Nigerian start-up is suing foreign companies over €1.3 million contract

A start-up, Agriconnekt Services, has sued two international agencies and a Nigerian company before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and a High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State for alleged breach of contract.

The start-up, Agriconnekt Services, claims that Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, a German agency identified simply as GIZ; a US non-profit, Mercy Corps; and the Nigerian CoAmana broke off a contract and funneled 1.3 million euros, an amount in which Agriconnekt has a share.

Agriconnekt is therefore demanding $450,000 in damages and the payment of an additional $758,000, which the company claimed was included in a budget to be allocated to it from a project called “Smartdevelopmenthack” organized by the German Federal Foreign Office. Economic cooperation and development together with team Europe and its partners and carried out by GIZ, also known as the German Agency for International Cooperation and Development.

The company said in a statement from its CEO, Dr. Brain Iweh: “After an intensive online hackathon, Agriconnekt emerged as one of the nine global winners, but GIZ, in partnership with Mercy Corps, replaced Agriconnekt with a company called “Coamana” that was never one of the nine global winners after the intensive competition for the project had been selected.”

It added that eight global winners in other countries have received their money and started to implement their various projects, but Agriconnekt was denied the money as one of the duly selected global winners of the competition and was removed for various reasons .

Iweh said the alleged reasons for Agriconnekt’s removal were that the company may not be able to manage the resources and deliver the project as an early stage start-up.

He said: “While Agriconnekt provided the solution, pitched in front of the jury and fully participated in the whole process for its solution for the food security and digital agriculture value chain to win, so the project. During the call for solutions as advertised, GIZ specified also that start-ups are allowed to apply, and while completing the application form, Agriconnekt also established that they are an early-stage start-up.