Nairaxi emerges winner in NCC’s young innovators competition

A mobile ridesharing mobile app that allows users to request marked taxis and buses, Nairaxi has emerged as the overall winner in the young innovators competition organized by Nigerian Communications Commission at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos recently.

The company, which bagged the coveted prize worth N2 million was represented by Kingsley Eze, Co-Founder/Chief Executive Officer and Elizabeth Omale, Co-Founder/Chief Financial Officer. Nairaxi presented an app that will improve rideshare and secure package delivery to an audience consisting of top officials of the Commission, led by the Director of Research and Development (R&D), Mr. Ismaila Adedigba representing the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC). from the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta.

Floews, which has Mr. Bashir Abubakar as its Founder and Chief Executive Officer, came second with a prize of N1.5 million while Thronix Lab, which consists of three tech-savvy Nigerians, came 3rd with a prize of N1 million,. All contestants are judged according to the criteria of originality, innovation, simplicity of use and commercialization potential of IT products, etc.

Floews develops a brand-new and technologically deep solution that monitors and forecasts flood events and thus, distributes these forecasts as early warning intelligence, while Thronix Lab develops Proxie, an Internet of Thing (IoT) smart socket and Wi-Fi hotspot range extender that allows users enable/disable connected devices remotely via phone.
Prof. Mohammed Ajiya who chaired the panel of judges for the competition, commended the Commission for giving young Nigerians the opportunity to achieve their dreams leveraging digital solutions to address local challenges in Nigeria.

Speaking on behalf of EVC, the Director of R&D, Adedigba, commended all the 15 contestants who participated, and the panel of judges for their “commendable diligence, through careful evaluation carried out mainly by a team of independent judges, which led to the emergence of three winners”.

He assured of the Commission’s commitment to continue to drive the Federal Government’s agenda to promote the development of indigenous ICT solutions to strengthen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
“It is important to note that this competition is not the end, but the beginning of our collective journey to bridge the digital divide in Nigeria. We must continue to support and invest in local and indigenous digital solutions to ensure that all citizens have access to the technology and opportunities they need to thrive in today’s digital age,” Danbatta said.

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Ten innovators out of 15 proceed to the Pitching Stage, because they have developed the best technological solutions, can be commercialized and are able to solve the challenges identified locally and beyond in a step to bridge the digital divide that exists in the country.
The 15 contestants in the event are Curnance PTY, Floews, Lalita by 02 Innovations Lab, Brilliant ESystems, Afrits Innovation, CitiFlow, Natal Cares, Nairaxi, Rate AM, Fixbot Technologies, Betalife, Cyber ​​​​Plural, TronixLab, Ntapi Inc., and Bicep by Bedoun.