UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Google Award $3m to Women Tech Founders

The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, a pillar of the UK government’s broader Digital Access Program (DAP), has announced collaboration with Google for Startups Africa. As part of the collaboration, the two entities will award $3 million in Google Cloud credits to women founders in Nigeria. The support will subsidise cloud technology-related costs for startups, allowing them to focus on innovation, customer acquisition and growth.

The joint effort by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google for Startups Africa will help promote digital inclusion and jointly support technology businesses run by women founders. To commemorate International Women’s Day in March, the two organisations co-hosted an event in Lagos, bringing together women founders, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders. The event aims to help women founders understand the technology funding landscape and position themselves to secure funding for their startups.

Country Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Justina Oha said, “We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Google for Startups, which comes at a time when the world is celebrating International Women’s Day. This partnership is a testament to our commitment to supporting women founders and helping them reach their full potential. Partnerships like this are one of the great ways that stakeholders can come together to advance Nigeria’s tech ecosystem at an accelerated pace.”

Head of Startup Ecosystem Google Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, while speaking about the collaboration, said: “We are excited to partner with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to empower women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This collaboration is a unique opportunity to provide women founders with the support and resources they need to scale their businesses and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. At Google for Startups, we are committed to supporting startups and entrepreneurs around the world, and we believe that empowering women founders is key to building a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.”

The UK- Nigeria Tech Hub is an initiative by the UK government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports (DCMS) to support the growth of the Technology ecosystem in Nigeria by promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the tech sector, leading to more trade and investment in the longer term.

Skymark Redeems N2.7bn Series 4 & 5 CPs under N5bn Programme

Skymark Partners Limited has announced the maturity and successful redemption of its Series 4 & 5 Commercial Papers (CP) under its N5bn Commercial Paper Programme.

According to a statement, the N1.245 billion 270-day Series 4 Commercial Paper, which was issued and quoted in June 2022 on the FMDQ Securities Exchange, matured on March 17, 2023. The N1.467 billion 181-day Series 5 Commercial Paper which was issued and quoted in September 2022 on the FMDQ Securities Exchange, matured on the 21st of March, 2023.

Commenting on the successful redemptions, Chairman of the company, Mr. Egie Akpata, FCCA, said, “We are pleased to have fully repaid all the investors in the Series 4 & 5 CP issuances. We thank all the institutional investors for their participation and reiterate our commitment to be a counterparty that can be counted on for the long term.

“This 4th and 5th CP redemptions reflect Skymark’s capacity to meet its financial obligations promptly, irrespective of market conditions. Our strong liquidity position and strong balance sheet ensures that we are always able to meet our maturity obligations. We intend to remain an active issuer in the commercial paper market.”