Tech competitions and Nigeria’s startup ecosystem, By Inyene Ibanga Having access to external ideas and mentors are significant benefits of participating in the competition beyond the prize money. Going by the increasing rate of startup competitions in the digital tech ecosystem, there are more grounds to believe that Nigeria is on course to becoming a digital powerhouse in the nearest future… But this would largely be determined by the level of collaboration between the public and private sectors to build a solid foundation for digital growth and investments. Funding remains one of the biggest challenges for tech startups as they struggle to launch their dreams into reality. Starting a tech business is time-consuming and very expensive to get off the ground.