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Tag: innovators

  •  12 young innovators, ‘Icons of impact’ get award

     12 young innovators, ‘Icons of impact’ get award

    A  new generation of leaders and innovators  have been celebrated at the seventh Lord’s Achievers Awards(LAA) which held at The Monarch Events Centre in Lekki, Lagos.

    Themed: “Icons of Impact,” the ceremony, powered by Lord’s London Dry Gin, honored 12 outstanding individuals for their excellence and contributions across various fields.

    This awardees included Jennifer Awirigwe (Finance), Debbie Larry-Izamoje (Media & Journalism), Victory Ashaka (Literature), Kaline Njoku (Film & Entertainment), Damilola Onafuwa (Visual Arts), Super Falcons star Asisat Oshoala (Sports), Ifeoluwa Dare Johnson (Health & Wellness), Tunde Onakoya (Societal Development), Samson Ogbole (Agriculture), Tosin Eniolorunda (Innovation & Technology), Temilade Tolulope “T.T Dalk” (Fashion & Lifestyle), and Tobi Ayeni “Miss Techy” (Content Creation).

    The inaugural “Lord of the City” Award was presented to Ife Durosinmi-Etti, a past honouree who made history at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity by winning three Silver Lions for her pioneering breastmilk financing campaign.

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    The awardees were selected by a distinguished jury featuring Stephanie Busari (CNN), Chuka Obi (Globacom), Titilope Adesanya (EMPIRE), Wole Odetayo (Southwest Innovation & Tech Co. Limited), Femi Taiwo (F.I.T Africa), Ladun Awobokun (FilmOne Limited), and Chinyere Inya (Accelerate Africa & Future Africa). Representatives of Lord’s London Dry Gin and The Influence Agency also participated.

    Since its inception in 2019, the Lord’s Achievers Awards has honoured more than 70 young Nigerians, including Layi Wasabi, Adejoke Lasisi, Stanley Onuorah, Kelechi Okoro, and Kennedy Ekezie-Joseph, who continue to excel in their respective fields.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Oluwagbemileke Lawal, Marketing Manager of Nigeria Distilleries Limited, said: “The Lord’s Achievers Awards is more than an event; it is an investment in Nigeria’s future. This year’s winners embody the courage, creativity, and resilience we need to move forward as a nation.”

     Olusegun Akinyemiju, Senior Brand Manager of Lord’s London Dry Gin, added: “At Lord’s, we are proud to stand behind a platform that amplifies voices of change and excellence. Tonight’s honourees remind us that true leadership is not about titles, but about the impact we leave behind.”

     The night also featured vibrant performances from Seeing Through the Arts (STAR), Band Tronic, Loud Choir, Afro-soul star Qing Madi, crowd-favourite Fido, hypeman Do2dtun, Shoday, and a live DJ set, making it a celebration of both impact and culture.

     The awards continue to serve as a platform that champions young achievers, recognising their efforts in shaping industries and building a legacy of impact for the future.

  • Corps member creates platform for innovators’ exploration

    Corps member creates platform for innovators’ exploration

    A serving member of Nigeria Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and an alumnus of University of Lagos (UNILAG), Johnson Olamilekan, has created a platform for innovators to show their skills and ideas to investors, while gaining actionable insights from top industry experts.

    At the maiden edition of World Summit Awards (WSA), Nigeria Entrepreneurship and Innovation Conferences (NEIC) 2024, held recently at Faculty of Social Science lecture theatre at UNILAG, six innovators out of 150 participants, made it to the grand finale after a three-day virtual boot camp.

    The six innovators are Farmeley, Verion X, Apere, Varsigram, AptConnect and Creststudy.

    Creststudy is an innovative EdTech platform designed to empower tertiary university students with right tools to achieve academic goals. AptConnect is a property technology solution that enables renters rent apartment directly with the landlord. VerionX is an EdTech and Jobtech platform dedicated to bridging the gap between education and employment for African youth.

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    The event also featured two panel sessions that centred on ecosystem.

    Speaking on the theme: Promoting digital innovations geared towards creating sustainable solution, Olamilekan stated that WSA serves as a platform where young innovators showcase what they have and probably get access to funding and investors.

    “This conference is not just celebrating innovators. It is promoting sustainable innovations that solve global and future challenges. We train young entrepreneurs to become future global leaders. We help them with mentorship and connection.

    “During our virtual boot camp, we had over 150 registered applicants for the boot camp. We had about 12 industry experts that led it. The six innovators that were selected passed the criteria that we used.

    “We showcase their potentials by creating a platform for the innovators and award them. They get to connect with global sponsors and have access to funding,” he said.

