A Lagos biscuit brand built on cassava has beaten thousands of rivals to a $100,000 prize. Come Again Foods topped the fourth NSIA Prize for Innovation, ahead of an insect-breeding firm and a health-tech platform.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has named the top three winners of its fourth Prize for Innovation (NPI 4.0). Twelve finalists were chosen from more than 6,000 applications. Come Again Foods took first place with $100,000. Protein Kapital won $70,000, and InstantRad won $50,000. Together the three share $220,000 in cash and equity. All finalists will also join a fully sponsored training programme.
Come Again Foods makes snacks from local ingredients. Its main product is Tapiokies, a biscuit made from 80% cassava starch with a little wheat and coconut flavour. Each carton holds 50 sachets of 10 rolls, so it suits families and events. The company says more than 80% of its raw materials come from Nigerian farmers. That keeps money in local farming and helps keep the product fresh.
Protein Kapital, the first runner-up, breeds Black Soldier Flies. It makes their eggs at industrial scale and sells them cheaply to farmers and waste recyclers. Those buyers use the flies to turn organic waste into animal protein and fertiliser. Producing close to the waste cuts transport and emissions. The company is listed with its headquarters in Jeddah.
InstantRad, the second runner-up, sells teleradiology as a service. Its cloud platform bundles image storage, sharing, report viewing and links to hospital systems. Radiologists can read scans and write reports with it. The company is listed in Accra.
The three winners come from manufacturing, climate and food security, and healthcare. Those are the three themes of this year’s prize, called “Building for Impact.”
Other startups also took home money at the final Demo Day, according to Nairametrics. Partners added their own prizes. Cascador gave $45,000 for impact, and Wema Bank added cash. Eight Medical, Uwana Energy, Tryctor and Smartei Agri Tech were among the other winners. Come Again Foods’ total reached $105,000 with a $5,000 impact prize on top.
The prize carries more than cash. Finalists join a sponsored programme run by the Enterprise Development Centre at Pan-Atlantic University. It offers business support, leadership training and skills for growth. Earlier coverage said winners could also apply for up to $1.5 million in growth financing through the Pula Xcelerator.
NSIA’s chief executive, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, said the prize connects “promising entrepreneurs with the capital, expertise and strategic partnerships” they need. The goal, he said, is to turn ideas into scalable firms that “deliver lasting impact.”
It helps to know who is behind the prize. NSIA is a government-owned fund that manages Nigeria’s oil revenue above the national budget. Its goals are to build savings, develop infrastructure and give support in hard times. It was set up under a law signed in May 2011 and began investing in 2013 with $1 billion in seed capital. It runs three funds: a Stabilisation Fund, a Future Generations Fund and a Nigeria Infrastructure Fund.
Why it matters: Winners here are not apps. They make food, farm insects and read medical scans. That shows capital is looking at the real economy, where many African jobs are. A prize backed by a sovereign fund also gives young firms a stamp that other investors notice. For founders, the lesson is clear: show impact, local sourcing and a business that can scale.
What to watch next: how the winners spend their prize money, whether the finalists land follow-on funding, and when the next edition of the prize opens for applications.
Sources: African-Startups report on the NPI 4.0 winners; Nairametrics on the NSIA Demo Day awards; Arise on the launch of NPI 4.0.
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