As we expect to see new and exciting web and mobile 2.0 startups and applications to be launched in 2010, I thought it would be nice to profile some of the start-ups that were launched in 2009 (or yet to be launched).
I’ve made an attempt to diversify the list of startups around several markets, and while this is a list of the most promising startups I’ve found, they are by no means the best:)
In no particular order, here’s my list of Nigeria’s web startups to watch in 2010:
Kukurooku is a microblogging site like Twitter that lets you “cluck” a 160 limit update about what you’re doing. “Kukurooku” is a sound produced by birds (especially cocks). With Kukurooku, you can “flock” other people and have other people “flock” you too.
Naijaborn is a custom built social networking engine that creates a searchable, detailed, user-generated database of the global Nigerian community. It is the place to find Nigerians and their creations. It features profiles of active members, a public user-generated blog; status updates features, and a place for users to upload music, art and other media from their experiences.
Kilonshele is an e-commerce site that provides ticket sales, marketing and distribution services as well as connects the world to live entertainment events in Nigeria by providing up-to-date information on live events and giving fans opportunity to buy tickets conveniently. I reviewed it here briefly.
Jobberman is the most intuitive job search engine in Nigeria and integrates the best of web 2.0 applications and social media tools in finding the right talents and jobs easily and at the most competitive rates.
Taafoo is a free subscription service that lets you stay hooked-up through your mobile phone with celebrities, personalities, groups, interesting people, businesses and others by receiving short entertaining or information text alerts called “taafs” directly from them on your mobile phone. See my review here.
ConnectNigeria.com is a free crowd-sourced and search-friendly database of businesses, companies and entrepreneurs. With ConnectNigeria.com, you can find information about jobs, autos, real estate, travel, entertainment, sport and everything you need all in one place.
Disclosure: I’m part of the Product & Content Development Team of this new portal.
OnePage is a new and easy way to share your contact details. OnePage lets you put all your contact details including email address, website, blog, MSN/Yahoo! Messengers, Facebook and Twitter accounts, etc., in one place. You just need to give out your OnePage ID (username) and you can be reached everywhere.
The platform was co-founded by Oo Nwoye (Nigerian) and Joel Gascoigne (British).
Gistcaster is a social messenger that helps you to share and discover what’s happening right now around you. It also has a mobile version that lets you share and discover wetin dey happen right now, around you.
Waaazap! is a communications platform that helps people stay in touch with friends and share content with anyone using custom-built special tools. With Waaazap!, you can create, discover and share content with friends and people from around the world.
Mammaput is a crowdsourced directory of eateries in Nigeria. A comprehensive set of APIs will be available for developers to build ‘location-aware’ mobile applications around available data.
My final thoughts
No doubt Nigeria’s startup scene is gradually evolving and deserves attention, although some startups tend to copy from their friends book, or better still from Facebook.
From my radar, I’ve equally seen that some nerds are busy building smart apps and tools that would provide solutions to local issues. I’ll be profiling some of these technopreneurs in a future post.
Later this year, I’ll be putting together a StartupCamp, an unconference-style event dedicated to bringing entrepreneurs, technologists, business strategists, and potential investors within Nigeria’s Web 2.0 startup community and beyond together for a face-to-face, collaborative meetup where the attendees will drive the agenda.
If you’ve got a great app or startup you want to promote (free of charge), you can pitch it to me (send two-liner info about your startup, category, launch year and logo) via startupsnigeria (at) gmail.com
Tags: connectnigeria, facebook, gistcaster, Jobberman, kilonshele, kukurooku, mammaput, naijaborn, nigeria, onepage, startupcamp, startups, StartupsNigeria, taafoo, waaazap, Web 2.0
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Thanks Loy! This is the year we will put Nigerian founders on the map. Lets go there!
Thanks for the mention Loy! We hope to live up to all the expectation!
we sure will, by God's Grace
If these sites are implemented as well as their logos,
2010 promises to be an explosive year.
Kudos!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ademola Morebise, Loy Okezie and Loy Okezie, Loy Okezie. Loy Okezie said: Nigeria’s web startups to watch in 2010!: As we expect to see new and exciting web and mobile 2.0 startups and app… http://bit.ly/7Tdoow [...]
2010 is certainly going to be great!
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Wow This place is great. I have to bookmark it and come back here again!…
seun,dont get if they are implemented as well as their logos? Can u pls inform us ?
Thanks for the media mention!
naijaborn.com is proud of the nigerian startup scene and we excited about the mention
stay blessed and show ya sefs !
Wow…What a list. It's good for Nigeria. I support Naijaborn and Gistcaster… I'll see to the others…
Nice list Loy. I like the diversity. I am especially excited by the one providing APIs (MammaPut) and the out-of-the-box thinking of OnePage. That one in particular is scalable in concept, and if well executed does not need to be a “Nigeria-only” thing.
Well, OnePage is already global. This now begs the question: is a startup Nigerian because it is founded by a Nigerian or because it provides a unique service to Nigerians and makes use of the unique cultural qualities of Nigerians in its approach? If a startup has Nigerian founders but does not in anyway “face” Nigeria is it still Nigerian? Should we even care? (No I’m not doing a DC article here).
Interesting questions here, Dej.
1. A startup could be described as "Nigerian" based on several factors: some of which you've mentioned.
2. A startup that goes "global" could still provide a unique service to its locality.
Think about startups that provide unique offerings ONLY for U.S residents (where they probably enjoy a larger user base), yet they are "global".
3. A startup such as OnePage has a global reach, but could "make use of the unique cultural qualities of Nigerians" in its product offerings.
We'll see…
interesting list, nice
[...] Mammaput was recently reviewed by loy Okezie, which you can read here [...]
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Hmm… Interesting! I always love reading the posts on this website.
What about shapshap.com
Nice one, but i suggest you try out http://www.greenspaceng.com. They provide paid surveys by rewarding respondents with cash for filling a survey. Also they are beta tesing an Adserver for the African market. They actually are the ace in the hole.