    Deputy Vice Chancellor UNILAG, Prof. Ayodele Victoria Atsenuwa, emphasised that the institution is bent on financially supporting students, who have good innovative business ideas. She added that the current VC is passionate on digitalising the institution.

    “UNILAG is committed in digitalising its whole community. This is one of the visions of the current vice chancellor. We had started, but she has taken us beyond what it was that we are going to do.

    “We were digitalising in bits and pieces, but now, the goal is to go digital completely. At the last council meeting, we had early this month, we had the approval to go into the first phase of the digitalisation of the entire University of Lagos. We are at the push of one button. Everybody, who is enabled to have access, would know what’s going on,” she said.

  • NCC: SMEs, innovators, others are growth engines

    • Prepares for ITU Telecom World 2018

    Small, Medium-sized Enterprise (SMEs), start-ups and innovators are engines of economic growth, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said at the weekend.

    Realising this, this year’s focus by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the Telecom World according to NCC, would be on them. Aside SMEs, innovators and their innovations are also slated to have a good showing at the event, which will hold in Durban, South Africa, between September 10 and 13.

    Nigeria had a good outing in ITU Telecom World 2017, Busan, South Korea, where five of the country’s SMEs/Innovators made the final ITU Global listing for SMEs/Innovators awards. Three of them made the honours’ list.

    As part of the plan for this year’s ITU Telecom World, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) published notices in the media recently, inviting Information Communications Technology (ICT) practitioners and SMEs operating as e-Environment, Technology Hubs, Innovation Incubators, e-Education, e-Health, e-Commerce, e-Finance, Youth Empowerment and Employment to enlist for participation at ITU Telecom World 2018.

    ITU Telecom World 2018 theme is “Innovation for smarter digital development”. The LOC said for SMEs/Innovators to be selected, “their tech-enabled solution must be creative, innovative, and globally relevant. Such products/services must also provide demonstrable impact or radical improvement in service delivery or processes to specific areas such as agriculture, education, health, governance, security”. Innovations must be unique, scalable and patented with a model to showcase.

    ITU Telecom World 2018 is an election year and Nigeria is vying for two positions: ITU Administrative Council and Director, in charge of Bureau for Telecommunications Development (BDT), which Mr. Williams Ijeh is a candidate.

    In April this year, NCC Chief Regulator and Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta flagged off Nigeria’s campaign for the two positions when he hosted a dinner for high profile ITU personalities including Secretary-General, Mr. Houlin Zhao, officials of the global regulatory agencies, ministers, regulators and global dignitaries in Geneva, Switzerland.

     

     

  • Experts seek intellectual property funding for innovators

    Intellectual property experts have urged the government to do more to help startups. According to them, there is not enough funding for new innovations.

    They spoke at a seminar in Kaduna organised by the Intellectual Property (IP) Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) to mark this year’s World Intellectual Property Day.

    The section also inaugurated the ‘SBL Club’ at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria

    The seminar had two sessions on Securing Nigeria’s Future Through Innovation and Creativity, and Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity.

    NBA-SBL IP committee chairman Mr. Afam Nwokedi said there was need to formulate an IP policy in Nigeria, noting that as IP was crucial to development, it was necessary to get it right.

    Nwokedi advocated for Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the intellectual space to encourage diversity of thoughts and cross-pollination of ideas.

    He said: “The expectations on Nigeria to meet up with what is considered as international best practices in the field of IP must not overshadow our national interest and the quest to join the comity of developed nations.”

    Wife of Kaduna State governor,  Aisa Ahmad El Rufai called for sustainable sensitisation of the public on the challenges, expectations and benefits of a proactive IP regime.

    She said there was  the need think out of the box in formulating policies, which according to her, should take into consideration the country’s strength and its peculiarities.

    She called for the teaching of sciences in local languages to solve the mother tongue language barrier issues.

    NBA-SBL Chairman Mr. Olumide Akpata said the section was committed to developing capacity.

    “To this end, the SBL is partnering relevant institutions to formulate curriculla. The process of knowledge acquisition being continuous, the Section will churn out more thought-provoking platforms to assist in the drive for knowledge acquisition, not only amongst qualified lawyers, but potential law graduates,” he said.

    He said it was with such objectives that the SBL introduced clubs in universities. “Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria is the second beneficiary of the initiative, other will follows shortly,” Akpata said.

    Kaduna State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs Umma Hikima, praised the NBA-SBL and its IP Committee for chosing Kaduna for the event.

    She said Kaduna was ready to benefit from the implementations of IP treaty obligations that Nigeria has entered into.

    An IP expert, Dr. U. B. Bindir,  advocated the restructuring of the country’s educational curriculum, the inculcation of research and development as instruments of development and the creation of IP investment funds to assist inventors, innovators and creatives.

