A fast-rising GovTech company, SmartAIRS, from Abia State has emerged among standout innovators at the maiden South East Venture Capital Programme (SEVCP) Pitch Competition organised by the South East Development Commission in Enugu.
The two-day innovation and investment event, held on May 25 and 26 at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, attracted more than 1,200 startups and ventures from across Nigeria, making it one of the biggest technology and investment gatherings ever hosted in South East Nigeria.
The competition followed a rigorous month-long selection and evaluation process involving top figures in Nigeria’s investment, technology and innovation ecosystem.
The event also drew major government officials, investors, policymakers and innovation leaders, including representatives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was represented by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele.
Representatives of South East state governments, Chairman of the House Committee on South East Development, Chief Chris Nkwonta, executives of the Bank of Industry and MOFI, as well as leading players in the innovation ecosystem including MTN, Flutterwave, Andela, Ventures Platform and Ubulu Africa, were also present.
At the centre of the recognition was SmartAIRS, a technology platform conceived and built in Umuahia, Abia State, to modernise government revenue administration, digital compliance and public sector operations across Africa.
During the competition, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of SmartAIRS, Pastra Arinze Etie, delivered a three-minute pitch highlighting the urgent need for transparent revenue systems, intelligent automation, connected payment infrastructure and real-time monitoring tools for governments.
Etie described SmartAIRS as an intelligent end-to-end revenue infrastructure platform designed to simplify government revenue operations while improving transparency, accountability and efficiency.
According to him, the platform enables digital enumeration, automated revenue collection, compliance monitoring, reconciliation and operational reporting in real time.
For businesses, he said the system integrates banks, payment providers and government platforms into a unified operational network aimed at reducing bottlenecks and improving compliance processes.
He added that the platform also simplifies interactions between citizens and government agencies through self-service digital tools and SmartAssist, its AI-powered tax support system.
“This is proof that world-class technology can be built from Southeast Nigeria — from Umuahia — and compete at the highest level,” Etie said.
“We built SmartAIRS to help governments operate more transparently, businesses comply more easily, and citizens access services more efficiently,” he added.
The recognition was formally conveyed through a certificate issued and signed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SEDC, Mark Okoye.
Organisers said the recognition formed part of the commission’s broader $50 million blended finance programme aimed at supporting high-potential startups and technology-driven ventures across South East Nigeria.
Industry stakeholders at the event described the emergence of SmartAIRS as a major boost for the growing innovation ecosystem in the South East, noting that the development further demonstrated the region’s capacity to produce globally competitive technology solutions capable of addressing institutional and economic challenges across Africa.
SmartAIRS said it would continue expanding its intelligent revenue infrastructure systems as part of efforts to deepen digital governance, transparency and automated public revenue management across the continent.
