Nigeria (Commonwealth) _ The 2024 FSI innovation challenge was won by Farmceries, who came up with creative ways to improve the nation’s agricultural environment. The FSI is a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying technical talent and supporting new businesses in the financial services and technology sectors.
The challenge is intended to promote a cooperative and inventive financial services ecosystem and is one of the events held in honor of the organization’s fourth anniversary.
After competing against other student communities around the nation, Farmceries emerged as the ultimate winner of the tournament, which was mediated by Derek Nwafor and evaluated by Idowu Akinde, Olaoluwa Awojoodu, and Salami Abolore. The start-up won a N800, 000 grand award, Goalgetters and Smepay, the first and second runners-up, took home N500,000 and N300,000, respectively.
Dr. Aituaz Kola-Oladejo, Executive Director of FSI, stated during his speech at the occasion, “Our goal is to identify challenges and create tailored investment products.” Particular attention was paid to SMEs, the financial, agricultural, and health sectors in this Innovation Showcase Contest. Along with a few of the difficulties that women encounter. Our goal is to develop a pool of skilled IT workers that can compete on a global scale and generate jobs.
In the meanwhile, Prof. Folashade Ogunsola, Vice Chancellor of the institution of Lagos (UNILAG), underlined the concentration of technological breakthroughs in Lagos and Abuja while speaking on the necessity for wider innovation. Victor Odumuyiwa, a senior lecturer at the institution and Director of NitHub, represented Prof. Ogunsola.
As a result, she supported expanding the opportunity to additional parts of Nigeria, particularly to involve youth in rural areas.Innovation is mostly centered in Lagos and Abuja, with the northern and rural areas lacking it. We need to support creativity among youth everywhere in the country, even in the most isolated regions. According to her, their involvement is essential for tackling the various difficulties Nigeria faces.
A Nigerian company called Farmceries came up with a ground-breaking solution to problems facing the country’s agriculture industry when it won the top position in the 2024 FSI Innovation Challenge and a N800, 000 cash award.
The business declared itself the ultimate winner of the innovation challenge, defeating competitors from a range of different challenges submitted by participants selected from tertiary institution student populations.
In addition to giving out monetary prizes, FSI supports participants with a three-month company incubation program. As they lead the competition, FSI’s executive director, Aituaz Kola-Oladejo, emphasized the organization’s dedication to developing IT talent and fostering entrepreneurship.
She said that the challenge specifically targeted the banking, health, and agriculture industries. Furthermore, Bimbo Adeoye, the keynote speaker for the occasion and Group Managing Director of FinTrak Software, commended FSI and the gathering for successfully using youth talent.
Youth make up around 40% of the population of our country. Properly directed, their enthusiasm has the potential to bring about revolutionary investments in Nigeria and other regions. According to Adeoye, FSI is not only commemorating its anniversary but also influencing the next wave of digital innovators and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
A focal point of the organization’s fourth-anniversary celebrations is the FSI innovation challenge, which aims to foster a creative and cooperative atmosphere in the financial services industry.
When The Ideation was introduced two months ago, students from several Nigerian higher institutions participated. They worked together to come up with ideas that would significantly address problems in the fields of agriculture, health, and financial services.
The procedure included extensive training sessions, including webinars that addressed issue statements and provided guidance on how to use Lean Canvas to capture ideas. Additionally, teams received instruction on developing minimum viable products (MVPs) and perfecting the craft of persuasive concept presenting.
Prominent industry experts Olaoluwa Awojoodu of Yep! While E-Settlement Limited, Idowu Akinde of Boolean Labs, and Salami Abolore of Riby served as the competition’s judges. Along with fellow sponsors Branch Worldwide, Precise Financial, Software, SystemSpecs Technology Services Limited, Axa Mansard, System, Paddy Cover, and another contributing sponsor, Nairametrics was another important factor in the event’s success.