    Using scientific analysis, Dr. Bindir was of the opinion that at Nigeria’s current developmental state, the full acutualisation of the Vision 2020 target was impracticable.

    He compared the trajectory of the lower quarter of the top 20 economies and said it was practically unrealistic for Nigeria to achieve the target of been on the list in two years.

    According to him, there was need for the country to readjust its expectations and be pragmatic.

    The panelists included Dr. Musa Waziri of University of Abuja; former Registrar of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Mrs. Nima Salman; Special Advisor to the Minister of Trade and Investment Mrs. Chiaka Okoye and Dr. Zainab Haruna of ABU.

    Dr. Waziri and Mrs. Salman urged the government to fund IP initiatives.

    Mrs. Salman said the level of resources allocated to the IP sector reflected the lack of recognition of its inherent potentials for economic development.

  • Entrepreneurs and innovators to watch out for

    Entrepreneurs and innovators to watch out for

    An exciting time lies  ahead for young Nigerian innovators and entrepreneurs with  big and bold business ideas   this year. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    Nigeria is set  to celebrate entrepreneurship, innovation and disruption across the small and medium enterprises and technical space. This is because the nation is going to witness enterprising entrepreneurs, technologists, company builders and investors that will promote ventures of all sizes from startups to enterprises.

    Passion Incubator( PI) co founder  Olufunbi Falayi is an innovator to watch. He is determined to help Nigerian entrepreneurs turn their visions into reality with the aid of technology, which has shaped virtually every sector: banking, healthcare, transportation, education, agriculture . PI is a technology startup incubator, in Lagos, that  helps early stage founders validate their startup ideas and refine their business model.

    With innovation hubs, having become a mainstay of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, analysts expect some of the  best minds to shine a spotlight on Nigerian tech innovation excellence. They  expect  young innovators and entrepreneurs, to come out from  Co-Creation Hub (CcHub), to  provide  solutions that will  help to change the lives of Nigerians.  In line with this, Facebook will open a “community hub space”  this  year to encourage software developers and technology entrepreneurs. The centre would host an “incubator programme” to help develop technology start-ups, while it will also train 50,000 Nigerians in digital skills. CcHub is billed to play a major role in the project.Last year, CcHub made two moves in May to tap talent and investment abroad. The Lagos-based innovation space launched its Diaspora Challenge in London: a programme that offers up to $250,000 and nine  months of mentorship to startup ventures run by Africans living in the United Kingdom(UK), United States(US) and Europe.

    CcHub operates  its Next Economy accelerator programme and Growth Capital fund, which take equity in early-stage startups while offering business support. The programme is open to businesses in three categories -¯education, fintech, and energy¯with a criterion that their startups “solve a clear problem that affects a large number of people in Africa. An  innovator to watch is Hanson Johnson. He  is Akwa Ibom’s foremost tech entrepreneur and CEO of Start Innovation Hub. The  tech focused hub is based in Uyo. Aimed at stimulating economic growth in the local community, the hub helps tech startups by providing workspaces, internet and power. They also provide seed funding, mentoring and access to business expertise. His efforts have helped place Uyo in the spotlight as an emerging tech city.

    Other  analysts are  expecting  forward-thinking individuals and startup  to  push the boundaries in everything from e-retailing,  agri tech, e-travel, e-education, business incubation , fintech to security and cloud technology.

    E-Commerce Sector

    For stakeholders, the year is going to be an eventful one with more Nigerians  focusing on building their own online stores.  E-commerce is already a thriving industry in Nigeria, especially, Lagos.

    Online platforms such as Jumia, Konga, Yudala, Payporte,Kara, Fashpa, Gloo.ng; OLX; Wakanow, will  push for Internet  customers this year. Despite shrinking purchasing power, retail sales still  sustain the big players while the new entrants  continue to struggle.

    Like the Managing Director, CEO  PayPorte Global Systems, Eyo Bassey Francis, noted, the challenge is finding ways to encourage more  Nigerians to make more online transactions with innovative solutions to boost  online sales, through  trouble-free deliveries and returns.

    A  lot of  young entrepreneurs are  building  and hosting  online stores . There are now  platforms that enable  e-commerce companies and marketplaces to sell to consumers in international markets. Yenne-eMarket, an online trading platform, founded  by  Akan Don Udom, connects buyers and sellers of old and new products and services is a  platform to watch. It was started in 2016, after he resigned from a teaching job, as an errand running service. Currently, it still offers domestic and cooperate errand services such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, babysitting, package delivery among others.The platform connects people with  international admission and flights agents who help people with flight bookings, visa processing, hotel bookings and local logistics for travelers. So many online groups will emerge this year, offering a commodities’ marketplace that connects farmers with customers. Between 2015 and last year, many young entrepreneurs  have  established online platforms which offer to save consumers trips to markets by delivering to their doorsteps  farm produce and food stuff. The platforms operate both web and mobile-based supply platform for customers to order supplies such as vegetables, groceries  and confectioneries.  Specific websites and platforms  will  provide   fertiliser, improved seedlings, agro-chemicals, extension, advisory and disease early warning..

