The company, which took the coveted prize with value of N2
Million, made up of Kingsley Eze, Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer and
Elizabeth Omale, Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer, presented an app,
which will enhance rideshare and safe delivery of packages to an audience made
up of top officials of the Commission, led by the Director of Research and
Development, Mr. Ismaila Adedigba who represented the Executive Vice Chairman
of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta.
Floews, which comprised established by Bashir Abubakar as
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, came second with a prize of N1.5 million
while Thronix Lab, comprising three young tech-savvy Nigerians, clinched the
3rd position with a prize of N1 million,. All the contestants were adjudged on
the criteria of originality, innovativeness, simplicity of usage and
commercialization potential of their IT products, among others.
Floews developed novel and deep-tech all-round solution that
monitors and forecasts flood imminence and thereby, disseminate the forecast as
an early-warning intelligence, while Thronix Lab developed Proxie, an Internet
of Thing (IoT)-enabled smart socket and Wi-Fi hotspot range extender which
enables users to switch on/off their appliances connected to it remotely through
their phones.
Prof Mohammed Ajiya, President, who chaired the panel of
judges for the competition, commended the Commission for providing the
opportunity for young Nigerians to achieve their dreams of leveraging digital
solutions to address local challenges in Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the EVC, the Director R&D,
Adedigba, commended all the 15 contestants that participated, and the panel of
judges for the “commendable diligence, through and painstaking evaluation
carried out by his team of independent judges, leading to the emergence of the
three winners”.
He assured of the Commission’s commitment to continue to
drive the Federal Government agenda of promoting indigenous ICT solutions
development towards strengthening the Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
“It is important to note that this competition is not the
end, but rather the beginning of our collective journey towards bridging the
digital divide in Nigeria. We must continue to support and invest in local,
indigenous digital solutions to ensure that all citizens have access to the
technology and opportunities they need to thrive in today’s digital age,”
Danbatta said.
Ten innovators from the 15 proceeded to the Pitching Stage,
for having developed the best technology solutions, amenable to commercialization
and capable of solving identified challenges both locally and beyond in a move
to bridge the country’s existing digital divide.
The 15 contestants at the event are Curnance PTY, Floews,
Lalita by 02 Innovations Lab, Brilliant ESystems, Afrits Innovation, CitiFlow,
Natal Cares, Nairaxi, Rate AM, Fixbot Technologies, Betalife, Cyber Plural,
TronixLab, Ntapi Inc., and Bycep by Bedoun.