A Lagos-based education technology company, Data Entry Academy, has claimed first place at the United Nations Development Programme’s Get Ready 4 Timbuktoo EdTech accelerator, securing a $10,000 award after standing out among nearly 1,430 applicants from across the continent.

Founder Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze led the startup to victory over competitors from Egypt and Senegal at a pitch showcase held in Dakar on July 1. A second Nigerian company, Varsity Scape, also made the cut, finishing sixth out of ten winning startups.

The win highlights how far Nigeria’s edtech sector has come, especially among ventures focused on digital skills training and workforce readiness, as international development bodies and innovation hubs pour more resources into education-focused startups across Africa. With venture capital harder to secure these days, accelerators like Timbuktoo and the Mastercard Foundation’s EdTech Fellowship have become key avenues for startups to sharpen their offerings, connect with mentors, and prepare for future investment.

Organizers say the competition drew 1,429 applications this year, of which 1,099 met the basic eligibility requirements. From there, a panel of 19 independent reviewers carried out close to 2,850 blind assessments to whittle the field down to 50 startups admitted into the 12-week program. Twenty companies advanced to the final round, with ten ultimately declared winners — Data Entry Academy taking first, followed by an Egyptian startup in second and a Senegalese one in third.

Data Entry Academy, launched in 2020, runs a month-long online course covering practical office software skills — spreadsheets, cloud-based accounting, invoicing, inventory tracking, and payroll systems. The company says over 17,000 people across Africa have gone through its training, delivered via Telegram and Teachable, requiring nothing more than basic computer familiarity to join. Its learner base spans job seekers, small business owners, and staff sent by employers for upskilling.

Both winning Nigerian startups have prior ties to the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, which hands out $100,000 in non-dilutive funding along with mentorship. Data Entry Academy was part of the fellowship’s second cohort in 2024, while Varsity Scape came through in its third round.

The Dakar event marked the close of a three-month accelerator cycle during which participating startups worked on refining their business models, improving their products, building traction in their markets, and getting investment-ready as part of the wider Timbuktoo pipeline.

The accelerator falls under UNDP’s larger Timbuktoo initiative, unveiled at Davos during the 2024 World Economic Forum with an ambitious target: raising $1 billion over a decade to back 10,000 startups and generate $10 billion in economic impact across Africa. The initiative positions itself as a convening platform linking governments, investors, academic institutions, and private companies, and currently operates six thematic hubs across the continent, has trained roughly 3,480 innovators, and runs 16 university-based innovation pods, with 12 more planned.