    Hotels.ng

    Hotels.ng founder Mark Essien is an entrepreneur to watch.  Hotels.ng, raised $1.2 million to expand across Africa. Investors include EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund and Omidyar Network.

    Users performed more than a million hotel searches on the site last year, while 70,000 new customers signed up. Hotels.ng’s growth in its home market hinges on two factors: Nigeria’s Internet penetration rate, which is the highest in Africa and still increasing rapidly, and the government’s investment in its tourism industry, which is expected to contribute 5.8 percent of its gross domestic product by 2024.

    Uber alternatives

    Transportation might be a pain in Nigeria. but it is also a business opportunity. Poor coordination  and the deteriorating state of the sector is promoting  private sector  competitiveness in the bid to provide solutions  and  attracting  new businesses. Last year was really challenging  for  Uber,  with rival  service, Taxify, headquartered in Estonia, trying to get  a large chunk of the market  with  its services through  smarter products. The two may remain the major players; however, many transport sub sector specific applications and platforms will be inaugurated with a focus on hard to reach locations.

    Online farmers market

    There is an array of startups that are expected to do great  things this year.

    For instance, Farmcrowdy, a digital  agric platform,having raised $1 million from investors including Techstars, Cox Ventures and Social Capital, will  bring more small scale Nigerian farmers to a broader market . One of the latest entrants is Grain Capitals, a digital platform that gives opportunity to investors  to invest in grain storage.With support from African Development Bank and others, watchers expect the  food ecosystem to receive  a lot of venture funding flowing into the area.

    ThriveAgric

    ThriveAgric acts more like a middleman servicing farmers and individuals interested in investing in farming.For individuals, it allows easy and insured investment with a promise of 23% ROI in less than a year. While farmers get access to the funding needed to embark on their farming operations.

    Since inception last year, Thrive Agric has made notable achievements. The startup claims to have sold out more than 200 hectares of farmland, which is not up to a fraction of the 80 million hectares of arable land Nigeria is blessed with. Also, it was admitted as part of Ventures Platform’s second cohort, which got it $20,000 in funding.

    Fintech

    The lifeblood of the nation’s   emerging and growing  digital marketplace is the presence of  mobile payment solutions that are instant, seamless and  secure. This  has led to the emergence  of payment solutions that  enable seamless payment experience between marketplaces, sellers and buyers. So many fintech companies have birthed, including , Startcredits.com, to provide   online loan marketplace for  entrepreneurs to fund their  start-ups, promoting financial inclusion in the bid to fix the access to credit problems. A fintech  to watch  is Social Lender, a  digital   lending solution based on social reputation on mobile, online and social media platforms.  Social Lender is designed to bridge the gap of immediate fund access for people with limited access to formal credit. Social Lender uses its own proprietary algorithm to perform a social audit of the user on social media, online and other related platforms. Loans are guaranteed by the user’s social profile and network allowing users to then borrow from banks and other financial institutions based on their social reputation.

    One area innovations are expected is in mobile payments with more digital payment platforms growing out of the  challenge of  United States online payment provider, PayPal, not allowing Nigerians to withdraw money from its platform.

    Flutterwave, a payments platform is  making  it easier for banks and businesses to process payments across Africa. U.S. investors  have  invested  $10 million into it. Flutterwave is backed by an impressive collection of VCs: Omidyar Network, Social Capital, Greycroft, Khosla, Green Visor and more.

  • Financial sponsors, and the rest of us innovators in Nigeria

    Private investors are unwilling to sponsor; and bankers are busy looking out for petroleum importers or contractors. So, where then is the help for us poor innovators?

    Private investors are unwilling to sponsor; and bankers are busy looking out for petroleum importers or contractors. So, where then is the help for us poor innovators?

    I don’t know about you, but going through the streets of Nigerian cities, I have often been struck by this absence of surprise. Street after pot-holed street, you come across businesses and shops and kiosks doing exactly the same replicated stuff. I tell you, it feels a little like travelling through the dessert on a camel and the last water point is a distant memory for one. Indeed, one has become so used to the humdrum business clime of Nigeria that one has forgotten what innovative thinking looks or smells like. It just makes me want to shout: where are the fresh products designed for Nigerians’ needs?

