TECHDIGEST – President Muhammadu Buhari has officially flagged off the Five Million Microsoft High Demand Skills Training Programme and the One Million Developer & Digital Skills Initiatives in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.

The president flagged off the programme Tuesday in Abuja while commissioning  the new National Shared Services Centre (NSSC) managed by Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited where he also presented the Federal Government’s Seed Fund to ShapShap and FLOEWS ; two Nigerian startups that made the winning list at the GITEX GLOBAL, which held in Dubai, UAE last October.

He presented five million naira seed fund to Khalil Halil, Founder of ShapShap and three million naira to Bashir Abubakar, Founder & CEO, FLOEWS assisted by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami and other dignitaries including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.

READ ALSO: Pantami Honours Winners Of Huawei National ICT Competition

The Nigerian government had during GITEX GLOBAL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with global tech giant, Microsoft Corporation, to train five million citizens on high-demand technological skills that are needed to advance their respective careers.

The president said his administration remains committed to building capacity and entrepreneurship amongst young people as well as ensuring that ordinary Nigerians are able to benefit from the digital economy. These commitments underscored the suspension of the proposed 5% excise duty on telecom infrastructure, the adoption of national policy on virtual engagements for federal public institutions; and the enactment of the Startup Act.

ShapShap,  a provider of white label APPs to small medium enterprises (SMEs) for aggregating, optimizing, and allocating last-mile jobs to gig workers, was the winner in the Mobility & Smart Cities Innovator category at the GITEX GLOBAL 2022 North Star Supernova Challenge,. The startup plans to explore the limitless opportunities for logistics in Nigeria’s growing urban centres and also those of other markets within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

FLOEWS, a flood early warning system, was a finalist out of a motley crowd of over 800 startups from all over the world, but lost out to Kenya’s Melanin Kapital in the Africa Fast category.

The Supernova Challenge is the biggest pitch competition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, where startups have opportunity to become the next unicorn.

Nine Nigerian startups had emerged as semi-finalists including Identity Pass, 9JaCodeKids Academy, Floews, MedTech, Paddycover, Pricepally, LiveBic, Technyon Technologies, and Wellness Health Technologies.

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TECHDIGEST – FLOEWS, a flood early warning system and MEDTECH AFRICA, which enables doctors to monitor and plan treatment for patients with heart diseases by using patients’ data gotten from different devices, have emerged the top two winners out of the about 370 startups that participated in the North Star Pitch Competition as part of GITEX holding in Dubai, UAE from 10-13 October 2022.

FLOEWS, ranked as No. 1 by the members f the jury, is an all-round solution for monitoring and forecasting flood, thereby disseminating the flood forecast information as a warning to the inhabitants of flood prone and vulnerable zones for early preparedness, awareness, and response.

The two emerged winners today in the Abuja zone of the competition and were awarded full sponsorship to attend the North Star deemed the largest startup gathering in the world.

READ ALSO: Pantami, Danbatta Lead Industry Experts To Chart Way For 5G Rollout At PIAFo

The Lagos zone of the competition holds tomorow with two winners expected to clinch the highly coveted sponsorship offer by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of GITEX touted as the second most improtant technology event in the world.

“I feel so excited,” said an overwhelmed Founder and CEO, FLOEWS, Bashir Abubakar.

“This is inspiring,” said Founder and CEO of MEDTECH AFRICA, Nelson Igbiriki. Enables Doctors to monitor & plan treatment for patients with Heart diseases by using patients’ data gotten from different devices

About 20 startups were shortlisted for the final selection process that took place in Abuja. About 20 startups have also been shortlisted to face the jury in Lagos Thursday.

Nigerian startups had the option to apply through Abuja or Lagos for the final selection of four startups to represent the country at the GITEX Future Stars (GFS) now rebranded as North Star, the largest Pitch gathering for startups, mentors and innovation investors from over 120 countries.

Lagos recorded the highest number of applications from more than 200 startups while Abuja had above 160.

The successful four winners from Nigeria will join their peers from other parts of Africa to be spotlighted in front of global audiences at the world’s largest tech + startup event this October.

The Nigeria selection process is part of the GITEX Startup West Africa Roadshow in four cities namely Lagos, Abuja, Accra and Dakar. The GITEX East Africa roadshow was anchored in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. With four winning slots, Nigeria has the largest set aside for any country to underscore its importance as the continent’s leader in startup economy.

According to the DWTC, the roadshow “is designed to scout for and support promising entrepreneurial business startups in Africa.”

A DWTC team is in Nigeria to oversee the selection formality in Lagos and Abuja.

The DWTC is partnering with the Nigerian government through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); and other local partners including Lagos State government, Art of Technology, and Pinnacle International LLC for the Nigeria’s end of the initiative in West Africa.

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