Author: PositiveNaija

uTruckit Wins WSA In Smart Settlements & Urbanization Category [2018]

Truckit, an indigenous company that provides a technology platform that facilitates cost effective and secured transportation of goods and cargos with real time monitoring for individuals and companies, has been recognised for its innovative UTruckit application at the World Summit Awards (WSA), which held in Vienna, Austria.

Truckit was awarded in the Smart Settlements & Urbanization category of the World Summit Awards. Truckit launched its UTruckit application in July 2017 and stands out on the strength of its innovation within the digital space.

The World Summit Awards (WSA) was initiated in 2003 in the framework of the UN World Summit on the Information Society (UN WSIS). UTruckit was selected by the WSA Grand Jury as one of the 40 WSA Winners in 2017.

The World Summit Awards is a highly diverse and democratic award system that selects and promotes the world’s best in digital content and innovative applications with impact on the society

According to Mr. Tom Roberts, Nigerian, CEO and founder of Truckit Trucks Solutions Limited:

“We feel very proud of this award as it is a great honor that the international community recognized the exceptional value in the UTruckit APP. Almost 400 submissions from 180 UN member states participated in this year’s WSA contest.

The competition was tough and the selection process was highly competitive and we are so glad we scaled through.”

We are pioneer of the 1st truck booking solution in Nigeria and Africa and we are proud to have achieved this. The innovation is managed by experienced professionals with a track record of delivering logistics solutions. It has been good doing such business in Nigeria.”

Explaining the award initiative, Chairman, Programos Software Group and Founder, Programos Foundation,​ Nigeria’s​ ​coordinating​ ​civil​ ​society​ ​organisation​ ​for​ ​the​ ​United​ ​Nations-based​ ​World​ ​Summit​ ​Awards​, Mr. Amos Emmanuel, noted that 40 winners from 23 countries were selected from over 400 nominations from 180 countries.

He added that the WSA presented a global spectre of change making projects ranging from big data for tourism to organ 3D printing, from a job-platform focusing on female tech talent to empowering smallholder farms.

According to Mr. Amos Emmanuel:

“No matter what the technology is,  it’s​ the​ unique​ content​ that​ makes​ this​ top​ 40​ exceptional.”

Roseben Anyanwu Wins 8th Korea-Nigeria Poetry Feast

Roseben Anyanwu has emerged winner of the 8th Korea-Nigeria Poetry Feast, with a winning cash prize of ₦100,000.

Roseben Anyanwu’s poem: “Roma” topped the list for the adult category at the event organised by the Korean Cultural Centre in Nigeria to mark the World Poetry Day on March 21, 2018.

Also, Oko Owoicho’s poem “We will sing water” came second with a total prize money of ₦75,000 while the third (cash) prize of ₦50,000 went to Rilwan Adelaja for his poem “The Cyclist”.

Seven other poets from the category got the sum of ₦25,000 each as consolation prizes.

Similarly, from the Junior category including secondary schools, Ameerah Adunola from Government Secondary school, Dutse, emerged overall winner for her poem, “Path Way” and was awarded ₦50,000.

Praise Acha, from African Child College Abuja emerged first runner up with her poem “The Path” was given ₦30,000. Gift Ngwuli clinched the second runner up position with her poem “Lyrics of Old” and got ₦20,000.

Seven other students got ₦10,000 each as consolation prizes at the 8th Korea-Nigeria Poetry Feast.

Han Sungrae, Director of the KCCN, said for eight years in a row, the centre has offered Nigerians the platform to express themselves and show their talent using poetry.

Sungrae, who was represented by Jee Meeyoun, a Cultural Assistant at the centre, said that the 2018 response to the call for entry into the poetry competition was positive.

In his words:

“This year, we received a record submission in the adult category with 505 poems; from the secondary school category, we got 78 poems from seven schools in the Federal Capital Territory.

The best 10 poems from each category have been carefully selected by independent judges for the awards.

We thank all poets that have sent in entries especially those whose poems were not selected, we implore you not to relent in your quest to excel.”

