NSIA x Pula Xcelerator Collaboration
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) is Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund, established in 2011 by an Act of the National Assembly to drive long-term economic growth through strategic investments. With a three-fold mandate covering infrastructure development, economic stabilisation, and savings for future generations.
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The NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI), an initiative of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), is designed to empower entrepreneurs and changemakers whose innovative ideas can drive meaningful social and economic impact.
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Designed to nurture ingenuity and accelerate high-potential ventures, NPI provides funding and strategic support to early-stage, growth-driven solutions. Through this initiative, NSIA aims to inspire groundbreaking ideas that enhance productivity, strengthen industries, and deliver lasting social impact in Nigeria and beyond.
Through its partnership with the NSIA Prize for Innovation, Pula will support the development and scaling of high-potential Nigerian ventures with at least US$500,000 in revenue and operating across climate resilience, food systems, digital public infrastructure (DPI), regtech, traceability systems, farmer and cooperative digitisation, insurance technology, reinsurance platforms, analytics, verification services, and agritech innovation.
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In addition to ecosystem access and strategic partnerships, Pula intends to explore follow-on commercial partnerships, joint ventures, and investment opportunities in cash and/or shares of $500,000- $1.5M with selected companies that demonstrate strong strategic fit and the ability to scale across Pula’s operating markets. The initiative is designed to help ventures transition from promising innovation into commercially sustainable regional businesses capable of supporting long-term economic resilience and inclusive growth across Africa.
2026 Cohort Application
Application Timeline
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed within 2 weeks of submission. We will only reach out if your profile suits our evaluation criteria.
We are currently recruiting for the 2026 Cohort. We are looking for companies with proven products and paying customers that can solve real operational, commercial, or data challenges faced by:
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Governments and Development Institutions implementing farmer-facing programs
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Insuretechs and reinsurance intermediaries looking to access underwriting capital and grow premiums
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Agribusinesses serving large smallholder farmer bases
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Ecosystem partners working at national or multi-country scale
About the Program
This program is designed for companies that are past experimentation and ready for partnership-driven growth. We work with a small number of teams in each cohort, going deep rather than wide, and where success is defined as a JV or an acquisition.
What Makes This
Accelerator Different
Products with proven traction
We partner with companies that already have paying customers, demonstrated through at least 500k in real revenue.
Access to our client network
Access to Pula’s partner network and markets is not symbolic. We will introduce you to our clients and help you grow your revenue through our distribution network.
Investment that gives you a clear view of an exit
Investment decisions are driven by strategic fit with Pula and potential for exponential scale up in Pula markets. We target to make investment through cash or Pula shares and target strategic majority stakes or JVs rather than pure financial minority stakes.
What Makes This
Accelerator Different
Products with proven traction
We partner with companies that already have paying customers, demonstrated through at least 500k in real revenue.
Access to our client network
Access to Pula’s partner network and markets is not symbolic. We will introduce you to our clients and help you grow your revenue through our distribution network.
Investment that gives you a clear view of an exit
Investment decisions are driven by strategic fit with Pula and potential for exponential scale up in Pula markets. We target to make investment through cash or Pula shares and target strategic majority stakes or JVs rather than pure financial minority stakes.
