Startupsouth, a yearly tech summit for startups in southern Nigeria, often held in Port Harcourt and some other state capitals, seems to give birth to OffChat Nxt.
The new platform is to debut in Port Harcourt between October 27 and 29, 2026, according to Uche Aniche, Startupsouth founder.
Available data already shows more than half of OffChart NXT Startup Challenge applicants report paying customers or stronger revenue traction, while two-thirds have never raised external funding.
A statement from the convener said new data from the OffChart NXT Startup Challenge suggests that a significant group of emerging founders are building commercial traction before gaining meaningful access to external capital.
According to the statement issued by Paul Chimodo, an analysis of 142 applications to the 2026 OffChart NXT Startup Challenge found that 53.5% of applicants report early paying customers, a growing paying customer base, recurring revenue or rapid scaling, while 66.2% say they have never raised external funding.
“Only eight applicants, representing 5.6% of the pipeline, report having previously raised angel investment.
“Among the 137 Nigerian applications for which a state could be clearly identified, 76.6% are based outside Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory, with significant representation from Rivers, Abia, Enugu, Imo, Akwa Ibom and several other states.”
The statement said the sector mix is also notable. “Agriculture and Agritech account for 24 applications, Education and EdTech for 19, and Health and HealthTech for 15.
Together, these three sectors represent 40.8% of the application pipeline, compared with 10 applications from Financial Services and FinTech.”
For Uche Aniche, #StartupSouth Founder and OffChart NXT Convener, the numbers point to an important gap between business formation and the infrastructure required to scale.
“What stands out is that these founders are not simply waiting for somebody to fund an idea. More than half are already reporting paying customers or stronger revenue signals, yet two in three have never raised external capital.
The opportunity is to connect businesses like these to the capital, customers, technology, distribution and institutional relationships that can move them forward.”
He said that the gap is also visible in what founders say they need. “Alongside grants and equity, applicants identified customers and procurement opportunities, corporate partnerships, distribution, technology infrastructure, market expansion, and strategic guidance, among their most important growth requirements.”
OffChart NXT is said to be building its Startup Challenge and DealRoom around that broader growth architecture.
“Alongside the ₦30 million Founder Prize Pool, participating founders are being connected to investors, enterprises, technology infrastructure, payment support, market opportunities and strategic relationships.
“The current opportunity stack includes a $250,000 cloud-credit opportunity for two top teams through Lagos Angel Network.
“Strategic Payment Partner Paystack is contributing ₦3 million to the Founder Prize Pool and providing the top two startups with three months of transaction-fee waivers.”
It stated that a separate Wildcard pathway also gives founders who missed the original Pre-DealRoom programme another route into the Startup Challenge.
“The data forms part of OffChart NXT’s Emerging Founder Pulse, using the conference’s own pipeline to better understand what founders building across emerging markets are creating, where they are located and what they require to grow. The findings describe the OffChart NXT applicant cohort and should not be interpreted as a representative survey of Nigeria’s entire startup ecosystem.
“Beyond the Startup Challenge, OffChart NXT 2026 will feature 100+ speakers across 60+ sessions on seven conference stages and breakout rooms.”
Confirmed speakers were said to include Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General/CEO, NITDA; Juhun Cha, CEO, MUST Company, South Korea; Marco Rebecchi, Country Manager, Nigeria & Ghana, Nokia; and Ridwan Olalere, Co-Founder & CEO, LemFi.
The conference partner ecosystem includes NITDA, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited and MainOne, among others.
OffChart NXT is said to be the continuation of the #StartupSouth Conference and marks the 11th edition of the platform.
“It is a premium continental convening platform connecting founders, startup teams, SMEs, investors, enterprises, policymakers, institutions, creative-sector leaders, diaspora actors and ecosystem builders around enterprise growth, capital access, innovation, market expansion and Africa’s emerging growth corridors.
“Hosted in Port Harcourt, OffChart NXT is a strategic meeting point for the founders, capital, institutions, markets and communities shaping Africa’s next growth frontiers,” Chimodo stated.
Related News