Alhaji Oladimeji Hassan, Secretary of FCT Social Development Secretariat in his keynote address, said:

“I have no doubt that this poetic exercises is not only intended to be enjoyed but also to spur the creative ingenuity among writers that will produce powerful poets that will build the future of this nation.

I will continue to encourage and support these creative minds in which lies the root of our collective growth and development as a nation.”

CYIAC Wins 2018 UN SDGs Action Award In Innovative Category

The Creative Youth Initiative Against Corruption (CYIAC) has emerged the winner of the Innovative Category of the first United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Action Awards.

Ms. Foluke Michael, the Project Director of CYIAC in a statement said the Innovative Category top award was presented to the group in Bonn, Germany by Mr. Markus Hipp, the Director, BMW Foundation

She said the campaign that led to the awards demonstrated the extraordinary momentum towards achieving the SDGs in different parts of the world.

At the event, the Global Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign, Mitchell Toomey disclosed that the Awards ceremony was held in tandem with the second edition of the Global Festival of Action for Sustainable Development in Bonn.

Toomey added that the awards ceremony honored initiatives in the categories of communicator, connector, includer, innovator, mobiliser, storyteller, and visualizer.

In the words of Mitchell Toomey:

“These are ‘Action’ Awards because we need more than words: our winners dared to believe and act for change.

They are perfect examples of the wonderful work that’s happening around the world led by thousands, if not millions, of people.”

The Awards span over private and public sectors, as well as civil society and grassroots movements.

The winning initiatives (CYIAC) included fighting corruption in Nigeria and mobilising Belgians to implement the SDGs in their daily lives. Others were empowering children through photography and digital skills in Bangladesh, promoting human rights education in Sri Lanka and much more.

Over 700 nominations from 125 countries in 7 continents were submitted.

An expert judging panel evaluated the submissions against the degree to which actions were deemed to be transformative, inclusive and impactful.

In addition, an open vote was held on the website of the UN SDG Action Campaign, where visitors could rate their favourite among the 38 finalists to win the People’s Choice Award.

Mitchell Toomey noted that:

“Great solutions for the world’s challenges can come from anywhere.

We hope everyone is inspired by these stories and consider submitting their nominations for future Awards.

These are the first winners of a community that will continue to grow”.

Footwear Academy Wins Proudly Made in Aba Hackathon Challenge [2018]

Footwear Academy, a footwear training firm has won the maiden edition of the Proudly Made in Aba Hackathon Challenge, designed to proffer solutions to challenges currently faced by Aba entrepreneurs, especially in the finished leather, garment and steel fabricating clusters.

Using modern equipment and technology, Footwear Academy won the challenge by providing a solution to upgrading the skills of Aba shoemakers, to enable them to improve the quality of their products.

The Co-founder, Footwear Academy, Bentley Chukwuemeka, stated that their plan was to introduce Aba shoemakers to modern technology, to enable them to speed up production.

Bentley Chukwuemeka said Footwear Academy also intended to reduce its period of apprenticeship from five years to six months.

The hackathon challenge had the Footwear Academy coming first position with $50,000; Clintonel Technology, which came second, received a cash prize of $30,000; and Ogwugo Technologies, coming third, got $20,000.

Clintonel Technology introduced a solution to digitalise and automate the metal fabrication process in Aba, through Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing, while Ogwugo technologies introduced an online marketing platform, designed to handle trade activities between buyers and sellers in broad categories.

The technology, according to the Co-Founder, Clintonel Technology, Tochukwu Chukwueke, will help shoe manufacturers and metal fabricators in Aba reduce production cost, increase production speed, multiply production volume, improve finishing and generate more revenue.

The Co-founder, Ogwogo.com, Chima Abafor, explained that the firm was offering a dynamic platform built from scratch to adapt to modern e-commerce technology, as well as e-commerce problems.

