The Head, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), West Africa, Dr. Kirsten Focken, on Friday, January 26, 2024, paid a visit to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Hub (NITHub), University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Dr. Focken, accompanied by Country Director, GIZ Nigeria, Dr. Marcus Wagner; Commission Manager, GIZ/DTC Nigeria, Dr. Thuweba Diwani and Head of Programme, GIZ SKYE project, Mr. Tobias Wolfgarten, was welcomed by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, OON, FAS, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa. The visitors were given a brief rundown on Nithub and its activities by the Director, Dr. Victor Odumuyiwa.
Dr. Focken, along with her team, were wowed as they witnessed an intense pitching presentation by four (4) teams made up of UNILAG students. The teams: Itoju, Padi, Innovators and Retro, pitched innovative solutions to aid Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. Team Padi won the challenge with its PayEasy app which seeks to improve shopping experiences of customers by addressing and eliminating extended wait times in queues during checkout. The teams pitched innovative solutions to aid Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. Team Padi won the challenge with its PayEasy app which seeks to improve shopping experiences of customers by addressing and eliminating extended wait times in queues during checkout.
Giving each team a thumbs up for presenting excellently, Dr. Diwani applauded the teams for clearly stating their goals, embracing partnership, and valuing teamwork. Mr. Wolfgarten and Dr. Wagner also commended the teams for their PowerPoint presentations, and challenged them work more on developing their stamina.
Announcing Team Padi as winners of the pitch session, Dr. Focken, applauded them for being the only team that displayed some numbers.
The team comprised: Adeyemi Oluwaferanmi (200l, Department of Marine Science); David Dada (300l, Department of Computer Science), David Okunoye (200l, Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering); Fikayo Anikwe (300l, Department of Computer Science) and Samuel Bassey John (300l, Department of Computer Science).
The pitching session was a sequel to the Ideation Hack Innovation Challenge, a design thinking initiative, held on Thursday, November 16, 2023, which saw Team Itoju win first position with its app “Centra” designed to enhance consumers’ engagement and timely access to various products that meet their needs.
Read more: https://unilag.edu.ng/?p=29885: UNILAG Students Wow GIZ, West Africa Boss With Innovative SolutionsThe Competition is powered by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), an international organization that provides tailor-made, cost-effective services for development, and co-funded by European Union (EU) and Digital Transformation Center (DTC), Nigeria.
Afterward, Dr. Kirsten Focken and her team were led on a quick tour of the Nithub facility by Dr. Odumuyiwa.
Nithub UNILAG is currently in a partnership with GIZ/DTC Nigeria to strengthen Nithub’s capacity to enhance the development and scaling of digital innovations from research, academia and ecosystem innovators for increased productivity of MSMEs.
Report: Ndidi J. Odinikaeze
Photography: Samuel Adelumola
