Grace Ene
The inaugural edition of the FSI Cashless Campus Innovation Challenge recently concluded with Techies emerging as the victorious team. Financial Services Innovators (FSI), a non-profit organization dedicated to discovering tech talents in tertiary institutions and supporting startups in the technology and financial services sector, hosted the virtual hackathon challenge.
The Cashless Campus Innovation Challenge aimed to find solutions for digitizing micropayments in tertiary institutions and their surroundings, encompassing cashless transportation, cashless commerce, and more.
Team Techies claimed the top prize, taking home N100,000, after defeating 10 other participants. Prodigies and Tap & Go secured the first and second runner-up positions, respectively.
Additionally, the winning teams from each participating school were awarded N100,000 each, along with certificates of participation and internship opportunities. All the finalist teams also earned a spot in FSI’s business incubation program.
Team Techies, representing Al-Qalam University, Katsina, impressed the judges with QRide, an innovative campus trip-booking app catering to students, staff, and residents. Team Prodigies, also from Al-Qalam University, showcased Macco, an app facilitating faster payments and easy transactions for students using their registration numbers as unique identifiers. Meanwhile, Team Tap & Go presented a biometric-based app for seamless campus transactions, eliminating the need for cards or mobile phones.
Other commendable teams that participated in the challenge included Jafos, Cool Nerds, Bytecode, Cyberbros, WireMe, Painkil, and Iconic Codes.
Dr. Aituaz Kola-Oladejo, the Executive Director of FSI, expressed gratitude to the challenge’s partners and judges, emphasizing the abundance of untapped talent in Nigeria that needs harnessing to drive positive change in Africa.
The keynote speaker, Mr. Aniedi Udo-Obong, a US-based Nigerian Program Manager and Software Developer with Google, urged the participants to continue innovating and seeking help when needed, emphasizing that ideation is the key to success.
Moderated by Derek Nwafor, the Campus Cashless Innovation Challenge featured 67 teams from six higher institutions across Nigeria, including Mountain Top University (MTU), Lagos; University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka; Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife; Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri; and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi. The challenge served as a platform for nurturing young talent and promoting innovative solutions in the cashless space.
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