According to the Programme Manager, West African Office, Ford Foundation, Professor Paul Nwulu, the Proudly Made in Aba Hackathon Challenge was organised to find ways of using technology and innovative ideas to help influence the lives of shoemakers, fabricators and garment makers in Aba.

Professor Nwulu explained that they received 400 entries, out of which 10 best ideas were selected for the final, and from which the judges further picked the best three as winners.

Nigeria Awarded 2018 Green Bonds Award In New Countries Taking Green Bonds Global Category

Nigeria has been awarded the 2018 Green Bonds Award under the category of New Countries Taking Green Bonds Global at the Annual Green Bonds Conference in London, UK.

The 2018 Green Bonds award was received by Ambassador Kabiru Bala, Deputy High Commissioner/Head of Mission, Nigeria High Commission, London.

According to the Ambassador on country’s award in the New Countries Taking Green Bonds Global category:

“The issuance of a green bond by Nigeria delivers on Programme 47 of its Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), in addition to meeting the expectations of Article 2 of the Paris Agreement.”

Green Bonds are like regular bonds, but with a slight difference – they can only be used to fund projects that have been identified to have environmental benefits, with their contribution to emissions reduction clearly articulated.

In the words of the Environment Minister of State, Usman Jibril in Abuja:

“This further reinforces Nigeria’s re-emergence as a major player in the international climate regime and President Muhammadu Buhari’s strides in moving Nigeria to a low carbon economy.

Nigeria take pride in being the first African country to issue a Sovereign Green Bond and the fourth in the world. Today’s event marks a unique and historic day in the efforts of Nigeria in tackling climate change.”

Nigeria’s recent issuance of the Soveriegn Green Bond (or Climate Bond) apparently influenced its three-star rating in the monthly assessment of 20 countries (including the EU) with high emission levels.

In its Global Spotlight Project for March 2018, Climate Scorecard, a not-for-profit group, gave Nigeria a pass mark, saying that the West African nation was moving in the right direction towards the realisation of the Paris Agreement.

NIPOST Awarded 2018 WSIS Prize In E-Employment Category

The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has been awarded the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2018 Prize in the category of e-Employment for the NIPOST Address Verification System (NIPOST AVS).

Post Master General Bisi Adegbuyi received the Award at the WSIS Forum 2018 in Geneva, marking the 15th anniversary of the World Summit on the Information Society Forum.

Continue reading NIPOST Awarded 2018 WSIS Prize In E-Employment Category

Juleit Chioma Wins The Inaugural Chefs Taste Challenge

Juleit Chioma, of Le Petit Square restaurant, located in Grand Square, Abuja, has emerged winner of the first Chefs Taste Challenge, an initiative of the Embassy of France, in Nigeria.

The initiative is run under the ‘Good France programme’ by the Embassy to further create cultural fusion between the two countries.

Juleit Chioma who spoke on her winning dish, “Out of the Pot Chicken”, said:

“It is very rewarding for a chef to win in a contest of this nature.

I felt since this was the era where people want to eat good cuisine and still look good, I decided to prepared the ‘Out of the Pot Chicken’.

This is a meal that I created with natural ingredients produce in Nigeria, which you can find around your neighbourhood and gives you a natural taste.”

Juleit Chioma commended the embassy of France for creating the awareness, which would enable Nigerian chefs’ showcase their expertise globally.

Mr. Denys Gauer, French Ambassador to Nigeria, said the initiative was created five years ago to celebrate gastronomy as an art of cooking. He said that four restaurants were participating in the programme to showcase different varieties of cuisine of Nigeria and France.

According to the Ambassador:

“This is the first year we are organising a contest of this nature and I hope it increases as time goes by.

The embassy’s aim was to create awareness in the culinary world for both Nigeria and Europe to come together to promote culture through gastronomy.”

Highlight of the Chefs Taste Challenge include the presentation of certificate of participation to the chefs, drawn from various food companies and restaurants in Nigeria.

Each chef was rewarded with a ‘Relais Café’ prepared duck, bread and mango dressing for their presentation which lasted 15 minutes.