NITDA’s innovation challenge winners get N16m

Technology-based solution provider, InfraMappers, has emerged as the overall winner at the 2024 Digital Nigeria Innovation Challenge (DNIC) Innovation Day. The DNIC Innovation Day marked the grand finale of the challenge, showcasing groundbreaking digital mapping solutions designed to address Nigeria’s critical infrastructural challenges. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) awarded a total of N16m […]

Technology-based solution provider, InfraMappers, has emerged as the overall winner at the 2024 Digital Nigeria Innovation Challenge (DNIC) Innovation Day.

The DNIC Innovation Day marked the grand finale of the challenge, showcasing groundbreaking digital mapping solutions designed to address Nigeria’s critical infrastructural challenges.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) awarded a total of N16m to the winners.

Six finalist teams presented their innovative projects to a panel of judges and a live audience.

InfraMappers secured the top prize of N5m by developing a solution that utilizes artificial intelligence to aid decision-makers in distributing healthcare facilities across the country.

The second and third-place winners received N2.5m each.

Meanwhile, a local company, GridCode, also supported the participants after using their solution in mapping of infrastructure across the country and tell better story.

The first prize was given N2.5m, N1.5m went to the second and the third position had N1m.

The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu

Inuwa Abdullahi, said the pitch competition aligned with the five key pillars of NITDA which is aimed at growing technology and nurturing young talents into productive ventures and solution for national problems.

Abdullahi represented by Mr Olawumi Oladejo, said that the agency is working to achieve data sovereignty for Nigeria and pledged sustained support the innovators.

He said the competition started months ago at the state level, culminating into regional and to National level, where over 1500 innovators participated before the six finalists.

“With right ideas we give you incubation hubs, nets, where Angel Investors. We are working on three states and by end of the year it will be nine with recreation points.

“It is an opportunity to showcase talents we have in Nigeria. We are working on having sovereignty about data by bringing the hosts here, AWS, Microsoft Assured, Alibaba, etc. If we don’t, most of what we are going to do we will not have control over it. that is one thing we must have at the back of our mind so that we are going to have data sovereignty.

”We are prepares to support innovators to see how you can be brightened, you need investors in your business.”

Also, the National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI),

Victoria Fagbemi, said the innovation challenge is an SPV of the NITDA.

She said, “We’re focused on supporting the innovation and technology ecosystem, and this is one of the initiatives through which NITDA and the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation, ONDI, supports.

“Today we had the first NITDA Digital Innovation Challenge, where we put together teams from across the country, 36 states plus FCT, with an aim to solve problems and gather data around Nigeria’s infrastructure in education, healthcare, and social infrastructure in general.

“Under our strategic roadmap and action plan, one of the things we want to do is provide support to startups and connect them with MDAs so that solutions like this can strengthen the work we do as government and public sector. So we’re really excited about this first phase of the journey.

“We’ll continue to provide this support as we go forward, have more innovation challenges throughout the course of next year. And we look forward to engaging the public more to get out more solutions that will lead to a prosperous Nigeria.”

The GridCode CEO, Adefola Amoo said

Africa is losing $1bn worth of value annually to talent flight due to trust deficit in the continent.

He called for home grown solution to African problems and close the gap for rapid economic growth.

Amoo also warned that Africa must cease to be mere source of human capital but player in the revolution.