Bumpa Joins Lagos Investor Drive as Nigeria Hits $635M

In Short

Nigerian startups are looking for more targeted ways to reach venture investors, even as funding into the country rebounds but stays concentrated.

What Happened: How Magna Collective Matched Startups And VCs

Magna Collective ran an Investor Connection Drive in Lagos that brought together 26 Nigerian startups and 16 venture investors. The organiser set up 61 pre-scheduled, one-to-one meetings between founders and potential investors.

The programme aimed to solve a common problem, founders struggling to find investors whose interests match their businesses. It used a speed-dating format, and meetings were arranged based on each investor’s preferred investment stage, cheque size, and sector focus.

Investors reviewed the proposed matches beforehand and agreed to the meetings. This meant founders did not need cold introductions.

Kelvin Umechukwu, co-founder and chief executive officer of commerce platform Bumpa, met four growth-stage investors through the programme. He said, “The fact that investors have already seen our documents and decided they want to talk to us makes the experience a lot different, more impactful, and direct.”

Lexi Novitske, general partner at Norrsken22, said the structure helped investors identify businesses that fit their portfolios. She said, “We don’t waste their time. They don’t waste our time. It’s quite efficient, and I think we met some incredible companies that’ll fit nicely into our pipeline.”

Why It Matters: Funding Is Up, But Still Concentrated

Data from Africa: The Big Deal shows Nigerian startups raised $635 million in the first nine months of 2026. This was more than double the amount recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, and the highest among African countries.

The same data shows funding is still concentrated among a small number of businesses. Only 77 startups raised at least $100,000 during the period, and Moove’s $250 million transaction accounted for almost 40% of the total.

The Investor Connection Drive also had support from Google and the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub. The startups at the event worked across fintech, healthcare, artificial intelligence, logistics, energy, agriculture, and education, with more than two-thirds having women in leadership roles.

Eleven of the startups were alumni of Google programmes, including Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, the Black Founders Fund, and the Google AI Fund in collaboration with the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. Google’s Folarin Aiyegbusi said access to suitable investors could help founders accelerate business growth and added, “Great founders build faster when they can reach the right capital at the right time.”