Obaseki applauds Edo Innovation Hub-trained developers, as teams win Nat’l breast cancer hackathon

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has congratulated the teams of developers trained at the Edo Innovation Hub for outshining their peers by clinching the top two spots in the national Breast Cancer Hackathon organised by the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria and Access Bank.

The governor, in a statement, said that the impressive showing by the teams led by

Osasu Omangbon (Bossom Heart) and Mary Okosun (Breast Cancer Combat), validates his government’s unrelenting commitment to training youths with in-demand, industry-relevant skills to enable them solve society’s problems.

Omangbon’s Bossom Heart Team clinched the first prize with an innovation that deploys Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to support women and connect them with nearby medical specialists who can help in management of breast cancer.

Okosun’s Breast Cancer Combat won second place. Both teams are from the Benin cohort trained by Curators Varsity at the Benin Innovation Hub, in Benin City. The hub was set up by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration to build local capacity of youths, train them in industry-relevant tech skills and to provide technology-support solutions.

According to the governor, “I am delighted at the outing of the Edo Innovation Hub cohort at the Breast Cancer Hackathon organised by BRECAN and Access Bank. Their performance is heartwarming and goes to show that, when given the right opportunities to blossom, our youths are up to the task and can favourably compete with their peers.

“Their feat goes to show that our investment and continued support in promoting digital literacy is a sure way to go if we must make our young people prepare for challenges in the future. I congratulate the Edo Innovation Hub and its partners on this feat and charge them to intensify their effort in extending these crucial skills to more Edo youths, to groom a large pool of innovators that will disrupt conventions and build new blue-chip companies.”

Osasu, who is a Computer Science graduate of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), praised the governor for setting up the hub, noting that with such a facility, Edo State stands a good chance to rival Lagos State and Abuja in Nigeria’s bourgeoning technology space.

According to him, “We got trained at the Edo Innovation Hub and are excited about winning the competition. This wouldn’t have been possible if the governor hadn’t set up the hub. It provides an opportunity to register our name in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

“It provides an opportunity for young graduates like me to find our place in the new scheme of things. There can never be a better gift to the Edo youth than this.

On his innovation, he said, “I developed a mobile application that help women in combating breast cancer by connecting them to specialists they ordinarily wouldn’t have access to.”

For Okosun who has just graduated with a degree in Biochemistry from UNIBEN, the feat is a victory for Obaseki’s belief and investment in youths.

She said, “Ordinarily, I would have been looking for a career path now. But with tech and this feat, I am certain that I have a direction. My friends are now interested in tech more than ever. They have been asking for where to register for the next training.”

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