Tech in Africa
The COVID-19 Innovation Challenge engaged the nation for innovative ideas and strategies on how best to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. All applicants had to meet certain requirements before being subjected to a competitive pitching process. 7 startups emerged as winners after a highly competitive selection process.
Ventures Platform (VP) and Venture Garden Group (VGG) were the key financiers alongside several other companies in the Nigerian tech industry. The window of application between March 17 and 23 registered over 500 entries comprising innovative startups offering smart ways of curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
Final selections were arrived at after a three-phased selection process which culminated at the Virtual Demo Day held on Thursday, 2 April 2020. The last 7 finalists pitched their ideas to top officials in the Nigerian Center for Disease Control (NCDC) alongside the program financiers and facilitators.
Bunmi Akinyemiju who is the Chief Executive Officer Venture Garden Group expressed satisfaction in their facilitation of the program and vowed to extend it beyond financial support into technical assistance and mentorship.
Here is the list of startups that made it to the final seven.
- Wellvis Covid Triage – Risk-assessment tool for a symptom logger that can be accessed via USSD or online, and can be easily monitored by a clinician.
- GloEpid by Prunedge – Bluetooth and GPS solution that can be used for contact tracing by NCDC.
- Infodemics by Ingenia Nigeria Ltd – Communication channel between the public and medical health professionals.
- Driage by Caselink – risk-assessment tool matching people at greatest risk to the nearest clinical resource.
- Covid19 Nigeria – Information and disease tracing platform.
- MyServiceAgent – AI-powered interactive voice system (IVR) capable of communicating with thousands of callers at a go.
- Cmapit Analytics – Tool that helps researchers understand Data variables via GPS and Data visualization, hence making better predictions on COVID-19.
VGG’s participation was apart of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative dubbed African Tech-Ecosystem Alignment.
