Get Guardian on GoogleNigerian startups have called for increased investment in technology, infrastructure, and sustainable business models to address food insecurity, reduce construction-related emissions, and improve resource management nationwide
The entrepreneurs made the call during the innovation pitch competition at the 10th anniversary of the Sustainability Table Discourse Series (STS @10), held in Lagos.
The event explored opportunities for financing innovative businesses addressing environmental and economic challenges.
Among the startups competing were QiQi Farms, an agricultural technology and food distribution enterprise, and CutStruct Technology, a construction technology company providing digital building material procurement and financing solutions.
The competition was part of a broader initiative to connect sustainable businesses with potential investors and accelerate the commercialisation of solutions that can contribute to Nigeria’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking at the event, QiQi Farms founder, Favour Okikijesu Adeleke, said Nigeria cannot effectively address its food security challenges without developing sustainable agricultural systems that support consistent production year-round.
Adeleke explained that seasonal farming, inadequate infrastructure, insecurity, and inconsistent government policies continue to limit agricultural productivity and local producers’ ability to meet domestic demand.
“Food security is the basis of security,” he said. “We need to create a model that ensures that food production is sustainable.”
He said Nigeria must move away from agricultural systems that depend heavily on seasonal production toward commercially viable models that guarantee continuous food availability.
On the role of technology, Adeleke said artificial intelligence could help farmers improve productivity by providing information on market demand, harvest projections and potential production challenges.
In another development, CutStruct Technology CEO and co-founder John Oamen said digital procurement platforms could significantly reduce the environmental impact of Nigeria’s construction industry while improving transparency in project financing.
Oamen explained that the transportation of building materials contributed to carbon emissions because construction projects depended heavily on trucks moving materials from suppliers to development sites.
He said CutStruct was addressing the challenge by using technology to consolidate building material orders and optimise delivery operations.
According to him, the company has achieved an estimated 38 per cent reduction in the number of trucks transporting building materials for demand managed through its platform over the past two years.
He explained that the approach enabled the company to coordinate the movement of substantial quantities of building materials while reducing the environmental burden associated with transportation.
Oamen further disclosed that CutStruct was working towards incorporating carbon emissions tracking into its platform to enable developers to assess the environmental implications of their building material purchases.
Pakam Technology co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Wunmi Ogunde said Nigeria’s transition to a sustainable economy would require greater emphasis on resource recovery, recycling, and circular-economy principles.
Ogunde explained that waste materials should be seen as valuable resources that can support economic activities, rather than discarded as useless products.
She maintained that plastics, aluminium, cans and other recyclable materials could generate additional economic value when appropriate recovery and reuse systems were established.
Speaking on the conference objectives, Kayode Olaniyan, Convener of the Sustainability Table Discourse Series and Chief Executive Officer of Avant Garde Limited, said the initiative was increasingly focused on connecting entrepreneurs with the capital needed to scale their businesses.
