Tech Firm Partners LASG, UNICEF, Others on Climate Change

Nosa Alekhuogie

Technology and innovation Hub, Eko Innovation Centre, in partnership with the Lagos State Government and the United Nations International Children Educational Fund (UNICEF) amongst others, is set to proffer technological solutions to the rising challenges of climate change as it launches a three month hackathon challenge tagged: EKOCLIMATHON 1.0 in Lagos.

At the launch of the project in Lagos at the weekend, the Founder, Eko Innovation Centre, Mr. Victor Afolabi, stated that the initiative was part of the organisation’s contribution to effect transformation in a world rapidly being affected by the challenges of climate change.

He expressed his belief that civic tech could create and promote technologies that make economies sustainable and build inclusive communities. 

He said Eko Innovation Centre (EIC) would be using technology to drive the hackathon in contributing to some of the impacts of climate change challenges. 

Afolabi noted that the call for entries into the hackathon project was thrown to the public and received significant entries from within Nigeria and across the world. He also disclosed that the hackathon would run for three months and cover technology in five focus areas namely: Agriculture, Transportation, Energy, Circular Economy and Construction.

According to Afolabi, at the end of the programme, the best five teams would  get a cash prize of $7,500, free laptops and a chance to get into the EIC Incubation programme, which would last for the period of an additional three months after, which a seed fund of $50,000 would be awarded to participants to enable them put their ideas to work.

“Our incubation programme also opens participants to platforms like GII Tech, which we are in partnership with in Dubai and coming up in October. The best of them will also have the opportunity to be part of the teams that will be representing twenty startups that will be from Lagos State and Eko Innovation Centre, to GII Techs this year. Some of the winners with innovative ideas will have the opportunity to pitch to a global audience of over 4000 participants of GII Tech. These are part of the benefits,” he said.

On how technology will address the problem of climate change, Afolabi listed five areas of digital solutions that will be hacked to include: Foundational technologies, Cloud technologies, Decision-making technologies, Sense and control technologies (Internet of Things), and Blockchain technologies. 

On his part, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Innovation and Technology, Mr. Olatunbosun Alake stated that with the challenges of climate change all over the world, only advancement in technology would be capable of enabling the world meet it’s set climate targets. While weighing the available and sustainable options, Alake said the variables which innovation in tech offers, were promising.