.
Hubpharm, led by its Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tope Kareem, beat startups from across the West African sub-region in a competition aimed at identifying and supporting innovative businesses with the potential to drive economic growth, job creation and private-sector development.
Senegal’s Gaynako, led by Pape Natango Mbaye, emerged first runner-up and received $20,000, while Côte d’Ivoire’s myOpinion, founded and led by Steve Bah Blesson, placed second runner-up with a $15,000 prize.
The awards ceremony also provided an opportunity for ECOWAS to unveil a new Private Sector Academy aimed at equipping entrepreneurs with business knowledge, practical training and other tools needed to establish, manage and scale sustainable enterprises.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dehpue Yenpea Zuo, said the Commission was seeking approval to increase the competition’s first prize from $30,000 to $50,000 to make the initiative more attractive and competitive.
“As a first priority, I am going to the management to actually get the permission to now increase the award amount, from $30,000 to $50,000, so that it will become more attractive and competitive,” Zuo said.
He also announced that the Startup Awards would become an annual event, building on an initiative launched in 2021 to identify and recognise promising entrepreneurs across the region.
According to the Commissioner, the new Private Sector Academy would complement the financial support provided through the awards by addressing critical gaps in entrepreneurial knowledge, business management, market access and enterprise development.
Zuo urged the participating entrepreneurs to look beyond the financial value of the awards and focus on building businesses capable of creating lasting impact within their communities and across national borders.
He cited successful African entrepreneurs, including Aliko Dangote, as examples of business leaders who started on a relatively small scale before developing enterprises with regional and international footprints.
The Commissioner said the entrepreneurs should view themselves not merely as innovators, but as agents of economic and social change capable of creating wider opportunities.
The initiative comes amid increasing efforts across Africa to harness the continent’s youthful population and expanding entrepreneurial ecosystem to stimulate innovation, employment and economic diversification.
For ECOWAS, supporting startups also presents an opportunity to strengthen regional trade and encourage businesses to expand beyond their national markets. However, entrepreneurs continue to face challenges including limited access to finance, infrastructure constraints, varying regulatory frameworks and difficulties in scaling across borders.
The combination of the Startup Awards with the newly established Private Sector Academy is therefore expected to provide both financial incentives and capacity-building support for emerging businesses.
Hubpharm’s victory gives Nigeria a prominent position in the regional startup initiative, while the proposed increase of the top prize to $50,000 is expected to further raise the profile of future editions.
With the competition now set to become an annual event, ECOWAS is positioning the Startup Awards and Private Sector Academy as platforms for identifying, supporting and developing businesses capable of contributing to regional economic growth.
