After six months of semi-finals worldwide, nearly 200 selected startups from Nigeria and other countries are in Dubai hunting for $200,000 (over N300million) at the world’s largest early-stage startup pitch competition tagged Supernova Challenge 2.0.

Nigeria has rapidly emerged as a vibrant hub for startups, particularly in the tech sector. The last few years were significant for the startup ecosystem, with many Nigerian startups rising to prominence and relevance domestically, in Africa, and internationally.

In the past few years, startups in Nigeria have continued to grow exponentially despite the struggling economy. This is fueled by a huge population with access to technology and the new import of startup support systems in the ecosystem.

Here’re what the Supernova Challenge 2.0 judges are looking at

The general judging criteria for the selected startups is broken down to main areas.

Idea: How innovative is this idea? Market opportunity: market size, competition, scalability. Business model: revenue model, pricing, target customers. Traction: any revenue, customers, investors? Team: Is a skilled team in place for the startup’s success?

What are the prizes?

The first place is $100,000, second place ($60,000), third place ($35,000). There’s also the Special Mentions: Women in Tech Award: ($10, 000); and YouthX Award ($9,000) among others.

No fewer than 20 companies will move on to pitch in-person as part of the Supernova Finals which will take place on Day 4 of the event.

The Supernova Challenge 2.0 offers startup founders the opportunity to take home a cash pool of $200,000 equity-free! The stakes are higher this year with new prizes for 2ndand 3rdplace announced.

The 200 selected exhibiting startups had the chance to pitch directly to investors at the monthly qualifiers, which provided additional exposure and investor introductions prior to Expand North Star.

Expand North Star runs concurrently with GITEX GLOBAL 2024, the world’s largest and best-rated tech and startup event taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).

Whilst bringing the entire startup ecosystem to the UAE and accelerating the world’s most sought-after startups towards rapid growth and development, this year’s edition is also the largest and most international to date with over 100 countries participating.

The globally acclaimed Supernova Challenge 2.0 also presents the best startups from Europe, Asia, and Africa, building momentum for the new and eagerly awaited GITEX EUROPE Berlin, GITEX ASIA Singapore, GITEX NIGERIA, and GITEX AFRICA Morocco in 2025.

In a proactive and engaging way to connect the UAE’s youth with Dubai’s economic agenda, the younger generation will also be in the spotlight through GITEX YouthX Unipreneur with YouthX Talks and an Educators Innovation Pitch among the schedule highlights. (BusinessDay)