Ule Homes has clinched the $10,000 grand prize at TechCabal’s 2025 Startup Battlefield, held during the Moonshot 2025 conference. The Lagos-based proptech beat a competitive field of early-stage ventures drawn from across Africa. Its win underscores surging investor and ecosystem interest in digital tools that simplify real estate access for consumers.
Prize and Event Overview
The TC Startup Battlefield is a flagship pitch competition that spotlights promising startups building for the African market. This year’s edition concluded on stage at Moonshot 2025, with support from Antler alongside the event organizers. Judges assessed finalists on problem clarity, product execution, traction, and commercial potential before announcing the winners.
Winner Profile: Ule Homes
Ule Homes operates a streamlined digital platform that helps users find, finance, and manage home purchases in Nigeria. The product aims to reduce friction across discovery, affordability, and post-purchase management, areas that remain pain points in local real estate transactions. By bundling search, financing linkages, and ownership workflows, the company positions itself as a single entry point to formal housing.
Competitive Landscape and Significance
Nigeria’s housing market is fragmented, opaque, and administratively complex for first-time buyers. Ule Homes is betting that a technology-first approach can compress timelines, standardize documentation, and improve buyer confidence. The Battlefield victory gives the team capital, visibility, and validation at a time when trust and user education are pivotal to adoption.
Runners-Up and Finalists
Emoti, named first runner-up, received $5,000 for its work on emotional AI that enhances user interactions and supports mental well-being. The company develops systems designed to interpret affective signals and personalize feedback loops for healthier digital experiences. Judges cited the potential to bring nuanced empathy into everyday software interfaces as a reason for its strong showing.
Joint Second Runners-Up
Scrap Nigeria and ResqX shared the second runner-up position and a combined $4,000 prize. Scrap Nigeria focuses on sustainable waste management, formalizing informal flows and improving recycling economics through digitization. ResqX builds emergency response technology intended to shorten time-to-help and coordinate resources during critical incidents.
Investor Engagement and Antler Perspective
Antler partner Atmaramani told attendees that the firm will make offers to three startups drawn from the competition’s top 30. He said the team is seeking high-performance founders with deep domain expertise and clear motivation to solve real problems at scale. The firm’s interest signals that investment appetite remains for resilient models addressing essential services.
Founder Reaction and Momentum
Accepting the award, Ule Homes Co-founder Omolade Akinwumi thanked the judges and audience for recognizing the team’s effort and progress. The statement reflected both excitement and determination to convert the spotlight into measurable growth. With fresh capital and attention, the startup plans to refine product capabilities and expand go-to-market initiatives.
Market Context and Opportunity
Housing remains an acute need across African cities, where demand far outstrips supply and affordability is a persistent barrier. Financing access, title verification, and after-sales management are frequent choke points that stall transactions. Platforms that connect these steps in one coherent journey can unlock latent demand and attract institutional partners.
Outlook and Next Steps
Following the Battlefield win, Ule Homes is well positioned to accelerate customer acquisition and deepen partnerships with lenders and property developers. The company also has an opportunity to build standardized data rails that improve pricing transparency and risk assessment. Execution discipline, regulatory alignment, and user trust will determine how quickly the platform scales.
TechCabal’s 2025 Startup Battlefield highlighted the breadth of African innovation across housing, health, climate, and safety. Ule Homes’ victory captures a moment where practical, user-centered infrastructure is winning support from judges and investors. If the company sustains product rigor and operational focus, it could help set a new baseline for how Nigerians buy and manage homes.
Source: Condia