    I have many product needs. Right now, I am looking for a product that will open my mouth and put the food there without my lifting a hand. I am looking for that product that can turn my wrinkles into lines of beauty. Someone said I should try smiling, but I have done that so often it’s quite plain it’s not working for me. I am looking for something that will help me identify criminals before they commit a crime near me. No, not the police; they are no good.

    Most urgently, I am looking for something that will continually refresh my pot of stew so that it does not have to become empty. All I have to do is squeeze the ready-made, fresh supply of stew from a tube into the pot, you know, like toothpaste. I am looking for how to get fish without having to go near a river. Please don’t tell me to try a tin of Mackerel. It doesn’t work. Any ideas out there?

    For my part, I am doing a lot more than just expecting. I innovate. I am telling you, every day, in my foremost laboratory, first office and first place of research, I innovate. Other people call it the kitchen, but what’s in a name? The important thing is that each day, the products of my innovative research in that office are used and felt all over the world. Even if that world is within the precincts of only my house, what does it matter?!

    I tell you though, each day, I put my back to the task, testing and brewing, shaking and steaming, scrubbing and grinding, until I find the right way to wash vegetables. Should it be with cold water, hot water, salt, vinegar, or as I eat my plain yoghurt? Which would be less invasive to my skin? The research is ongoing and I’ll let you have the answer just as soon as I find it. The only problem is that my taps have this nasty habit of going dry so often so it slows down my research…

    There is one innovation that has been completed though and it did not come from my kitchen. Indeed, it came from another person’s backyard research table. When I read about it, I applauded the thinking and the efforts. I only hope he will do the same for me when the results of my own innovative thinking become the subject of a newspaper article. The other day, I read a newspaper article about the work of Mr. Olubunmi Oluwadare whose company Oldang launched the solar-powered tricycle. The report says the vehicle can use both electricity and solar energy.

    Seriously, when I read that report, I immediately felt very happy and comfortable with it and I thought it was so simple and beautiful. Why on earth did I not think up this idea first? Then I would have been the one on the newspaper page. Instead, we have lovely Mr. Oluwadare on the page reminding us again of one of our primary goals in this nation: to think and come up with new ideas that will benefit mankind.

    We in the third world are in dire need of Mr. Oluwadare’s solar-driven tricycle idea. If we are to face the truth for once in this nation, we will all agree that the greatest disaster ever to be unleashed on a hapless people is the Okada motor cycle. No, that’s the second. The greatest is unthinking government officials. The Okada is one little killing machine though, and it has turned its riders into ‘operators’ who together constitute one giant whale of a menace on the road. But the tricycle is one giant whale of a rescue too. The solar-driven one is even better: it is already looking forward to the post-oil apocalypse of Nigeria.

    I am no mouthpiece for this tricycle idea. I do not know the man or his company. I read the report in the newspaper like others and my response is entirely my own. I only wish though that Nigerian investors would take the time and interest to find out some more about it and pioneer its mass production for mass use. Then, we can claim to also be on the technological development highway. In a fair world, for instance, all the monies ‘borrowed’ by individuals from the nation and kept in foreign bank vaults could be used for this kind of stuff, but where’s fairness when you need it?

    Unfortunately, I do believe that our revered bankers have completely erred in turning the helm of our banks towards money-making ventures rather than economy-driving programmes. I believe the failure of Nigeria to enter the technological development race lies in the absence of a sponsoring system in Nigeria. Actually, if we are to really take a good look at the doormats of banks, for instance, we will uncover a lot of dirt.

    Truth is, banks have turned their attention from giving loans to poor innovators like me (even to find the best way to wash vegetables) to ‘making real money’ in Forex or ‘giving short-term loans’ to petrol merchants! This is why bankers now live super-stardom lives – moving around in chic cars, living in incredible houses and generally just carrying on.

    So, innovators like me are forever dreaming up schemes that are ‘dead on arrival’ or stillborn (what’s the difference?) because there is no one there to help us birth our babies. Private investors are unwilling to sponsor; and bankers are busy looking out for petroleum importers or contractors. So, where then is the help for us poor innovators?

    In Nigeria, children are not being encouraged to think. Indeed, I will go so far as to say that they are being encouraged to grow up thoughtless. They cannot see how useful it is to innovate for development and watch as a system backs one up. All they can see are their parents and uncles and aunties dipping into the national treasury and importing the largest cars in order to live the most lavish lifestyles available. The children then dream to do the same. They do not do science projects in school; nor do they do science fairs. There is thus no point in doing ‘Nigeria’s got Talent’. Not right, just not right at all.

    There is no doubt that Nigeria needs her innovators. Without them, the society is sitting still, sitting pretty and on quick sand. The society sinks without the constant injection of new and innovative ideas into the market. As it is now, everything we use appears to come from China because innovators are encouraged there.

