*Wema Bank Opens Registrations to Participants Across Unlimited Verticals For HACKAHOLICS 5.0

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced the verticals of focus for Hackaholics 5.0, the fifth edition of its youth-focused and campus-based hackathon, Hackaholics, charging Nigerian youth and innovators to explore these verticals and participate in the revolutionary hackathon.

Hackaholics, reputed as Africa’s largest campus-based ideathon, is a youth-focused tech competition that serves as a platform for innovators and Startup founders with tech-driven or tech-enabled ideas and products to bring their game-changing ideas to life, solve real-world problems and scale their ventures. Since its inception in 2019, Hackaholics has toured at least 37 universities across 4 African countries, amassing over 5,000 applications, disbursing at least $200,000 in grants and positively transforming thousands of lives and business ventures across Nigeria. The last edition, Hackaholics 4.0, saw young talented innovators win over N50,000,000 for their unique solutions across diverse verticals, including financial inclusion and health, among others. With a whopping N90,000,000 slated for Hackaholics 5.0, the wins have significantly multiplied—with a unique twist. While prior editions of Hackaholics have required participants to innovate under 9 key verticals, Hackaholics 5.0 has pushed the boundaries, expanding the range of verticals admissible.

Themed “MetaIdea: DigiTech Solutions for Africa’s Prosperity”, Hackaholics 5.0 has adopted an infinitely multi-vertical approach, allowing participants to develop innovative solutions not only under the verticals listed on the registration portal, but also across any other verticals at their disposal. This means that in addition to Education, Climate, CivicTech, Insurance, GovTech, Health, Gender-Based Violence, Financial Inclusion, Entertainment and FinTech, Hackaholics 5.0 participants are permitted to develop solutions across any other verticals beyond those listed, allowing for more diversity in the problem-solving approach and expanding the range of positive impact achievable through the Hackaholics platform. Young innovators with a knack for problem-solving and a drive for generating impact through tech-enabled solutions, are to simply submit their entries on the Hackaholics registration portal either choosing from the listed verticals or clicking “Others” to submit their entries under any other verticals not listed.

Expounding on the Bank’s intent for delimiting the verticals for Hackaholics 5.0, Solomon Ayodele, Wema Bank’s Head of Innovation, referenced the Bank’s commitment to constant innovation and its mission of empowering lives. “The theme for Hackaholics 5.0 is anchored on two principal factors—The Meta Idea and African Prosperity, and the general idea for this edition is to birth ideas that go above and beyond in solving prevalent problems in Africa towards the prosperity of the continent. It is only fitting that in engendering the creation of unique ideas that go beyond the regular, we also optimise the modalities to better accommodate these meta ideas and ‘beyond-regular’ solutions. The ultimate goal is to birth solutions that address diverse aspects of real-world challenges and expanding the range of verticals will only serve to further promote the achievement of this goal”.

“As Nigeria’s most innovative bank, we are committed to not only remaining beacons of innovation and positive impact in Nigeria, but also empowering other innovators and enabling innovation to thrive through every key player in this ecosystem; hence the birth of Hackaholics. Our focus for Hackaholics 5.0 is the brilliance of your mind so we leave it to you to discover a problem area that matters to us as Africans and develop a practical innovative solution across that vertical, that will drive positive impact for our continent. I encourage every young mind with creative ideas to leverage Hackaholics as a launchpad to the success of their innovations and Startups. All they need to do is register at hackaholics.wemabank.com and as always, we will be with them, all the way”, Ayodele concluded.

With N90,000,000 earmarked as the cash prize for Hackaholics 5.0, young innovators across the country can become Startup owners even as undergraduates and make their big break into the tech and innovation world.

To register for Hackaholics 5.0, submit your entry at hackaholics.wemabank.com

The Chairman of Nestoil Limited, Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi has called for a change in the implementation of the Nigerian content policy that allows contracts to be awarded to companies with lowest bids despite apparent lack of capacity to deliver the jobs.

Dr. Azudialu-Obiejesi who spoke yesterday during a panel session on exportation of local capacity: maximising regional opportunities at the ongoing Nigerian oil and Gas conference in Abuja, said to grow local capacity, projects should be awarded to companies with proven capacity.

He acknowledged that while the country has enough capacity to make it a net exporter to African countries, it was important the factors limiting growth in-country are addressed.

According to him, “We can export the capacity in the oil and gas industry to other countries and exporting them means we need to enshrine and make sure that we’ll have those companies that are in Nigeria already developed better and entrench all those capacities in terms of human resources, experiences, capital and equipment, so you can export them to other countries outside Nigeria.

“But also in doing that, I recognize that one of the enabling tools is the NCDMB which is the local content board. That content board has done quite well, but also we still have setbacks in terms of how these laws are enforced, to protect the local companies.

“And we’ve also seen that one of the reasons why the local companies are not doing very well is because they don’t have what we’ll call a good bidding process. A bidding process where everybody says if you quote the lowest price they will give you the job and there are a lot of people who are underqualified contractors who don’t have capacity, but they will tell you they have connection, and because of that they will go and bid for jobs they cannot do at lowest prices. So these things have to be checkmated”, he added.

GTCO Announces 2024 Autism Program Themed “A Spectrum of Possibilities”

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or “the Group”) has announced dates for the 2024 GTCO Autism Program and follow-up consultations. This year’s program is themed “A Spectrum of Possibilities” to promote inclusivity, self-advocacy, and empowerment for persons on the Autism Spectrum.

The theme A Spectrum of Possibilities aligns with GTCO’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and its goal of creating a society where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their background or abilities. The theme acknowledges and celebrates this diversity, recognizing that each person living with autism has their own unique strengths, challenges, and potential.

The GTCO Autism Program, a flagship project under the Orange Ribbon Initiative, has established itself as a beacon of hope and a reference point for autism advocacy and intervention in Africa. Over the years, the program has made significant impact, providing support and empowerment to thousands of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. In collaboration with specialists and partner organizations from Nigeria and outside Nigeria, the program will feature lectures, panel discussions, and performances carefully prepared to showcase the diverse talents that exist in the autism community.

The program will also create a platform where families and guardians can connect with experts and share experiences and insights. This interactive platform will facilitate meaningful discussions and knowledge sharing on various aspects of autism.

In Nigeria, the program will hold on the 15th and 16th of July at the Muson Centre, Lagos, whilst the free one-on-one clinic consultations will open from July 16th to 20th at the Chapel of Light, Alausa, Ikeja. Meanwhile, in Ghana, the activities will begin with a workshop on the 23rd of July at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, and consultations will last from July 23rd to 27th at the same venue.

Commenting on the 2024 GTCO Autism Program, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, stated: “Everyone has something special to offer, and we want to help individuals with autism succeed and lead healthy, supportive lives. By embracing autism as a strength, and not a weakness, we can help individuals with ASD find their passion, develop skills, and make meaningful impact in society.”

He added: “We are learning more about autism every day, and we are dedicated to using that knowledge to make a positive difference. We believe that everyone deserves to live a fulfilling life, and we are committed to making that possible; by working together, we can build a society that values diversity, promotes inclusion, and empowers everyone to thrive.”

For more information on the GTCO Autism Program and free consultations, please visit: https://csr.gtbank.com/autism.

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