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23rd Feb – 20th Mar, 2026
We are currently recruiting for the 2026 Cohort. We are looking for companies with proven products and paying customers that can solve real operational, commercial, or data challenges faced by:
-
Governments and Development Institutions implementing farmer-facing programs
-
Insuretechs and reinsurance intermediaries looking to access underwriting capital and grow premiums
-
Agribusinesses serving large smallholder farmer bases
-
Ecosystem partners working at national or multi-country scale
23rd Feb – 20th Mar, 2026
We are currently recruiting for the 2026 Cohort. We are looking for companies with proven products and paying customers that can solve real operational, commercial, or data challenges faced by:
-
Governments and Development Institutions implementing farmer-facing programs
-
Insuretechs and reinsurance intermediaries looking to access underwriting capital and grow premiums
-
Agribusinesses serving large smallholder farmer bases
-
Ecosystem partners working at national or multi-country scale
Insurance technology
claims processing, or policy administration tools
Traceability systems
​
Reinsurance-facing tools or brokerage platforms
that are looking for growth and underwriting capacity
Regulatory Technology (RegTech)
around identity, digital public infrastructure and (farmer) registry systems
Cohort Strategic Focus
Applications are particularly encouraged from companies working in one or more of the following areas
Insurance technology
claims processing, or policy administration tools
Traceability systems
supply chain transparency and origin verification platforms supporting compliance, traceability, and agricultural sourcing
Reinsurance-facing tools or brokerage platforms
that are looking for growth and underwriting capacity
Regulatory Technology (RegTech)
around identity, digital public infrastructure and (farmer) registry systems
Cohort Strategic Focus
Applications are particularly encouraged from companies working in one or more of the following areas
Cohort Strategic Focus
Applications are particularly encouraged from companies working in one or more of the following areas
Insurance technology
claims processing, or policy administration tools
Traceability systems
​
Reinsurance-facing tools or brokerage platforms
that are looking for growth and underwriting capacity
Regulatory Technology (RegTech)
around identity, digital public infrastructure and (farmer) registry systems
Investment Pathways
01
Application & Initial Screening
1 week
You’ll fill our intake form where all applications are reviewed against:
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Strategic fit with Pula’s priority focus areas
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Revenue quality and growth trajectory
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Ability to scale through partnerships rather than balance sheet risk
-
Founder and team execution strength
Application Window:
23rd Feb – 20th Mar, 2026
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02
NDA Signing & Dataroom
2 weeks
We understand that you’ll be sharing confidential information with us. We will look to treat it with the utmost care.
We will ask you to share a data room with us that helps us understand your business as quickly and comprehensively as possible
03
Deep-Dive Assessment
2 weeks
Shortlisted companies enter a structured evaluation phase, which may include:
-
Product, market and partnership assessment
-
Financial assessment, understanding of the current financial situation of the company as well as unit economics analysis
-
Reference conversations with customers or partners
-
Alignment on future vision, valuation and deal structure
At the end of this phase, both sides make a clear decision on whether to proceed through a signed Expression of Interest
04
Partnership Pilot and Detailed Due Diligence
4 weeks
Selected teams work directly with Pula to identify concrete partnership use cases for Pula clients, including pitching and meeting with the clients in any of our 12 markets.
Detailed due diligence, reviewing financial, legal and tax status.
05
Commercial Partnership and Investment Decision
​
Where we find strong strategic and commercial alignment based on the previous steps, we may proceed through:
-
Commercial contracts, revenue-sharing partnerships through Joint Ventures
-
Majority stake acquisitions
-
Longer-term collaboration across Pula platforms such as Pula Re
-
Investment through cash or Pula shares and target strategic majority stakes
Investment Pathways
01
Application & Initial Screening
You’ll fill our intake form where all applications are reviewed against:
-
Strategic fit with Pula’s priority focus areas
-
Revenue quality and growth trajectory
-
Ability to scale through partnerships rather than balance sheet risk
-
Founder and team execution strength
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and reviewed within 2 weeks of submission. We will only reach out if your profile suits our evaluation criteria.
​
1 week
02
NDA Signing & Dataroom
We understand that you’ll be sharing confidential information with us. We will look to treat it with the utmost care.
We will ask you to share a data room with us that helps us understand your business as quickly and comprehensively as possible
2 weeks
03
Deep-Dive Assessment
Shortlisted companies enter a structured evaluation phase, which may include:
-
Product, market and partnership assessment
-
Financial assessment, understanding of the current financial situation of the company as well as unit economics analysis
-
Reference conversations with customers or partners
-
Alignment on future vision, valuation and deal structure
At the end of this phase, both sides make a clear decision on whether to proceed through a signed Expression of Interest
2 weeks
04
Partnership Pilot and Detailed Due Diligence
Selected teams work directly with Pula to identify concrete partnership use cases for Pula clients, including pitching and meeting with the clients in any of our 12 markets.
Detailed due diligence, reviewing financial, legal and tax status.
4 weeks
05
Commercial Partnership and Investment Decision
Where we find strong strategic and commercial alignment based on the previous steps, we may proceed through:
-
Commercial contracts, revenue-sharing partnerships through Joint Ventures
-
Majority stake acquisitions
-
Longer-term collaboration across Pula platforms such as Pula Re
-
Investment through cash or Pula shares and target strategic majority stakes