The Technology and Telecommunications Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG) has expanded the scope of its Innovation Makers Challenge (IMC) Conference and Innovation Exhibition to five critical sectors, with young female innovators receiving N9.5 million in combined seed funding to scale their solutions.
The second edition of the IMC Conference and Innovation Exhibition, held in Lagos on Thursday, brought together policymakers, technology and telecommunications industry leaders, investors, development partners, financial institutions, young innovators and other stakeholders to advance sustainable innovation in Nigeria.
Sponsored by IHS Nigeria and held under the theme, “Nurturing Innovation Ecosystems: Beyond Ideas to Real Impact,” the conference expands beyond the two sectors covered at its inaugural edition to focus on health, agriculture, education, climate change and technology.
A major highlight of the conference was a top-five live pitch session featuring five all-female early-stage innovators: QiqiFarms, an AgriTech farm-produce offtaker; Elcornel Business Enterprises Limited, a climate-friendly AgriTech company; Anatsor Limited, a tech-based poultry farming management software provider; Agrovesto, a tech-based AgriTech operating system for bankable and sustainable agriculture; and Blue Sands STEM Labs, a virtual laboratory EdTech company.
Agrovesto emerged as the prize winner and received six million Naira, while Blue Sands STEM Labs received two million Naira as first runner-up and QiqiFarms received one million Naira as second runner-up.
Dapo Otunla, Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Services Officer, IHS Nigeria, described the IMC Conference and Innovation Exhibition as a veritable platform for closing the gap between infrastructure and imagination, and between connectivity and capability, by creating opportunities for young innovators to enter the ecosystem and leverage their creativity to solve real-life problems.
“As a company, we believe education is one of the most powerful forms of economic empowerment available to us. When entrepreneurs are equipped with the right knowledge, they build stronger businesses. They create employment, develop other people, make smarter decisions and scale responsibly. And, perhaps most importantly, they create value that extends far beyond themselves into their families, their communities, and ultimately, the nation,” he said.
“This is the intersection where the Innovation Makers Challenge lives: the meeting point between infrastructure and imagination, between connectivity and capability. That’s the gap this conference exists to close. Not the physical one, the one between having an idea and knowing what to do with that idea.”
On his part, Bankole Oloruntoba, Lead Consultant at the TTSWG Secretariat, said the broader vision of the second edition is to deepen support for sustainability in Nigeria’s technology and telecommunications sector while creating a convergence point for young innovators across the five focus areas.
“When we had the first Innovation Makers Challenge Conference & Exhibition, we had quite a number of participants. The first edition focused mostly on two sectors, while today we have expanded to five sectors – health, agriculture, education, climate change and technology,” he said.
“We know the sector cannot attain sustainability with just technology alone; we also have to bring in other essential components or wide-range of activities. The IMC is built on the premise of supporting innovation and also creating a convergence for young innovators within those sectors. There are different milestones in building an innovation, but one critical part is the ability to inspire a new generation of innovators. This is part of what IMC seeks to achieve.”
The conference also featured product exhibitions, panel discussions, a fireside chat and networking sessions designed to connect young innovators with investors and industry leaders capable of helping them move their solutions from idea to market.
Oloruntoba expressed appreciation to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), IHS Nigeria, MTN, Airtel, Co-Creation Hub, Hydrogen, Lagos Business School (LBS) Sustainability Centre and Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) for supporting TTSWG and providing opportunities for young innovators to showcase their creativity.
The Technology and Telecommunications Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG) is a diverse and inclusive multistakeholder organisation committed to advancing sustainability within Nigeria’s technology and telecommunications sector.
The group comprises more than 20 member organisations and partners from the private and public sectors, including IHS Towers, MTN Nigeria, Quomodo Systems Africa, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, HP, Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, Phase 3 Telecoms, SystemSpecs Ltd and MainOne Technologies, among others.
