The Executive Director of Cavista Technology, Mr Bamidele Odufuye, has said that Nigeria needs more tech startups focusing on health solutions, having recorded successes in fintechs and other similar areas.
Odufuye stated this while speaking with Nairametrics on the sidelines of the Cavista Hackathon 2024 organized for the students of Lagos State University (LASU), University of Lagos (UNILAG), and Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).
According to him, the healthcare sector in Nigeria is still lagging when it comes to tech solutions. He noted that the students who participated in the Hackathon have also carried out their research and observed the gap, hence, most of them presented health tech solutions.
- “In terms of tech solutions, one of the areas lagging in Nigeria is the health sector. We have seen a lot of fintech innovations, and the industry is fast growing.
- “We need more startups focusing on health and that is why the students were asked to develop solutions that will address health and can leverage AI technology,” he said.
LASU students emerged as winners
Meanwhile, a team of students from LASU, Team Jupiter, won the Hackathon with their AI dermatologist solution that helps individuals create skin routines and address skin issues they might have.
Explaining how the solution will work and the revenue model for the startup, the leader of the Team, Michael Eziamaka, said:
- “We will have dermatologists on call on the app that will address issues that the AI cannot address for a fee. When the AI has been informed of the skin issues an individual has, it will give suggestions. Should the person want more information, then they will pay a fee to speak to a dermatologist, and then we will take a percentage of that fee as revenue.
- “Because the consultations are done over the phone it is much more affordable than going in person to see the dermatologist.”
The winners of the Hackathon were awarded prize money of N1 million, while the first runner-up, Tech Med, also from LASU, received N750,000. The second runner-up, a team from UNILAG, Farm Ceris, received N500,000.
Why the Hackathon
According to the Cavista ED, Odufuye, the competition, the second in a series, was organized to test the knowledge and skills of the participating students and also help them to start thinking from the position of a global market. He said this would enable them to position themselves to build solutions that fit the real-world market.
- “It is also our contribution to helping with the shortage of talent because if the efforts of the young ones are not recognized or promoted, they will be discouraged. So, events like this encourage them, and not just from the monetary point of view.
- “When they see people like me and other people working in Cavista who used to be like them and are now making it in the technology ecosystem without having to ‘japa’ from Nigeria, they see opportunities here and this also encourages them,” he said.
Over 150 students from the three universities participated in the Hackathon. They were divided into 50 groups, from which nine emerged in a general pitch. The nine teams pitched at the finals where the winning teams emerged.