    I propose that a scheme be set up between the CBN and the banks, the Ministries of Industry and Education and the various Chambers of Commerce, as well as Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, to connect innovators and possible sponsors. I think this has been suggested before but nothing happened. However, it must be done. That is the way Mr. Oluwadare can get his solar- powered tricycle on the market, and I can get my vegetable-washing product out of my kitchen.

  • A hub for innovators

    A hub for innovators

    With the launch of Roar Nigeria Hub – a technology incubator – last Wednesday, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) in Enugu State is projected to become a new hub for young innovators and tech entrepreneurs.

    In collaboration with Benefiting Our Community (BOG) Innovations, UNN opened the ground-breaking science and technology incubator, to produce new generation of innovators that would create local technology-based solutions with global perspective.

    The hub is built to generate interaction between the academia, the industry and the government to promote ideas, and marketable innovations among students and researchers.

    At the event were the foremost Information Technology (IT) and multinational firms, including Google, Facebook, Huawei Technologies, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), Computer Warehouse Group, and ExxonMobil.

    The mood of the event was set by an emotional opening prayer by the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, Prof Patience Osadebe. “God must cast away the spirit of consumerism in Nigerians; we are tired of consumer of foreign technologies. Oh Lord, grant us the wisdom to be productive.”

    Members of the audience roared in applause.

    Osadebe’s prayer was echoed by  Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who, in his keynote speech, noted that the nation would not attain its desired level of development if it continued to rely on technologies produced by other nations.

    The governor, represented by Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr Greg Nnaji, said the concept of the tech hub was in line with the effort of the government to entrench IT culture in the state to boost the economy and generate employment for the youth.

    He said: “By establishing this facility, UNN has once again demonstrated its willingness and capacity to take up the challenge to deliver scientific and technological breakthroughs, which, with the support of the private sector, would impact on the economic fortunes of the state and the nation.”

    For the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Benjamin Ozumba, the launch of the tech hub was a dream come true. He said the idea to establish the tech hub was conceived after he visited a science park in Sweden last year.

    He said: “We want to turn Nigeria around with inventions and innovations. With the launching of Roar Nigeria Hub, we will soon hear about UNN students creating laudable inventions in ICT and other areas of human endeavours.”

    In ensuring successful establishment of the tech hub, Ozumba said the first step he took was to make students IT-compliant by urging them to own laptops to meet the demands of the 21st century education.

    Ozumba, who said he believes that the university has the capacity to assemble locally-designed laptop, said: “In the next few months, made in UNN laptops will flood Nigerian market. This is the first mandate of Roar Nigeria Hub.”

    The VC said the tech hub was built to equip students with innovative and hands-on mechanical skills, which would enable them to assemble machinery for industrial and agricultural use.  He also said the tech hub would come up with innovations that would reduce wastage of agricultural produce in the country.

    Part of the promises of the hub is to assist young innovators secure funds to develop their ideas, provide them with mentorship and create market opportunities.

    Roar Nigeria Hub Chairman, Okechi Igwebuike, said: “Roar Nigeria Hub is an ecosystem that supports upcoming entrepreneurs by providing professional support to enable young innovators turn their ideas to marketable products.”

    He noted that the hub would enable the creation of indigenous tech solutions, create jobs and foster economic growth.

    The hub started with three innovators’ groups presenting their proposals. The first group named “AGROMESS” developed a mobile application to help farmers solve the problem of wastage of agricultural products. The app will help identify parts of the country that have surplus agro products and link them to areas where the products are scarce.

    The second group named “Malicha” developed a mobile application that uses artificial intelligence to recommend hairstyle that will fit a particular facial make-up, while the third called “Thrillers” developed an application that will notify people of events happening around them on their mobile phones.

  • How Africa is delivering for its innovators

    Africa is buzzing with start-ups and innovations, which promise to transform our socio-economic landscape. Our new challenge is to unlock the potential of these innovations.

    African innovators and SME’s are now contributing more than ever before to the region’s need for economic diversity.  A great many of the innovations that are coming to the fore are uniquely African, developing products and technologies that are solving some of Africa’s most intransigent problems. Moreover, some African innovators are also creating world class innovations which address global challenges. This good news is however tempered with some challenges – which is where policy makers, not-for-profits and the private sector have an opportunity to get involved.

    More and more ground-breaking innovations and talented entrepreneurs are coming forward, thanks to pan-African campaigns and initiatives that focus exclusively on innovation.  The African Innovation Foundation’s Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA) focuses on unearthing thousands of innovators every year and mobilizing for their support. The IPA initiative has been now running for 5 years and it has mobilized more than 6000 innovators from 50 African countries. It also has a robust network of innovation enablers from across Africa and beyond who are ready to collaborate with AIF and support selected IPA applications after the Awards event. The IPA 6th edition, also known as IPA 2017, was launched on September 27th and its theme is African innovation: Investing in prosperity.

