Winners have emerged in the hackathon session of the Second Edition of the Zenith Tech Fair, themed “Future Forward 2.0”
A total sum of N53 million in prize money was won by the successful contestant at the event which was held on Wednesday, November 23, 2022, at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The finalists who totaled eleven in number emerged from the over 500 contestants that took part in the session with a cleantech company making cooling affordable and accessible for businesses, Ecotutu, emerging as the overall winner and taking home the grand prize of N20 million.
This is in addition to a mentorship program with a company dedicated to implementing high-quality capacity-building programs for entrepreneurs in emerging markets, Seedstars.
The first runner-up, Foris Labs, an app-based platform that allows students to conduct science experiments individually and in groups interactively via their mobile phones, won N15m and a mentorship program with Seedstars, while the second runner-up, Finva, a start-up which helps creditors offer credits at low risk, won N10 million as well as a mentorship program with Seedstars. Other finalists who took home N1m each include Sanwo, Itinu-Ev, Eduvacity, Green Bii, Zion Robotics, Sono Care, Base, and I grow Africa.
Described as a huge success by participants, the two-day Tech Fair featured presentations on the leading technological innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Robotics, Big Data, FinTech, Augmented Reality , Data Analytics, 5G and Communication Technologies, with the keynote address, “The Future of Banking: Digital Transformation Journey”, delivered by renowned futurist, bestselling author, award-winning speaker, Founder of Moven and Author of Bank 4.0, Brett King.
Speaking during the presentation of the prize monies, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr Ebenezer Onyeagwu, congratulated all the finalists for coming this far in the competition. He reiterated the bank’s readiness to provide all that is necessary to make budding entrepreneurs succeed.
He said, “All finalists would be enlisted into our incubation lab for grooming and mentorship.”