440’s holding a competition for startups where at least one deal (equity investment between $100k and $250k) will be made within the 24hr competition period. (Are they going to stay up for the duration of that competition or work in shifts? 
).
There’s more application info here
Sounds cool. I’m guessing this will be for startups who have gotten some level of traction.
Looks like they will adopt the Shark Tank strategy. They would have been familiar with your startup long before you appear before the panel. On the Deal Day, they will simply ask questions in order to find out your knowledge and ability to run the startup. If they assign 20 minutes for each startup, then they can meet over 30 startups within a 12 hour period. If they are experienced investors, then it shouldn’t take take them more than 10 minutes to decide whether to invest in a particular startup or not.
It’s very doable. 440.NG is a respected accelerator. I wish all applicants the very best.
@Jay, yes it does. It’s possible that traction may be a factor, but I doubt that it would be the most important one.
@Ndianabasi you forgot to add the smiley face at the end. I wouldn’t necessarily trust a decision made by someone who hasn’t slept for 24hrs! They might adopt the strategy you mentioned. Whatever they decide I hope they provide video coverage of the event. All the best to the applicants.
LOL @amakaikem 
They didn’t say they will work round the clock rather they promised to make at least one investment in 24 hours.
As you can see from the schedule, the programme commences Friday afternoon and ends Saturday afternoon. Obviously, investors, mentors and entrepreneurs will have to go home and resume the next day. It is the “Deal Session” that will likely be designed like the Shark Tank deal session.
By the way, any entrepreneur seeking for funding should watch at least one season of Shark Tank before attempting a pitch. You have to understand how an investor thinks for you to be at your best in such a competitive Deal Session.
The fundamental question is whether there is enough deal flow in Nigeria to find technology companies that can absorb $100k. Last year 440 did much smaller deal sizes in true start-ups in that they were starting up. Now they’re trying to move up the value chain, doing larger deal sizes in established companies. Can they do it? It remains to be seen. 
