A Nigerian-based digital currency exchange company, Cryptonite NG, is set to host the maiden edition of a startup event tagged ‘Startup Nightmare 1.0’ on Friday, December 9th, 2022.

The event aimed at preferring solutions to real-life challenges faced by startups in Nigeria will begin at 5 pm at Café 1 by Sterling bank, Ozone in the Yaba area of Lagos state.

The CEO of Cryptonite, Debo Abayomi, said the need for the event arose as a result of the varying challenges faced by startups in Nigeria.

According to him, many startup businesses have failed not as a result of a lack of ideas but the grave difficulty in overcoming these challenges in a developing country like Nigeria.

Mr Abayomi noted that despite these challenges, a lot of startups have also scaled through these hurdles and have continued to expand across the African continent.

The event convener also added that the experienced panellists will holistically bring to light these issues and proffer practicable solutions to help startups break these hurdles.

The event will also feature performances by talented singer Mayor Fash and spoken word performer, Aremo Gemini.

The event will be hosted by Africunia TV journalist Deborah Ezeh.

To be a part of the event, register here 

Meet The Panellists

Ayo Bankole

Ayo Bankole is a strategy and transformation expert with 13 years of experience in leadership roles as the head of strategy groups in the financial markets, insurance and oil and gas industries, where he drives strategy execution and industry-wide initiatives in those verticals.

As a strategy consultant, Ayo led many strategy projects across West Africa, working for KPMG, PwC, Phillips Consulting and C2G Consulting. He has provided strategy advice to over 120 companies with revenues in excess of $4 billion as well as governments and multilateral institutions, with transactions valued at over $120 million.

His experience cuts across strategy and execution, change management, process improvement, due diligence, mergers and acquisitions.

Wole Oduwole

Wole Oduwole, an alumnus of the Ycombinator (YC) Startup school, is the founder of SEOGidi, a Search Engine Marketing company scaling up the organic reach of brands through dynamic SEO techniques.

He has a decade of expertise in product marketing for SaaS, B2B and other digital companies, and he has used cutting-edge marketing techniques to scale up a number of new businesses and increase the visibility and conversion of their products.

His experience cuts across industries such as digital media, fintech, health tech, e-commerce, data and computing and web3. He has worked in partnership with brands like Google, MTN, Samsung, 1xBet and the Ogun State Ministry of Education, Science & Technology – a wealth of experience that comes in handy in the evolving African tech space.

Sam Iso

Sam Iso is a leading digital transformation for startups and talents at TechAssembly, a digital transformation company unlocking opportunities for startups, SMEs, and talents. He has directed software development and digital marketing initiatives in ERP, sales & inventory, FinTech, petroleum, accounting, public relations, healthcare, real estate, and most recently, Web3.

He worked as a consultant for a New York-based startup with a marketing department of over 20 professionals spread across time zones, where he served as the project manager for the Content Creation Unit. He worked for a Nigeria-based digital marketing agency as the head of strategy, content lead, and quality assurance manager.

Sam provides a wealth of expertise in marketing and product development.

Event’s Host – Deborah Ezeh

Deborah Ezeh is an experienced television presenter with a demonstrated history of working in the broadcast media industry. She is skilled in live broadcast, radio advertising, media relations, presentation, and entertainment.

She has assisted brands in increasing sales by planning and implementing brand activation prior to her venture into TV presenting.

Deborah is a strong media and communication professional.