Denis Opudo
Many founders will tell you that the most demanding task in running a startup is securing funding, that is true. In fact, African startups face these challenges and I must write about it often. It is always not a ride in the park when it comes to convincing investors to believe in your ideas and offer you their funding support. This is even much harder on the early stage startups. That is why most startups in their early stage fail to realize their dreams due to inadequate funds to run their operations.
However, this is not the same story with Nigerian based advertising-technology startup TaxiTV which has secured seed funding worth over $50,000 which was led by Beta.Ventures. TaxiTV is an in ride entertainment system for riders to enjoy content in cabs. It offers advertising channels for SMEs and corporate brands in Nigeria. The Nigerian based investment firm Beta.Ventures majors in funding of early-stage entrepreneurs expanding tech and startups that are tech-enabled to become leaders in their respective markets.
According to the CEO of TaxiTV, Akinbola Asalu, the startup will use the funding to expand its operations into other parts of Nigeria. He added that they are pleased with the milestone they have made and it will them achieve on their company mission and get their products to various parts of the country. Asalu said that the seed funding is valued at between $50,000 and $100,000 and he declined to expound more about it. He added that the company is piloting a self-service feature that gives advisers a chance to pay for adds and upload ads directly on the startup’s site. Founded in October 2017, TaxiTV, to make its ad-tech features in each premium cab available in every Nigerian city by 2019. TaxiTV has managed to buy around 150 drivers on its site as at 5th June 2018. Other investors in the startup are Sam Senbanjo from Neon Ventures, Collins Onuegbu from SASWARE and many others.
