The office of the vice president of Nigeria (OVP) in partnership with the Selected Hubs in Nigeria is organizing a Makeathon in the North-West region of Nigeria titled NWMakeathon.
The OVP last year hosted the NWMakeathon Pitch that held in ABUJA (Ventures Park,), YOLA (AUN Hotel)
The NW Makeathon Tagged Innovative Ideas for Socio-Economic Wellbeing of North-West Nigeria will be an open and intensive solution creation contest which would cut across the NW region with the objective of bringing together the skills and knowledge of a diverse set of individuals and institutions including entrepreneurs, start-ups, innovators, businesses, academics, policymakers, and community leaders, all committed to address the socio-economic challenges of North-West Nigeria.
During the Makeathon, teams of innovators and sector experts will select from a pool of applicants and work together to conceptualize ideas and transform them into working prototypes.
10 of the most innovative teams with solutions scoring high on criteria such as
‘likelihood to succeed’, ‘social impact’, ‘commercial viability’, and ‘relevance’ would be selected to participate in the 3 months long blended incubation program (online & physical) at incubation hubs closest to them in the region.
The teams are to create a solution for this key challenge areas:
1. PROTECTION:
The insecurity of Lives and Properties: Herdsmen-Farmer clashes, kidnapping, and religious conflict are few of the many threats to lives and properties in the North-West
2. NUTRITION AND FOOD SECURITY:
Improving Food Security: Access to food, through increasing farm yields and creating self-reliance in food production and processing.
3. QUALITY EDUCATION:
Lack of quality public education or lack of educational resources: The challenge thus centres on the need to address the educational needs of children, young women, and youths across the North-West with emphasis paid on ensuring affordable, accessible and quality education
4. HEALTH:
Maternal and Child Mortality: High Maternal mortality and Child Mortality rate due to lack of care of pregnant mothers, poor health awareness on, insufficient funds and access to healthcare facilities make this a serious challenge for the populations in the North-West especially the vulnerable IDPs
Early Childhood Development (ECD): All human beings fall on a spectrum of talents and capabilities. Not everybody is able to climb Kilimanjaro, solve complicated mathematical equations and socialize effortlessly.
Drug Abuse: 3 million bottles of codeine are consumed by Nigerians across the country, same with the intake of tramadol, Rohypnol, marijuana, and other opioids, an alarming trend that has subtly eaten deeply into the Nigerian fabric.
5. ECONOMIC SECURITY:
Diversifying Livelihoods: The challenge is to introduce technology as a tool to scale small and medium scale businesses in the region. This would be achieved by finding innovative solutions that address (i) the financial needs of small and medium scale businesses, (ii) how the region can tap into resources to link up markets and create cluster business hubs across industries in the North-West, (iii) what off-grid solution for energy be enabled to support livelihood activities at a household level, (iv) how skills acquisition and training can be used to drive economic empowerment of youths and women in the North-West.
The makeathon will hold on the 8th of February, at Kaduna ICT Centre, Kaduna State.