Deadline: August 14, 2017
The USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017 is a nationwide competition open to innovators, software developers, UX designers, students, and other ICT enthusiasts from all over Nigeria. The objective and goal of the Challenge is to empower the Nigerian Youth by challenging their tenacity to create technology-driven solutions for the needs of their Communities and the nation at large. An additional objective is the empowerment and encouragement of women to further participate and contribute within the ICT and technology innovation arena. While it is currently a male-dominated domain, women more than have the capacity to excel within that space, and the USPF Innovation Changemaker Challenge aims to encourage more female input. This Contest would be staged in Two Phases: Regional Contest and National Finals.
The intention is to encourage participants to tackle a selection of identified problems based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they apply to Nigeria, and offer working solutions to them. Officially known as ‘Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, the SDGs are a set of 17 “global Goals” which include ending poverty and hunger, promoting good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and energy, economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and peace and justice for all, amongst other things.
Participants will therefore be required to create intelligent solutions addressing any of the following areas:
- Agriculture and Creation of Mass Employment: In the production, storage, or distribution of Food.
- Environment: Oil & Gas, Flood, Erosion/Climate Change.
- National e-Data on Poverty, Diseases, Security.
- Health/Lifestyle: Medical Doctors Information Exchange Tool; Health Insurance, etc.
- Epidemic Mobility Tracking Solutions: e.g. Ebola, Lassa Fever.
- Disease Destroyer Games: Educational games on disease eradication. e.g. Malaria, Polio, HIV.
- Education: Virtual Education, e-Library & e-Learning Systems.
- Intelligent Technologies for Scientists, Science Teachers, Engineers, etc.
- Girls4Tech: Interactive solutions aimed at getting young girls interested in technology and innovation.
- Fraud Whistle-blowers: Enabling or assistive technology.
- Information Technology: Communications Quality of Service.
- National Security: Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Solutions, etc.
- e-Government: Government Automation Processes.
- e-Commerce: e-Transactions, Payment Systems, etc.
Cost
- All teams invited to the national finals will have their travel expenses refunded (more details will be provided closer to the time), and will be entitled to hotel accommodation for the duration of the event.
Prizes
30 teams will be shortlisted and invited for the national finals, and will be given up-scaled requirements to shoot for in preparation for and during the Pitch Event. The top 3 finalists will be selected by a panel of judges at the event, and will win the following prizes:
- 1st Prize: N1,000,000* plus acceptance into incubation programme;
- 2nd Prize: N750,000* plus acceptance into incubation programme;
- 3rd Prize: N500,000* plus acceptance into incubation programme.
* Monetary prize includes product completion and cash.
The incubation programme will involve mentorship, a 2-week entrepreneurship boot camp, and support in attempting to get the 3 final solutions to market.
Eligibility
- The competition is a team effort. Minimum of 2 different team members, and a maximum of 4. Submitting the same individual multiple times will not constitute a team;
- All the required skills (Programming, User Experience Design, and Project Management) must be present within the team, regardless of how they are distributed among the team members;
- A clearly defined and innovative digital solution to a problem under any of the SDGs-related categories specified must be described. This is the crux of your submission. Note that your team will be expected to develop/build this solution from concept to marketable product;
- The submission must include a summary of the solution your team has or will develop, the need it addresses, and your overall plan for product development including your go-to-market plan;
- The submission must include a complete video discussing or describing the solution, preferably in 3 minutes or less, plus further documentation in PDF format, such as a presentation or pitch document for the solution. Your objective is simply to convince the judges through your submissions that your solution is innovative, viable, beneficial, and worth pursuing. Any video and/or documentation you think can achieve that objective, is what you should submit.
Application
All applicants would need to read the registration guidelines thoroughly before proceeding to application.
For more information, visit USPF Changemakers Challenge.
