Bitoshi has awarded seed funding to four tech entrepreneurs who pitched their ideas at Tech Cirvee Fest 3.0, creating an opportunity for the selected founders to move their projects from early-stage ideas and prototypes towards further development.
The initiative was led by Bitoshi and its founder, Timilehin Zubair, as part of the company’s broader effort to support technology builders and emerging entrepreneurs across Africa.
The selected entrepreneurs include Abdulganiy Eniola Maryam and Tijani Hibatul-Mannan Kanyinsola, founders of SAAIM, and Joseph Oyetunde and Triumph Nwodo, the team behind ApplyLater.
Supporting Builders Beyond the Pitch
For Bitoshi, the funding is based on the belief that Africa’s technology ecosystem needs greater support for the people developing solutions to everyday problems.
A strong idea can attract attention, but turning that idea into a viable product often requires capital, experimentation, iteration, visibility and access to the right networks.
Tech Cirvee Fest 3.0 provided the selected founders with an opportunity to present their ideas, demonstrate their potential and connect with people who could support the next stage of their development.
The seed funding is intended to provide additional room for the entrepreneurs to build, test, learn and improve their products.
SAAIM Targets the Digital Fasting Experience
One of the selected projects is SAAIM, founded by Abdulganiy Eniola Maryam and Tijani Hibatul-Mannan Kanyinsola.
The startup is developing a mobile fasting companion aimed at addressing the fragmented digital experience faced by people who observe fasting.
Fasting-related activities such as meal planning, prayer times, reminders, hydration and personal routines are often managed through separate tools.
SAAIM aims to bring several of these functions together in one platform, offering features covering Suhoor and Iftar reminders, prayer times, meals, groceries, wellness and fasting schedules.
The founders are building around the idea of providing a more connected digital experience for Muslims who observe fasting throughout the year, rather than limiting the product to a single fasting season.
The project also reflects the growing opportunity for technology products designed around specific cultural and lifestyle needs within Africa and beyond.
ApplyLater Uses AI to Simplify Applications
Another funded project is ApplyLater, founded by Joseph Oyetunde and Triumph Nwodo.
The platform is targeting the challenges people face when applying for scholarships, grants, fellowships and jobs.
For many applicants, searching for opportunities is only the beginning. Keeping track of deadlines, eligibility requirements, documents, application stages and unfinished forms can make the process difficult to manage.
ApplyLater is developing an AI-powered application workspace designed to bring these activities together.
The platform aims to help users organise opportunities, extract important information, monitor application progress, receive reminders and receive assistance while completing applications.
Its broader goal is to move beyond simply helping people find opportunities towards helping them act on those opportunities and complete the application process.
Importance of Early-Stage Funding
For emerging founders, access to capital can determine whether an idea remains a concept, develops into a minimum viable product or receives enough resources to test its potential in the market.
Funding can also provide founders with the opportunity to experiment and learn before attempting to scale.
Beyond capital, visibility, mentorship and access to networks can play an important role in helping early-stage entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of building a technology company.
Bitoshi’s support therefore extends beyond the immediate funding awarded at the event, reflecting a broader focus on creating opportunities for founders to develop their ideas.
Backing Africa’s Next Generation of Builders
The four entrepreneurs selected through Tech Cirvee Fest 3.0 are working on different problems and targeting different audiences.
However, they share a common approach: identifying an existing challenge and asking whether technology can provide a better way of addressing it.
For Bitoshi, supporting such builders represents an investment not only in individual products but also in the wider African technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem.
As these projects move into their next stages, the funding gives the founders an opportunity to turn early ideas into products, test their assumptions and determine how far their solutions can go.
Source: Techpoint