    The call for entries will run has already begun from Tuesday 27 September 2016 and will run until the submission deadline of Tuesday 3 January 2017 at 11:59pm GMT. For more details, please check IPA websitewww.innovationprize forafrica.org and apply NOW: https://ipa.africaninnovation.org

     IPA provides a platform to identify outstanding African innovations whilst also mobilizing innovation enablers to support African innovators and entrepreneurs and create enabling environment for them. IPA focuses on home-grown innovative solutions that tackle pressing issues in Africa such as these related to agriculture and healthcare.

    It is great to note that other institutions such as the World Economic Forum are actively involved in promoting the development of more actions to support African entrepreneurs and innovators.  In May 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, the 26th World Economic Forum on Africa addressed issues such as under-investment, the skills gap and support for women entrepreneurs in Africa. This year it launched an initiative to find Africa’s Top Women Innovators, looking at how the digital economy can drive radical structural transformation and strengthen public-private collaboration on major African issues.

    Despite all exciting stories about African innovations, it is still difficult for innovators and SME’s to access capital. Policymakers now have an opportunity to capitalize on, by developing national innovation ecosystems which prepare local innovators to become attractive for investors and the business community. Considering that innovators are contributing to the creation of a diverse economy, alongside new jobs and much-needed solutions; society stands to benefit greatly by their success. There are so much to gain if Governments and other innovation enablers work together to raise the profile of African innovators and facilitate access to the much needed seed capital.

    With the right amount of funding, African innovators will solve the most pressing African challenges whilst creating new jobs in the continent. With the majority of Africans being young, innovation can solve unemployment problem while also setting the young people on the road to be competitive on the global stage.

    The Innovation Prize for Africa is one initiative that offers major cash prizes for those that come forward with genuinely ground-breaking innovations. It offers annual Awards of  US$ 185 000  to three winners and 7 nominees– capital that is now seeing amazing impacts on the winners who go on to attract more funds and create  successful businesses.

    Knowing that money is not all that is needed, IPA also provides unique platforms for African innovators and innovation enablers to network, share knowledge, and discuss potential collaborations.  In addition selected innovators receive support and training in areas including communications, intellectual property and business development.

    In fact, IPA has delivered success to many. It has awarded innovators in sectors such as manufacturing & services, ICT, health & wellbeing, the environment, energy & water and – perhaps one of the fastest growing sectors – agriculture & agribusiness. The US$ 100 000 cash prize awarded to 2015’s 1st prize winner, Professor Adnane Remmal, has enabled him to move up a gear in his production and distribution capacity. Prof Remmal created a new, natural alternative to antibiotics for livestock. This is a composition of natural phenolic molecules with anti-microbial properties, without side-effects or resistance. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as many other world bodies, have insisted that antibiotics, “Must be used judiciously in humans and animals because both uses contribute to the emergence, persistence and spread of resistant bacteria.” Despite this warning, many African countries have not taken measures around the use of antibiotics for livestock. Professor Remmal is tackling the antibiotic issue head-on.

    In the same year, Alex Mwaura Muriu from Kenya won the Second Prize and was awarded $25000 for Farm Capital Africa, a well-developed risk sharing agri-business funding model that draws in investors for a share of farming profits. This initiative identifies, screens and shortlists full-time farmers with small holdings and helps them devise farming plans to attract potential investors who earn profits over time.  This is a viable solution to address the inability of committed, small scale African “agripreneurs” – who lack collateral and credit history to access traditional financing—from expanding their operations. An attractive farming initiative and investment option for those with extra capital, benefiting both small scale farmers and investors.

    If Africa wants to continue “to rise”, unlocking the potential of its innovators is no longer a matter of choice. Given its young and driven population, Africa has key ingredients to shape its destiny and leapfrog the rest of the world. What is needed is to build strong African innovation ecosystems which support needs based and market oriented innovative solutions to African challenges. And, of course such ecosystems shall include different type of investments needed to prototype, pilot, benchmark and scale home-grown innovations.

    • Koelbl is director at Innovation Prize for Africa (IPA).
  • How Etisalat is building community innovators

    How Etisalat is building community innovators

    Recently, Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat, rewarded two young Nigerians, Obi Brown and Chijioke Ezegbo, for their innovative product and idea geared at making invaluable impacts on individuals and organisations using mobile broadband technology.

    Mr. Brown’s winning product in the Most Innovative Product Category, Study Math Lab, is a repository of over 1300+ videos solving math problems in over 49 topics in the NERDC curriculum for senior secondary school Math. The videos are solved by a team of Math teachers led by WAEC Chief Examiner.

