The Business Growth Initiative for Startups (BGIS), a women-focused scale-support programme funded by the UK Government’s Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO),and the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub an initiative of the Digital Access Programme (DAP) and implemented by Ubulu Development Foundation (UBDEV) and Spurt!, held its official Reception on December 12, 2025. The event marked the culmination of a programme designed to equip women-led, growth-stage startups in Nigeria with the structure, visibility, and strategic support required to scale sustainably.
BGIS set out to answer one question:
What would be possible if growth-stage female founders finally received the kind of targeted, practical, ecosystem-level support that truly moves companies forward?
Over the past five months, that question has unfolded into a powerful journey. BGIS brought together 14 exceptional women-led startups across fintech, edtech, food and health tech, AI, SaaS, logistics, creative commerce, and community health, ventures deeply rooted in local realities but bold enough to shape Africa’s economic future.
An Evening of Reflection, Recognition, and the Advancement of Women-led Nigerian Ventures.
The Close-Out Reception brought together founders, investors, ecosystem leaders, policymakers, and supporters to celebrate the progress made and spotlight the future of women-led ventures in Nigeria.
Opening Segment
The event opened with welcoming remarks and a reflective summary of the programme’s journey by Odiong Akpan, Chief Executive Officer of Ubulu Development Foundation.
In his opening remarks, he reflected on the purpose and journey of the BGIS programme, noting that it was designed to address the structural gaps facing women-led startups in Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem. He described the programme as a pilot model intended to be replicated, encouraging ecosystem players to adopt similar approaches to supporting female founders. While marking the official close of the programme, he reaffirmed the partners’ commitment to continued engagement with the founders and to strengthen Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through collaboration, innovation, and shared responsibility.
One-on-One Conversation: Building Resilience and Growth in Uncertain Times
This sit-down brought together Folake Kofo-Idowu, Founder of Iyewo and Oyindamola Oyinlola-Eyitayo, Programme Manager, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to discuss the structural challenges of scaling in Nigeria.
Folake shared the deeply personal origins of Iyewo, a community-based primary healthcare company focused on serving Nigeria’s informal sector. Trained as an infectious disease specialist, she spoke candidly about identifying a glaring gap in healthcare access, particularly for market traders, artisans, and small business owners who fall outside formal health insurance systems. Rather than building for the most profitable or visible segments, Iyewo was intentionally designed to serve those often overlooked: the street vendor, the market woman, the informal worker.
The conversation also explored a broader pattern observed across the BGIS cohort: women-led ventures are often customer-led and need-driven, solving real problems that sit outside traditional “high-growth” narratives. Oyindamola noted that this alignment with lived needs, while powerful, often places women founders in the social impact space, an area that remains under-supported by existing policy and financing structures.
Documentary Premiere: Women Who Build
A major highlight of the evening was the premiere of the BGIS documentary, Women Who Build, a powerful 20-minute film capturing the lived realities, ambitions, and grit of the 2025 cohort. The screening was met with strong audience response, followed by reflections from featured founders who expressed deep gratitude for the journey, the support received, and the space BGIS created to tell their stories.
Deal Day Showcase with Rising Tide Africa
The evening culminated in a high-energy Deal Day Showcase, hosted in partnership with Rising Tide Africa, where selected founders presented their strongest investment cases to the angel investors from the Rising Tide Africa Angel Network.
Founders presented growth opportunities in sectors such as:
- Healthcare access for the underserved (Iyewo)
- Shopify but for Lawyers (PocketLawyers)
- On demand digital vehicle rental (Muvment)
Engagement & Outcomes:
The showcase generated several follow-up conversations, investor questions, and strategic suggestions from the audience, reflecting strong interest in the businesses presented and their growth trajectories.
Standout Pitch:
One of the standout presentations came from Iyewo, whose pitch centred on building healthcare access for market traders and underserved communities. The discussion highlighted the strength of Iyewo’s impact-driven model, with investors and ecosystem leaders encouraging deeper documentation of impact metrics, reach, and outcomes to further strengthen future fundraising and partnership conversations.
Looking Ahead: What Comes Next for BGIS
While the reception marked the end of this cohort’s structured programme, it signals the beginning of a broader movement to champion and strengthen women-led innovation with resources in Nigeria.
BGIS will continue to:
- support founders through post-programme advisory,
- amplify their stories and traction through digital platforms,
- engage partners for deeper ecosystem collaboration, and
- release Women Who Build to the public via YouTube on December 15, 2025.
“This cohort represents the kind of women-led ventures Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem needs to back more deliberately. BGIS is only the beginning, as it has created a pipeline of women-led businesses that are investment ready, resilient and positioned for long-term growth. The work ahead is about deepening partnerships and unlocking more pathways to sustainable growth.” — Oyindamola Oyinlola-Eyitayo, Programme Manager, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub
About BGIS
The Business Growth Initiative for Startups (BGIS) is a women-focused growth support programme targeting female founders often overlooked by traditional accelerators and investment networks. By combining structured advisory, hands-on technical support, local expertise, visibility, and investor access, BGIS helps ventures build the operational backbone required to scale sustainably.
The initiative is funded by the FCDO, and the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, and implemented by UBDEV and Spurt!
For media enquiries, interviews, or partnership opportunities:
Email: info@bgis-suppport.com
