Health Tech Startup Emerges Winner of ALAT’s Hackaholics 4.0 

Nume Ekeghe

The Hackaholics Digital Summit and Grand Finale hosted by Wema Bank/ALAT concluded on a high note, with Jane Agbaohwo, Founder and Creative Director of “Ireti,” a health tech startup aimed at addressing the issue of late diagnosis of breast cancer, winning the coveted grand prize of N15 million.

Team Ireti claimed their prize during the weekend at the grand finale, where they emerged as winners from a pool of more than 3,000 applicants.

Hackaholics was initiated in 2019 to create a platform for fintech communities to collaboratively solve industry-identified challenges following the launch of ALAT, Wema Bank’s innovative digital banking platform.

The event, themed, “Re-imagine: Disrupting the Ecosystem for Scale,” attracted a distinguished audience, including top executives from Wema Bank, industry stakeholders, regulators, investors, startup founders, and tech enthusiasts.

The event featured the grand finale, where 10 finalists pitched their solutions to a captivated audience. The judging panel included Director of Retail at Wema Bank, Ayodele Olojede, Chief Information Officer at Wema Bank, Adeoluwa Akomolafe and Managing Director of Endeavour Africa, Ireayo Oladunjoye.

In his remarks, the Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer, Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni,  expressed his gratitude to attendees, ranging from key stakeholders to startup founders. 

He emphasised the bank’s unique combination of traditional banking expertise and deep-rooted technology integration, which has allowed them to support the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. 

Oseni said: “We also recognize that any economy that is serious about sustainable economic and social development must pay serious attention to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, education and practice. entertainment and sports have put Nigeria on the global landscape in a positive light. But they cannot help to predict technology and infrastructure deficits that will see Nigeria achieve its true potential.

“And this is this is the absolute truth. That’s why this event is extremely important to unshackle the best of our minds in science, engineering, technology and mathematics. As responsible citizens, we decided to play our part. This led us to focus on hacking all these events on campus locations across the country, the hotbed of critical ideation and disruptive innovation in our country.”