    For Chijioke, winner in the Most Innovative Idea category, his Dedicated Traffic Mapping Device (DTMD) winning idea is a GPRS enabled traffic navigation device with voice over  interface  which is affixed to a vehicle windshield (just like a rear view mirror) to help users navigate their way through traffic by accessing real-time traffic data and suggesting shorter or alternate routes.

    Etisalat, in celebrating these innovative Nigerians, had presented them with a seven million naira cash reward in the ratio 5:2, a publicity campaign and mentoring session at the EDC of Pan Atlantic University.

    The celebration of the young men was not another bolt from the blue, but rather a stark reflection of the company’s belief in and support for innovation. Matthew Willsher, Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, while speaking recently threw more light on this.

    “We believe as an innovative company that we should support innovation and entrepreneurs throughout the country, and so what we do is organise the prize to encourage people to apply. We also provide prize money that people could invest in their innovative products and ideas to make them a reality as well as a mentorship to follow through and help people actually deliver on their innovations. The world is driven by innovation and Nigeria needs innovators whose ideas and products can drive development and help people live as they should. So we are pleased to provide a platform to mobilise the nation’s teeming crop of young and undiscovered innovators to impact all areas of the society,” he said.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Funke Opeke, the accomplished CEO of MainOne and Member, Board of Innovators underscored the place of innovation in the nation’s drive for economic growth in a fast changing world environment.

    According to her, “Change is a process that is indeed a journey of creation. It comes about by each of us seeking to innovate to bring new perspectives in terms of the challenges that face us a people and as a nation. Etisalat can look back into the last seven years of operations in Nigeria and see the amount of innovations it has brought to telecommunications services in Nigeria.”

    Matthew Willsher, while offering insight on this revealed that innovation is at the core of the business functions of the company.

    His words, “Innovation is at the core of our operations at Etisalat.  It is the strength on which we thrive. We are an innovative company with core functions in telecommunications where we have shown serious interest in our customers who always want to improve their lives, improve their businesses, who always look for new opportunities. As a company, we are very delighted to partner and come up with innovations and bring them to our customers, but we still have a responsibility to the larger host community.”

    Expatiating, Etisalat boss said: “We are going to keep going with it, we are going to keep supporting entrepreneurs and innovators and deliver growth for Nigeria. This is really important because at every place in the world, nations need innovators, but innovators need some support and as an innovative company, we believe that we can help support that.”

     

  • Ericsson’s AHUB to connect innovators, angel investors

    Ericsson’s AHUB to connect innovators, angel investors

    Ericsson has said it will be hosting an innovation station named “Ericsson AHUB” in partnership with Informa at AfricaCom 2015, Cape Town, 17- 19 November. The innovation station will bring together Africa’s leading entrepreneurs, tech start-ups and angel investor communities to encourage investment and showcase talent in the technology sector.

    This initiative extends Ericsson’s commitment to driving the Networked Society in Africa through innovation.

    Its Vice President for Strategy, Marketing and Communications in sub-Saharan Africa, Tumi Chamayou said mobile penetration on the continent has given rise to innovation which presents for private and public sectors of the continent:

    She said: “The mobile penetration in Africa has led to an emergence of innovations and presents significant opportunities for both the private and public sectors. Ericsson has been supporting innovation globally and locally with a number of initiatives, including the Ericsson Innovation Awards. We believe the Ericsson AHUB will create a platform that will try and fill the gap that exists between innovation and funding.”

    With the absence of conventional structures to provide young people with access to sponsorship opportunities, and in getting start-ups off the ground, the Ericsson AHUB will help create a platform to help tech-startups present their solutions to a range of investors.

    Innovative companies grow where there are ecosystems in place, as this is what most guarantees a return on investment (RoI). Through the innovation station, Ericsson is playing a part in creating an environment conducive to innovation that will address specific African challenges.

    Africa has embraced a number of innovations that are tackling Africa’s common challenges. Inventions which harness the power of mobile have empowered farmers to access important agricultural information, students to attend online universities via smartphones, nurses to share maternal health information and fight Ebola, and consumers to access financial services via mobile phones.

    Ericsson drives innovation across the communications spectrum. Through an annual investment of $5 billion in research and development (R7D), Ericsson has been at the forefront of some of mobile technology’s most significant advancements.

    According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, the total number of mobile subscriptions in Q1 this year was around 910 million for all of Africa, including 21 million new subscriptions. The increase in mobile ownership has led to the rise of innovative solutions in different sectors, from education to transportation, from healthcare to farming.

    The Ericsson AHUB aims to ensure that innovative ideas from the region are recognized and supported for the better growth of the economy.