GITEX NIGERIA SUPERNOVA CHALLENGE 2025

2026 Supernova Pitch Categories

CONCIERGEMEETINGS

Agritech & Energy Award – $2,000

Digital Finance Award - $2,000

Creative Economy & Martech Award - $2,000

AI Category Award - $2,000

Mobility & Smart Cities Award - $2,000

Overall Champion - $10.000

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2026 Pitch Competition Timeline

2nd August
 

Application Deadline

17th August
 

Semi-Finalists Announced

8-9 September
 

Semi-Finalists Pitch

10th September
 

Finalists Pitch & Awards Ceremony

2025 Supernova Challenge Pitch Competition Winners

Overall Supernova Challenge Winner
Curacel Nigeria
$10,000 + A Trip to Barcelona
Sponsored Participation in AI Everything Kenya 2026
Sulfman Consulting Ltd Nigeria
Sponsored Participation in Expand North Star 2025
SISPAY Nigeria
Disruptor Award
HIPREP LIMITED Nigeria
$2,000
Agritech & Energy Award
Acecore Nigeria
$2,000
Digital Finance Category Award
InCash Nigeria
$2,000
Creative Economy & Martech Award
Hadiya Souq Africa Nigeria
$2,000
AI category Award
Build Africa Nigeria
$2,000
Mobility & Smart Cities Award
Kara finance limited Nigeria
$2,000

HOW CAN YOU APPLY?

ABUJA

To take part in the Supernova Challenge pitch competition, you must be an exhibiting startup at GITEX Nigeria. Once registered as an exhibitor, you’ll be eligible to apply for the challenge.

After submitting your application, you’ll receive updates via email regarding your selection status for the Semi-Finals, based on the official timeline.

Book your Pod

2025 Supernova Judges

FAQs

The 1st place winner will be crowned the Supernova Overall Champion and awarded $10,000

There will be also Category Winners in the below sectors:

Agri tech & Energy Award – $2,000
Digital Finance Award - $2,000
Creative Economy & Martech Award - $2,000
AI Category Award - $2,000
Mobility & Smart Cities Award - $2,000

The team will be in touch regarding you prize and next steps 1 week after the event.

If you are not shortlisted, there are many opportunities to engage with investors, buyers, and visitors at GITEX NIGERIA and the wider event audience. We will be keeping a waitlist in case of any last-minute changes. Please note that we receive hundreds of applications and the shortlisting goes through multiple rounds of review to reach only 10 for the semi-finals per category and 2 for the finals categories.

Your Pitch Deck must be in ENGLISH.

Here are two good references for you:

- https://www.ycombinator.com/library/2u-how-to-build-your-seed-round-pitch-deck

- https://www.ycombinator.com/library/4T-how-to-design-a-better-pitch-deck

The deadline to submit on the Exhibitor Portal is 2nd August 2025 by 23:59 Nigeria time.

Your Pitch Video must be ONLY 60 Seconds or it will not be considered. Your Pitch Video must be in English. Please shoot your video to have a clear shot of your upper body (sitting or standing).
Please submit your video by either a YouTube or a Vimeo URL. Check out Paul Graham’s advice on story telling when pitching. Reference form Y Combinator Startup Library: “Your goal, and your only goal, is to make investors feel it’s not safe to cross you off. And there is a verb for convincing someone that something is not safe. It sounds dramatic, but your goal is to frighten them. What frightens them? The possibility that you might become really big. They know there are maybe a few companies that will become really big….Before you start meeting investors, put together a rough draft of your fundraising vertebrae. These are the 3-4 points that compromise the narrative of why your company will be really big. Together, if investors believed in any of these points, they’d be afraid not to bet on you. As you do, keep in mind that there is an important distinction between what the business is and how you tell the story of what your business is. Your conversations with investors should influence the latter, not the former. No investor knows your business as well as you do.”

The announcements of the shortlisted startups for the semi-finals will be done by 17th August 2026 by 23:59 Nigeria time. Any date changes will be announced.

The general judging criteria is broken down to main areas. Please keep these in mind as you design your pitch deck, pitch video, and semi-finals, finals pitches!
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?

Judges will also be considering your years of operation and funding stage when evaluating.

The judging panels will be experts in the respective sectors and will be a diverse panel with investment, commercial, and entrepreneurial background in the sector.

10 startups in each category will be selected to pitch in-person as part of the Supernova Semi-Finals on 8th September.

Highest ranked 2 startups per category will move on to pitch in-person as part of the Supernova Finals which will take place on September 10 to determine the winners.

2 Minute Pitch + 3 Min Q&A

At the Elevate Stage at GITEX NIGERIA. Find it on the venue map.

Only 1 person can deliver the pitch on stage.

You will be notified by email that you have been shortlisted including the details with location and timing, and presentation requirements.

You will need to have your pitch presentation in 16:9 ratio as a Powerpoint file and a PDF file version. Please share PDFs to make sure your presentation has your correct fonts and formats. If you have any videos as part of your pitch, please send the video file in .mp4 as a separate file. You will be submitting these files by email ONLY if you are shortlisted for the semi-finals and finals which you will be notified about before. Please do not send any files to team members prior to this besides what is required on the Exhibitor portal for the GITEX NIGERIA Supernova application.

The team will be in touch if you are shortlisted to move on to the finals. All selection will be made by Day 1 in order to be ready for the Final. Your selection email will include the presentation requirements, location, and timing.

2 Startups are selected to pitch in the finals per category.

2 Minute Pitch + 3 Min Q&A per startup

At the 10X Stage at GITEX NIGERIA. Finalists will receive all the logistics details by Day 1 to know where to go and when.

While we’re unable to provide individual feedback due to the high volume of applications, please know that every submission is carefully reviewed by our judging panel. We truly value the effort behind your application.

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OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS

EMERGING
TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

SECURE AI
INNOVATION PARTNER

TECHNOLOGY &
INNOVATION PARTNER

GOLD
SPONSOR

LEADING
TECHNOLOGY PARTNER

OFFICIAL
CLOUD PARTNER

SPACETECH
PARTNER

SILVER SPONSORS

MEDIA PARTNERS

COMMUNITY PARTNERS