Category: Science & Technology

Voice IT, a Voice banking app, has won the 2017 Re: Code Nigeria Hackathon and a prize money of ₦1.5 million as well as access to Microsoft Azure and the IBM platform for a year.

The winning app allows banking customers to use voice commands to carry out banking operations such as checking one’s account balance, transferring funds, and purchasing airtime for one’s mobile phone are done using voice. In other words,  you speak or talk and the App does all the work.

Continue reading Voice IT Wins 2017 Re: Code Nigeria Hackathon

A Nigerian scientist, Ejikeme P. Nwosu, and his team of researchers have fabricated equipment that converts urine into flammable gases, biomethane and hydrogen-rich gases, with 100% indigenous technological inputs.

Nwosu, a graduate of Pure and Industrial Chemistry from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (NAU), Anambra State with Masters of Science degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Ibadan (UI), Oyo State, asserts that a blend of these gases- biomethane and hydrogen-rich gases- can be effectively used to run a gas turbine generator to give the nation over 11,250 megawatts hours of electricity.

Biomethane is a 100% renewable energy source produced by the natural breakdown of organic material: green waste, household waste, agricultural waste, food industry waste and even industrial waste.

Toni Solarin-Sodara has been awarded the Most Valuable Professional (or MVP) award from Microsoft in the category of Visual Studio and Development Technologies.

Continue reading Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award [2017]

Akwa Ibom has emerged winner of the 20th national Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists, 2017 JETS Competition themed “Enhancing Food Security through Science and Technology Applications’’ for primary and secondary school students in which all the states and the Federal Capital Territory participated.

En route their emergence as the overall winners of the one week competition, the Akwa Ibom representatives garnered four trophies.

Akwa Ibom emerged first in free choice project, winning with their project on “Biodegradable Waste to Wealth” as well as the inter-state quiz competition by claiming the third position.

They also got the second position for coming out with the project on using “Orange peels’’ for other uses such as Orange Peel for Weight Loss, Orange Peel for Treatment of Hangover, Orange Peel for Production of Pesticides and Candies.

Andela receives the United States Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) for 2016, in the category of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Andela is a global engineering organization that connects leading technology companies and talented software developers from around the world. Andela enables companies to build high-performing engineering teams while providing a platform for talented technologists to accelerate their expertise.

According to the United States Ambassador to Nigeria W. Stuart Symington,

“What Andela does with Information Technology, and with its focus on people and a culture of learning and connecting through the internet around the world, [is] show how Nigeria can create its future and transform the future of the rest of the planet. Nigeria has remarkably talented people and Andela represents the future of Nigeria.”

The Electronic Payment Incentive Scheme (EPIS) Efficiency awards was established to reward and celebrate financial institutions, merchants and other stakeholders at the forefront of driving electronic payment in Nigeria.

Best Customer Experience Award (Electronic Payment Platform Experience) – GTBank; for achieving the highest level of overall customer satisfaction in the delivery of electronic payment services to customers.

Cashless Driver: Instant Payments – GTBank; for the Bank’s performance in recording the highest transaction count on the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) Platform.

Cashless Driver: Point of Sale (POS) Issued Cards’ Transactions – GTbank; for having the highest Point of Sale (PoS) transaction count on the National Central Switch with Issued Payment.

Instant Payments Transaction Efficiency – GTBank; for achieving the highest transaction count in Point of Sale (PoS) terminals through the National Central Switch (NCS) Platform.

The Point of Sale Card Transaction Efficiency – GTBank; for the Bank’s outstanding performance in recording the highest level of efficiency in card payments on POS terminals connected to the National Central Switch.

Electronic Data Rendition Compliance and Integrity – GTBank & Access Bank Plc; for the Bank’s outstanding performance in ensuring customer data integrity and compliance to CBN mandated submissions.

E-Reference Operations Award – Union Bank

Direct Debit Award – Ecobank Group

Point of Sales Transaction Acquiring – Zenith Bank; the Bank with the highest POS transactions

Financial Technology Partner Award – Interswitch Group

Most Efficient Third Party Payment Processor Award – Interswitch Group

Most Efficient Card Scheme Award – Mastercard

Cashless Driver: Mobile Money Operator (MMO) – Paga

Most Active Payment Terminal Service Provider Award – Unified Payment Services Limited

Most Improved Merchant Award – Sahad Stores Limited

Payments Aggregators Award – Soft Alliance Limited; payment aggregator with the highest volume of transactions

Merchants Award (POS) – Oswale Enterprises; merchant with the highest volume of transactions

Other Financial Institutions Award – Old Mutual

Federal Government Award – Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

State Government Award – Lagos State Government

 

Sliide Airtime has been named as the World’s Most Innovative App at the Global Mobile World awards 2017.

Sliide Airtime was designed to solve a real-life problem for hundreds of millions of people living in Africa and other emerging markets; data is expensive relative to incomes.

Sliide provides users with an easy way to earn free airtime – and discover new content. It sends personalised news and stories from national and international publishers as well as sponsored content and adverts straight to the lock screen of phones. Sliide uses 65% of its advertising revenues to buy mobile data from MNOs to give to its users – who can then earn more airtime by completing tasks such as answering surveys from brands.