African Professional Network of Ireland announces winner of Lion’s Den 2023 competition

.The African Professional Network of Ireland (APNI) is delighted to announce
the winner for their Lion’s Den business pitch competition. Lion’s Den is organised by APNI and in collaboration with Dublin City Council and Dogpatch Labs to champion entrepreneurship among the Afro-Irish and African diaspora communities in Ireland.

Lion’s Den 2023 competition

Preamble – a data visualisation tool founded by South African Dublin resident
Goodman Lepota was announced as the winner of this year’s competition.
Six businesses were shortlisted from a large pool of applicants by an independent committee and after a round of public voting three businesses pitched in front of 100 attendees at the live final on Thursday, 18th May 2023. This year’s event also includes support from APNIs 2023 corporate partners Docusign, Enterprise Holdings, Fidelity International, Grant Thornton, Vodafone and Zurich.

Lepota’s Preamble won a cash prize of €3,500, 4 months free co-working space courtesy of
Dogpatch labs startup hub and free access to Dublin City Council’s Local Enterprise Office’s Start Your Own Business Programme.

The three finalists were:

Billout.

Billout is a fintech startup led by Michael Jacob, Ebenezer Akintunde,Christina
Jacob and Deborah Gabriel. Billout is a service to manage subscriptions and expenses in
one place. Users can manage dates to control payments, share and split recurring bills,
access detailed analytics on each service they pay for, subscribe, update or cancel
subscriptions, receive timely notifications before payments come out from their account, and access deals and bundles at discounted rates.

Preamble.

Preamble is an Africa focused data visualisation tool founded by Goodman
Lepota.Preamble transforms raw data into easy-to-understand visuals that can be used to
communicate insights, trends, and patterns. By presenting data in a visual format, Preamble helps users quickly understand and interpret large amounts of information, allowing
corporates and other decision makers in Africa and other stakeholders to make better-
informed choices based on the insights derived from the data.

P.Osee.

P.Osee is a software for B2B sales teams co-founded by Steven Kinvi,James
Ward, Ayo Adeosun and Ademola Kazeem. P.Osee's workspace aims to accelerate revenue growth and enhance sales forecasting using smart algorithms and AI, streamlining sales processes with automation tools and task management systems for B2B SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS companies. The system targets companies seeking to increase sales efficiency and
maintain consistency across multiple teams and regions.

The judging panel for the event included:

Ross Curley

Ross is the acting Head of Economic Development for Dublin City
Council.

Dean Magee

Dean Magee is a Founder and Investor. Previously working for over a
decade in Google; Facebook he is now Founder & Managing Director of DV
Investments, a company that builds, acquires & scales a motley crew of businesses
including SaaS financial and legal tools, educational/psychometric testing web apps
and novelty gifts.

Chris Kanwei

Chris an accomplished finance and investment professional having
originated, completed, ormanaged investments in equity and debt, in excess of £10
billion across EMEA. He has a demonstrated track record in origination, structuring, portfolio management, and risk related roles across multiple asset classes, including Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Private Debt markets. Chris is currently part of a
compact team of senior investment professionals tasked with buildingAviva Capital
Partners (a new business entity and capital arm of Aviva plc) targeting equity
investments in urban regeneration, housing developments, green renewable energy
and private. Equity.

Emer O’Neill

Emer is an accomplished TV presenter, author, entrepreneur and
athlete who represented Ireland for basketball from the age of 13. She was a
presenter on Home School Hub on RTE with her segment “Exercise with Emer” and
also presented the Today show with Daithi O’Sea on RTE One. An influential anti-
racism activist, Emer is also the author of a children’s book called “The Same but
Different” a tale about a little girl overcoming her self doubt and journey to embrace
her differences and uniqueness.

Valerie O’Keefe

Valerie established ClarityVP Consulting in 2013. She is a strategic planning and change management specialist with over 20 years of experience in devising and implementing interventions for clients. A board level executive, she was formerly a member of the Board of AIB Corporate, Commercial, Institutional Banking. Building on her wealth of knowledge, Valerie works with Corporate and SME clients, helping them to reposition, manage uncertainty and capitalise on growth opportunities. She was one of the founders of Women in Property & Construction Ireland which was set up in 2018.

Speaking about the competition Ayo Olabimtan, APNI President said that “the event is a
fantastic opportunity to highlight Afro-Irish and African Diaspora founded businesses in
Ireland. Starting and running your own business in today’s economy can seem like a
daunting challenge with businesses navigating the cost of living crisis, post-COVID supply
chain disruption and high interest rates among other factors. We want to play our part in
supporting these businesses by giving them a platform to promote their ideas, get access to
capital, build their network and connect with mentors and other support systems”.

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