Meta and Nigeria's Federal Government Launch AI Academy Pitchathon for Startups

Meta has partnered with Nigeria's federal government to launch an AI Academy pitchathon for startups, held on the sidelines of GITEX Nigeria, giving early-stage Nigerian founders building AI products a platform to pitch directly to investors and government technology officials.

The pitchathon forms part of a broader AI Academy initiative combining technical training with startup showcase opportunities, reflecting Meta's continued investment in African developer and founder ecosystems following earlier commitments around AI skills training and open-source model access across the continent. Nigerian government officials, including representatives from the country's technology and digital economy ministries, participated alongside Meta representatives, framing the initiative as consistent with Nigeria's ambition to be recognised as Africa's leading AI startup hub.

### Nigeria's startup ecosystem leans into AI

The pitchathon comes as Nigerian startups have increasingly dominated African AI-related funding activity, with Nigerian companies capturing the majority share of the continent's AI and technology funding in recent months. Government officials pointed to that funding momentum as validation of the country's approach to fostering an enabling environment for AI startups, including recent regulatory clarity efforts and public-private partnership programmes like the AI Academy.

Selected participants in the pitchathon presented AI products spanning fintech, agritech, healthcare and enterprise software to a panel that included both venture investors and government stakeholders, with winning teams receiving a combination of mentorship, potential government pilot programme access, and visibility with the investor community present at GITEX Nigeria — one of the largest technology conferences on the continent.

Meta's engagement with African AI ecosystems has grown steadily, building on the company's earlier investments in undersea cable infrastructure connecting the continent and its open-source Llama model family, which has seen adoption among African developers building localized AI applications. Government officials said further editions of the AI Academy pitchathon are planned, with an eye toward expanding participation beyond Lagos and Abuja to founders from other Nigerian technology hubs, though no specific schedule for future events was announced.