Summary: Lorapay emerged as the winner of the ICANBOI iHack4SDG Challenge. The team will receive a 1.5 million naira cash prize and access to the ICANBOI Innovation Hub incubation program.
The iHack4SDG Challenge was put together by ICANBOI in collaboration with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Bank of Industry.
The essence of the hackathon is to gather a new generation of innovative thinkers aimed at building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and facilitating the attainment of sustainable development goals using technology.
Several calls for applications were made in a space of two weeks, with close to 400 applications received, and this was pruned to 10 — OneID, Esports NG, Friendpal, Roadcare, Edu-smart SMS, Coverplus, Lorapay, Track and Trace, SafeVac, and Genesis — after a transparent selection process involving representatives of Vatebra Tech Hub, a partner of the hackathon.
On May 26th, the demo day took place physically at the ICAN-BOI Innovation Hub. After a pitching round that lasted up to 2 hours, Gerald Okonkwo (Head GTM at Anchor YC 2022), Henry Ogbuagu, Founding Partner at Vencapital, Udoh Nsembo, Tech Ecosystem, and Venture Sourcing Officer at First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and Ruth Iselema, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Bitmama Inc, named the winners of the hackathon.
Announcing the winning ideas was Chinyelu Chikwendu Head of Strategy for Vatebra Tech Hub and she expressed her optimism at the potential of the solutions to transform various sectors they will feature in.
The winning idea was Lorapay, which provides a seamless and secure payment solution utilizing Bluetooth technology, accessible without internet access, and supporting SDG 9 industry innovation and infrastructure.
By winning the event, Lorapay will receive a cash prize of 1,500,000 and other benefits, such as moving into the ICANBOI incubation program to refine the solution further.
The second place, Esports NG, a social gaming platform supporting SDG 8 (Decent Work &Economic Growth) & 9 (industry innovation and Infrastructure) will also receive a cash prize of ₦1,000,000 and automatically qualify for the incubation Program.
OneID, a digital ID solution offering seamless and equitable access to financial services, the 3rd-place will receive a cash prize of 750,000 and automatically qualify for the incubation Program
About us
ICAN-BOI is a platform to actualize the growing focus on technology and skills acquisition through entrepreneurship empowerment. It is on a mission to be a nexus for tech talent and innovation, including students, academia, innovators, venture capitalists, and economic development experts.
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria is Nigeria’s professional accountancy body. It is one of the two professional accountancy associations with the regulatory authority in Nigeria,
Through its technical knowledge, skills, and expertise, it provides insight and leadership to the global accounting and finance profession.
The Bank of Industry is Nigeria’s foremost development financial institution (DFI) with the mandate to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium, and small enterprises, as well as to drive expansion, diversification, and modernization—a mandate aimed at supporting projects with potential developmental impact.