NIGERIA has emerged champion in the 2018 edition of the “Technovation World Pitch” competition, which was held in California, United States of America.
The Nigerian contingent to the competition, students of Regina Pacis girls secondary school, Onitsha, Anambra State, developed a mobile application called ‘FD (Fake Drug) Detector’, which was adjudged the most innovative entry in the competition.
The FD Detector is designed to tackle the nagging problem of fake pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
According to the official website of the Technovation challenge, “the app, (FG-Detector) leverages a drug’s barcode to verify its authenticity and expiry date”.
The Nigerian team, nicknamed ‘Save a Soul”, was made up of five students, namely: Promise Nnalue, Jessica Osita, Nwabuaku Ossai, Adaeze Onuigbo and Vivian Okoye. Their coach, Uchenna Onwuamaegbu-Ugwu, is the founder of Edufun Technik STEM Center.
The team is expected to partner with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
The 2018 technovation challenge had contestants from the US, Spain, India, China, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Egypt and Turkey, among other countries.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, took to his Twitter handle to congratulate the new champions, saying Nigeria is proud of them.
Well done to Uchenna Onwuamaegbu-Ugwu, the founder of Edufun Technik STEM Center.
I understand that she and her company were responsible for mentoring the young ladies. Great job!
— Prof Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) August 10, 2018
Similarly, the Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha Archdiocese, owners of Regina Pacis Secondary School, congratulated the girls via a facebook post on Friday. He described their victory as “a sign of many good things to come”.
The technovation challenge is aimed at getting more females to embrace technology, thereby helping to reduce the gender gap in leadership positions across the world.
“Just 7 percent of governments, 4.4 percent of major corporations, and 17 percent of leading universities are currently led by women,” the technovation group states on its website.
“The lack of women leaders is a major problem because it is well documented that empowering girls is the strongest determinant of progress for every development outcome – from economic growth to equity, creativity and innovation.”