5 Nigerian Startups Selected For The Dar Blockchain Web3 Incubation
Eighteen teams have been chosen for the Dar Blockchain Web3 incubation programme, which began on October 1 and will continue until January 2027. Among them, five Nigerian startups were selected after excelling in the Hedera Africa Hackathon. Their collective achievements included securing the $100,000 cross-track prize, earning a fifth-place finish overall, and placing in each of the event’s four thematic tracks. The hackathon, organised by The Hashgraph Association and Exponential Science, attracted over 13,000 developers and produced more than 1,300 project submissions.
The incubation programme is designed with four sprints, five milestone gates reviewed by juries, and 21 workshops. Organisers expect to develop at least five seed-ready companies by its conclusion, with over 60% of ventures projected to have signed letters of intent or launched live pilots by the third milestone. The initiative will wrap up with an investor demo day scheduled for the week of January 18.
Nigeria leads the cohort with five teams, surpassing any other nation. The remaining 13 ventures represent Mexico, Malaysia, Romania, Brazil, India, and the United States. Of the 18 teams, 11 are from Africa, aligning with the programme’s focus on emerging markets.
One of the Nigerian teams, GreenAfrica, claimed the hackathon’s top prize and finished second in the AI and DePIN track. The startup has built an environmental verification platform on Hedera, intended to verify sustainability claims through transparent tracking. Beyond Service Game secured fifth place in the overall competition and won the Immersive Experiences track with a mobile game that incorporates persistent digital identity and on-chain asset ownership. Players can retain and trade in-game items, adding a layer of permanence to virtual economies.
Upesa placed third in the On-Chain Finance and Real-World Assets track, a sector where Nigerian startups encounter regulatory challenges. Afiya ranked fourth in the DLT for Operations track, while Cryptonia City took second in the Immersive Experiences category, finishing just behind Beyond Service Game.
Unlike many blockchain hackathons, which conclude after prize announcements, this programme offers extended support through structured milestones. Teams will be assessed using a Seed-Ready Scorecard, receiving tailored execution roadmaps, expert mentorship, and introductions to potential investors. The programme utilises a portion of the hackathon’s prize money to fund these efforts, though details on allocation or penalties for missed milestones have not been disclosed.
Key partners include Wiki Startup, a Tunisian incubator focused on founder development, UGFS North Africa, which provides investment-readiness training, and Softstack, a German Web3 security firm with over 1,500 audits completed and no reported vulnerabilities. The Nigerian teams’ success will depend on meeting each milestone, though their strong hackathon performance does not guarantee a lead at the January demo day.
