Investors, venture capital firms and financial institutions will have an opportunity to meet Nigerian technology founders in the Deal Room of the 2026 DNICE Builders Festival.

The programme, organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency in partnership with Tech Revolution Africa, is designed to connect capital with startups whose products respond to specific challenges identified by institutions.

The festival’s model begins with problem identification. Participating institutions submit operational and technology challenges, after which startups with relevant products are identified and matched with them. The process will culminate in live Deal Room sessions at DNICE 2026.

Dr. Aristotle Onumo, NITDA’s Director of Special Duties Directorate, Office of the DG , said: “Our objective at NITDA is to foster an environment where local innovation directly services institutional needs. The DNICE Builders Festival bridges the historic disconnect between large-scale public or private enterprises and our domestic tech ecosystem.”

The programme is targeting a ₦3 billion investment and pilot contract pipeline and is open to investors across different stages of the venture financing market.

The official investor registration platform lists pre-seed, seed, Series A, Series B and growth or debt financing among the investment stages available to participating investors.

Tech Revolution Africa co-founder David Ogebe has encouraged investors to pay attention to the problem a startup is solving alongside the pitch being presented.

“What if the next startup you invest in is already solving a problem the market is asking to be solved?” Ogebe asked in a recent call to investors.

That question is central to the Builders Festival model.

The challenge vault currently features problems submitted by institutions across sectors including financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, logistics, education and government operations.

Among the listed challenges are digital population records, customs risk profiling, cargo monitoring, satellite connectivity, SME financing, patient identity management and vaccine supply chain visibility.

The startups selected for the festival are required to have existing products and evidence of market activity.

According to the organisers, Nigerian registered startups must be at MVP stage or beyond and have at least one live user, active pilot or paying customer. Selection will also consider market traction, team resilience and product maturity.

For investors, this creates an opportunity to meet founders in the context of the problems their businesses are attempting to solve.

The organisers said participating investors will have access to founders, product demonstrations and structured Deal Room sessions. They will also be able to identify startups according to investment stage and sector preference.

The programme is expected to bring together venture capitalists, angel investors, financial institutions, investment firms and other funding partners.

The Builders Festival will culminate at DNICE 2026, which is scheduled to take place from November 10 to 12 at the BAT International Conference Centre in Abuja.

Investors interested in participating can register through the official Builders Festival investor registration page.