5 Teams Emerged Winners of US$10,000 NCDMB Grant
-By Gideon Osaka
Five teams have emerged as the winners of this year’s Nigerian Oil and Gas Technology, NOGTECH Hackathon sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development Management Board, NCDMB. The winners as announced by the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote are; Fuel Intellisense, Home Fort (Homefort Energy), Gricd (Gricd Mote), KIAKIA GAS (Gas360), and AirSynQ.
The NOGTECH Hackathon contest brought together 15 teams contesting for the opportunity to emerge among the top five finalists. On emergence, the top five teams will undergo a 3-month incubation programme, where each group gets a US$10,000 equity-free grant, a work-space, expert mentors, global partners and unprecedented market access to the nation’s oil and gas industry for over three-months, ensuring they become commercial and investor-ready. NOGTECH is the first-ever technology hackathon in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry and it is being organized by the NCDMB in partnership with Learners Support Consultancy Company. Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Wabote explained that the Board decided to sponsor the contest with the aim of fostering innovations in the oil and gas and ancillary industries as well as creating a platform for the proliferation of Local Content and digital technologies. The 3-day hackathon will connect 15 selected teams to industry experts, mentors and entrepreneurs who will provide close guidance to teams throughout the duration of the hackathon.
The objective of the bootcamp is to help build and refine the prototypes by providing further insights on the challenges, develop implementation plan for scaling the venture, and to select the most feasible ventures that will receive the seed funding
The contest started in June with call for entries in seven thematic areas, some of which were health, asset security, tackling cyber threats, renewable energy, skills and talent management and supply chain, with a total of 630 entries received at the close of submission in the third week of July. The entries were subjected to two stages of review, first from internal NCDMB Judges and then from external judges, before the top 15 teams were selected. The top 15 teams wen through a 2-day venture hackathon and 1-day grand finale where they presented pitches to Judges and from which the top 5 teams were selected for the incubation stage. At the end of the incubation, the teams participated in a showcase day to demonstrate their progress.
This showcase was aimed at connecting them to investors and industry stakeholders where they can further amplify their market access. Some of the top 15 entries included Automated Vehicle Identification and Fuel Management System; Providing simulated active practice environments using Virtual reality technology; End-To-End Anti-counterfeiting and Product Authentication; and Producing fuel-grade ethanol from sugarcane which can be used for pharmaceuticals and in blend with gasoline in internal combustion engines to reduce the greenhouse gas emission.
