Category: Science & Technology

Dr. Emmanuel Iyayi Unuabonah, an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, has emerged winner of the 2017 Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) Gold Medal Prize.

The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) instituted a Gold Medal Prize in 2016, after 40 years of its existence, to be awarded to deserving Nigerian scientists who have made significant achievements in science of national relevance and global resonance. The award is to be made annually, alternating between the life sciences and physical sciences.

Announcing the winner at a media briefing in Lagos, Chairman of the Nigerian Academy of Science Prize Committee, Professor Gabriel Ogunmola, a past President of the NAS stated that Dr. Unuabonah emerged the pioneer winner of the prestigious prize after a due process of evaluation by a five-member physical science jury chaired by Professor Oye Ibidapo-Obe, FAS, a past NAS President.

Professor Ogunmola said in picking Dr. Unuabonah for the prize, his numerous contributions in physical sciences were subjected to critical scrutiny, stating that his work that fetched him the award focused on the development of alternatives for the replacement of expensive zeolites activated carbon and membranes currently being used in the treatment of water and wastewater.

According to Professor Ogunmola, the research work of Dr. Emmanuel Iyayi Unuabonah has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge of modified hybrid kaolinite clay as absorbent of metal ion pollutants as is evident from his publication and patents, adding that “this innovation has the potential to be further developed into point-of-use system for ready treatment of water in rural communities”.

In his remarks, the NAS current President Professor Mosto Onuoha decried the neglect of science studies in Nigeria, while calling on the federal and state governments to set up an endowment fund for the support of scientific research in ensuring that Nigeria joined developed nations in scientific advancement.

Coalition of Civil Society for Good Governance and Change in their recent study and evaluation rated the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) as the best agency in Nigeria.

NASENI emerged with the honor under the leadership of Professor (Engr.) Mohammed Sani Haruna as the best performing agency both in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and in the country.

Continue reading NASENI Wins Coalition of Civil Society for Good Governance and Change 2018 Best Agency In Nigeria

Thor Explorations Limited (also known as Segilola), a gold mining company operating in Osun State, Nigeria has emerged winner of the 2018 Investment Battlefield award for their gold exploration project in Osun State.

Thor Explorations Limited was selected as the most promising of the 22 junior mining companies that participated in the battlefield, after beating Algold Resources, a Mauritanian gold explorer company.

The CEO of Thor Explorations Limited, Segun Lawson, accepted the Investment Battlefield award after pitching the project to a panel of judges made up of leading analysts and investors, in Cape Town, South Africa.

The award came just as Nigeria was named among the top ten mining designations for 2019.

The company, which has considerable interest in some West African countries is also listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Thor’s flagship asset is its 100 percent owned Segilola Gold Project in Osun State.

Thor has been developing the Segilola Gold Project since it acquired it 15 months ago and aims to break ground this year by commencing construction.

The Segilola Gold Project was presented by Thor to a number of investor panels at the 2018 Mining Indaba in the extremely competitive Investor Battlefield Competition, which ran over the course of three days. Thor and Segilola emerged victorious over all participants with Segilola being declared the “Best Emerging Mining Project in Africa”.

In the words of Segun Lawson:

“The economic robustness of the project, the progressive Mining Code of Nigeria and the regulatory framework of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as well as the potential to increase its size through further exploration were the key critical factors considered by the panel.”

General Manager, Global Business Report, Alice Pascoletti, said Nigeria’s inclusion among the top mining destinations for 2019, was premised on factors such as legal and regulatory framework, ease of doing business, risk profile as well as experiences of operators in the country.

Thor’s CEO, Segun Lawson, 39, a geologist who was educated in the United Kingdom, had a brief stint in investment banking before venturing into mining, when he founded the company some eight years ago.

Thor Explorations currently employs 52 people in three West African countries, but Lawson said this would rise to about 250 once production starts at the Segilola Gold project, which is its flagship.

Placements.ng also referred to as Placements has emerged as the overall winner of the 2018 Techpoint Build Pitch Storm competition.

Placements, a platform that allows job seekers find paid internship opportunities in Nigeria, receive an equity-free cash prize of ₦1 million and, along with other finalists, will gain the necessary exposure for their business and possibly investments too.

Acounteer, and Legitcar also emerged as the first and second runner-up respectively.

The maiden edition of Techpoint Build is an annual convergence of startups, innovators, makers, technical entrepreneurs and all industry stakeholders across Nigeria.

After a stringent screening process, nine of the over 200 applicants for the Techpoint Build Pitch Storm competition emerged finalists.

The nine finalists;  Accounteer, Wemove, The Footwear Academy, SmartTeller, myPadi, Legitcar, Gerocare, Loystar and Placements had been part of an intense 3-day Bootcamp to help them prepare them for the finale.

The judges for the event include; Nick Dixon (Founder, Cloud Cover), Aima Nwafor-Ohiwerei (Fellow, Singularity Investments), Adetunji Eleso (Head, Growth Capital CChub), Deepankar Rustagi (CEO, Vconnect), Yele Bademosi (Founder, Microtraction), Olanike Jagun (MTN), Jason Njoku (Founder, Spark), Leonard Stiegeler (GM, Ringier Africa), Kola Aina (Founder, Emerging Platforms), Chika Nwobi (CEO, L5 Lab) and Martin Karanji (GSMA).

Techpoint Build aims to foster increased local investment in Nigeria’s local startup ecosystem.

Winners have emerged in the Phillips Consulting annual Web-Jurist assessment for 2017.

The Web-Jurist ratings aims to accurately gauge the effectiveness and usefulness of customer facing websites and online web service platforms in Nigeria taking into consideration the customers need.

Continue reading Winners Of Phillips Consulting 2017 Web-Jurist Assessment Ratings

Winners have emerged in the 2017 Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA) organized to recognize, celebrate and reward technology entrepreneurs, innovators, academicians, inventors and policy makers (Government) in Nigeria.

Nigeria Technology Awards (NiTA) is aimed at building a large scale and internationally recognized technology awards in Nigeria.

Category	Winner
Best Use of Technology Federal University	University of Lagos
Most Innovative Federal University	University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Best Use of Social Media Federal University	University of Calabar
Federal University Website of the Year	www.unn.edu.ng University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Federal University Website of the Year	www.unical.edu.ng University of Calabar
Best Use of Technology State University	Ambrose Alli University
Best Use of Social Media State University	Kwara State University
State University Website of the Year	www.uniosun.edu.ng Osun State University
Best Use of Technology Private University	Covenant University
Best Use of Social Media Private University	Covenant University
Private University Website of the Year	www.covenantuniversity.edu.ng Covenant University

Silas Adekunle, the founder and CEO of Reach Robotics, has developed the world’s first gaming robots called MekaMonsters, a multi-functional connected battle bots with augmented reality capabilities.

Adekunle was born and grew up in Nigeria before moving to the UK with his family when he was 11. He graduated from the University of the West of England, Bristol, with a first class degree in Robotics. He stated that he got the idea to build the robots while studying there, teaching maths and science in local schools on the university’s partnership scheme.

Continue reading Silas Adekunle Builds World’s First Gaming Robots