Oluchi Chibuzor
Eko Innovation Centre, one of the leading tech hubs in Nigeria, has empowered young entrepreneurs with $50,000 equity investment funds at the recently concluded SecureHack 1.0 event.
Three teams emerged as winners at the grand finale of the hackathon, which was launched in February having garnered over 400 registrations from participants to form 100+ teams from 62 locations in four countries and across two continents.
In his welcome address, the Founder of Eko Innovation Centre and Curator of SecureHack 1.0, Victor Afolabi, emphasised the importance of cybersecurity and the need for innovation in addressing security threats.
He said: “Security threat is much more than an IT topic and we are doing our bit at the Eko Innovation Centre to drive the growth of this ecosystem.”
Giving a Keynote address, Head, IT GRC & DPO, Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited, Oluwasolape Akinde, said to overcome challenges of cyber security in Africa’s emerging digital economy, best practices for strengthening cybersecurity, collaborations and partnerships remains the way forward.
“Collaboration and partnerships allow for the sharing of information and expertise, pooling of resources, and coordination of efforts to address common cybersecurity challenges.
“Overall, the emerging technologies such as blockchain and Al have the potential to significantly improve cybersecurity in African countries. By leveraging these technologies, organisations and governments can improve data security, detect and respond to threats in real-time, and prevent fraud and money laundering. However, it is also important to be aware of the potential risks and challenges associated with these technologies, and to implement them in a responsible and ethical manner,” he further said.
At the end of the process, Team Nexa comprising Peter Adesina, Idris Tijani, Robinson Uche and Muhammed Musa, came third in the competition to cart home the sum of N350,000 while Team Cyber Verse comprising Osonuga Steven and Akorede Rasaq, clinched the second place position to win the sum of N650,000.
Meanwhile, Team HealthWaka comprising the trio of Omolola Oluwadara, Product Development Manager; Kehinde Abolaji, Technical Lead and Ozemhoya Anthonia, Biologist, beat all other teams to emerge overall winners of the competition.
They also won the grand prize of the hackathon which is the sum of one million naira and an acceleration programme investment of up to $50, 000 equity investment to get their products ready for the market among other benefits.
