2025 Impact Review: Anchoring Innovation in Northern Nigeria

Dear Future Builders,
As we move towards the second half of the year, the team has been going through our projects and activities of last year and we are truly in awe looking back at 2025.
If 2024 was about planting seeds, 2025 was the year the roots truly took hold. It was the year Startup Kano moved deeper and more strategically into helping architect the future of Northern Nigeria’s economy.
But when we look at the reports on our desks, we don’t just see numbers and milestones. We see you.We see the nervous excitement of a founder pitching for the first time at PitchStar Preincubation Program.
We see the focus in the eyes of the hackers at CyberFest. We see the nod of mutual respect between a government official and a tech creative at the Digital Kano Conference.
Here is the story of our collective year of 2025.

Coming Together: Our Key Success Strategy

Coming together has been our key success strategy. At Startup Kano, we have always been keen on partnerships, constantly looking for new value to bring to the ecosystem for our diverse target groups. We kicked off the year reminding ourselves that entrepreneurship can be a lonely road, but it doesn’t have to be walked alone.

Throughout the first half of last year, our Founders Friday, Monthly Tech Meetups, and the Expert Series brought you into the room with industry titans. Whether it was discussing fintech security with Seun Runsewe, exploring sustainable architecture with Oluwagbemiro Bello, or mastering monitoring and evaluation with Fatima Turaki, these sessions bridged the gap between local talent and world-class expertise. To everyone who showed up, shared a struggle, or offered advice: you are the heartbeat of this community.

Kano Climate Change Policy: Protecting Our Home

By July, we proved that technology is about more than just software. In a landmark collaboration with Green Legacy Nigeria, the Certa Foundation, and the Kano State Ministry of Environment, we launched the Kano State Climate Change Policy.

Working closely with the Honorable Commissioner, Dr. Dahiru Hashim, we moved beyond paperwork to action. We curated a portfolio of startups that are literally saving our environment: Earthbond generated 210 MWh of clean energy to reduce diesel dependency; Three Waste diverted over 100,000kg of trash from landfills; and Nurtured AgriTech deployed digital tracking to support the state’s 5 Million Trees Campaign.

The Governance Ambassadors Programme (GAP)

Running alongside these initiatives, we recognized that the future belongs to the youth. We initiated the Governance Ambassadors Programme (GAP) in partnership with YOSPIS Nigeria, born out of a critical need to bridge the gap in civic education and active citizenship.
Through school outreach programs, essay competitions, and multi-sectoral stakeholder dialogues, GAP has successfully fostered a new wave of civic awareness. We are empowering students not just to be passive residents, but to understand leadership, civil rights, and their role in governance.

Digital Kano Conference - Second Edition

September was historic. At the 2nd Digital Kano Conference, we didn’t just talk about the future; we showed it. Startup Kano played a critical role in managing the startup showcase, ensuring that the innovation on display matched the magnitude of the event. We sifted through 217 incredible applications to curate 20 top-tier ventures in the Coronation Hall.

It was a moment of pure pride to watch our local founders pitch their solutions directly to Vice President Sen. Kashim Shettima and our Governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf. We saw our ecosystem stand toe-to-toe with national leaders like Aminu Maida (EVC NCC), Malam Kashifu Inuwa (DG NITDA), and the Royal Father of the Day, His Highness Malam Muhammadu Sanusi II.
Beyond the pitches, we facilitated conversations with international partners like Dr. Russell Avre and Barry Palte, alongside industry leaders like Dr. Olasupo Olusi from the Bank of Industry and Alh. Dr. Auwalu Rano. The high quality of these interactions contributed significantly to the event’s success and the launch of the KASITDA Strategic Roadmap (2025-2030).

PitchStar: Resilience and Expansion

By October, we celebrated the fruits of deep resilience. We know access to finance is still a significant hurdle, but the PitchStar Cohort 4 taught us that grit is our most valuable currency. We are incredibly proud of our graduates who completed this grueling incubation, including Daily Invoice, Blind Access, Maish Ecocycle, Auto fix and Axon Reach.

These startups have demonstrated market readiness, and we are not stopping here. For 2026, we have set ambitious plans to expand the PitchStar program to other northern states, including Gombe, Jigawa, and Katsina, to unearth and polish even more gems across the region.

Citizen Reporting Cross-Platform Project Expansion: Giving People a Voice

From October to December, we took innovation on the road. Funded by the Nigeria Youth Futures Fund (NYFF) and Leap Africa, and in partnership with Blue Sapphire Hub, our Citizen Reporting Project expanded beyond Kano into Katsina and Jigawa.
We engaged high-level stakeholders, including Jigawa State Governor H.E. Umar Namadi and the First Lady of Katsina, Hajia Fatima Dikko Radda, to ensure government buy-in. But most importantly, we engaged over 1,000 citizens, providing them with digital tools to report issues like gender-based violence and service delivery gaps. This taught us that technology must be inclusive—we heard your requests for Hausa language support and offline tools, and we are listening.

Building Capacity and Security

We closed 2025 by building talent. Partnering with Arewa Cyber Squads and Startbench, we hosted CyberFest 2025, gathering over 500 participants to train the next generation of ethical hackers. Finally, in December, we partnered with the Google Developers Group to host DevFest Kano at the Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria (MAAUN), focusing on AI and Cloud solutions.

Looking Ahead

We started 2026 in high spirits, and the vision is getting bigger. We are no longer just a hub; we have evolved into Northern Nigeria’s powerhouse, ecosystem enablers dedicated to driving sustainable growth.

Thank you for being part of our journey, for your time, and for believing in the potential of this ecosystem.
With gratitude,
The Startup Kano Team.