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Monday 27th March, 2023

TechExtra

Electricity Access: Lagos Smart Metre Hackathon Finalists Emerge, Two Winners To Share N7m

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The Lagos State Government has announced the frontrunners that will participate in the finals of the Lagos Smart Metre Hackathon design event slated for 16th-18th September, 2020.

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu will at the Grand Finale at the Eko Innovative Centre, announce the overall winner from each competing entries in hardware and software categories.

Five contenders each emerged from both categories of the competition, and the two winners will share the prize money of seven million naira.

Finalists were shortlisted after a transparent, rigorous and competitive process.

The Hackathon attracted 274 registrations or entries, 127 of which bid in hardware category, while 147 competed in software group.

DigitalTimesNG understands that only 65 hardware and software prototypes were submitted by applicants.

The shortlisted five finalists from hardware category are: Cosmo Automation, Smart Energy, Techwizard, Power Bit Cruchers and Gadozz Electricals.

The five software finalists are: Vectorians, Zeena Platform, Magnitronics, Chosen Soft Tech and Gideon. 

DigitalTimesNG further understands that this Initiative of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is aimed at providing affordable electricity metres to the populace by facilitating the design and production of metres that will accelerate efforts towards achieving improvement in energy distribution, monitoring and prevention of revenue leakage.

It is estimated that over 60% of Lagosians and Nigerians are unmetred due to unavailability and the high cost of metre acquisition.

The Lagos State Government is, therefore, leveraging bright local talents to design and produce affordable smart electricity metres.

Mrs Doja Ekeruche, Advisory Board Member, Eko Innovation Centre, curators of the Hackathon, noted that 19 judges with expertise in the power and tech ecosystem participated in the shortlisting process that produced the finalists.

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“We asked companies in the Energy and Tech ecosystem to nominate representatives to serve on the selection panel, tasked with shortlisting the top five finalists from both hardware and software tracks to proceed to the final Hackathon events.

“At the end of the shortlisting phase, a session was held with the judges to discuss the reviewing process, and an analytics team ranked the submissions by all judges to arrive at the top finalists,” She explained.

Recall that during the launch of the programme on July 30th, 2020, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu noted that the Smart Metre Hackathon Initiative marked a significant milestone in the implementation of the State Government’s plan towards improving access to electricity as it aligned with the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of the United Nations, targeted at achieving universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030.

While stating his resolve to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu said at the virtual event then that the initiative “fits well within the six pillars of the development agenda of his administration (T.H.E.M.E.S), which includes driving technology-driven innovations to transform Lagos into a 21st century digital economy and Smart City.

“This Lagos Smart Metre Programme is an important way for the Lagos Government to demonstrate its commitment to improving electricity access and reliability for Lagosians.

“We believe that adequate metering of Lagosians and in turn Nigerians, would increase willingness to pay for electricity, improve productivity and, more importantly, continue to improve the living conditions of our people.”

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Recall also, that at the ceremony held virtually in July, the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba. in his keynote address, said that the local design and production of affordable metres will help transform the power sector and the economy at large.

He urged all stakeholders to support the initiative, stressing that getting access to electricity right in Lagos “is critical for access to electricity in the entire country, considering the state’s population and economic landscape.”

The convener of the Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon and the State’s Honourable Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote said that the initiative was expected to provide access to affordable smart metres for Lagosians to improve electricity supply, monitoring, and trust between electricity providers and end users while preventing revenue leakage, as programme.

“The initiative is expected to drive innovation and creativity while generating new interest in young people for the sector.

“Over the years, despite significant investments and resolutions along the electricity value chain, there remains a huge metering gap of over 60% of electricity consumers in Lagos and Nigeria.

“This metering gap is what we are seeking to bridge through the Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon.

“In line with the objectives of the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu administration to make Lagos a 21st century economy, we have identified the need to intervene and support the facilitation of effective metering across the state, to ensure the provision of reliable electricity for Lagosians and Nigerians in the long-term,” the Commissioner said.

The Lagos Smart Metre Hackathon 2020 is convened by the Lagos State Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, curated by Eko Innovation Centre, and sponsored by Access Bank Plc, Egbin Power, and Ikeja Electric Distribution Company.

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Other sponsors include Mojec International, Eko Electric Distribution Company, MOMAS Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company, ElSewedy Electric, Royal Power & Energy, Venture Garden Group, InfraCredit, and Axxela Limited.

They were supported by the Lagos State Office of Innovation and Technology, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), Oracle, IBM, General Electric, Business Day and Accelerate TV.

 

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NITDA, World Bank Train 200 Women On Content Creation

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Photo Session with NITDA DG, Kasifu Inuwa; Executive Director of NATVIEW TECH, Nuradeen Maidoki alongside participants of the Digital Skills Training

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in collaboration with NATVIEW and World Bank has successfully rounded off a pilot digital skills development programme called “Gina Mata, Gina Al-Umma”, designed to identify, prepare, and connect disadvantaged girls and young women with emerging skills in the knowledge economy.

The programme which is part of activities to celebrate International Women’s Day and given the dire need to position young women for global participation in the Gig economy is geared towards integrating gender-intentional learning outcomes focused on technical training, soft skills, and right-based learning for young women interested in the tech ecosystem.

At the closing ceremony of the four-day event, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, noted that the training programme which is hinged on creating potential economic opportunities, increasing livelihoods, and access to better lives through the Gig economy is in line with the Agency’s mission to place Nigeria on the path to attaining 95% digital literacy by 2030, in alignment with the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020–2030.

The DG who recognised the fact that women are underrepresented in the technology sector avowed that with programmes like the Gina Mata, Gina Al-Umma programme, NITDA aims to bridge the gap by providing young women with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the digital economy.

“At NITDA, we are very excited about this partnership with the World Bank, which is in line with our initiative of one million software developers and skills by the end of 2023; Our core mandate is to develop and regulate the information technology sector in Nigeria because we believe that the future of our nation lies in the development of its human resources, and as such, we are committed to providing access to training and development opportunities for all Nigerians,” Inuwa stressed.

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Inuwa who seized the opportunity to thank the World Bank for driving the initiative and the implementation partner, Natview Technology, acknowledged the importance of partnerships in achieving the organisation’s goals, noting that Natview Technology has a proven track record of delivering quality digital skills development programmes, and expressed thanks for the execution of the pilot training programme.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as we round off this pilot today, let us remember that the digital economy holds vast opportunities for economic growth and development. However, to fully realize these opportunities, we must ensure that all Nigerians, regardless of gender, have access to the necessary skills and knowledge,” he said.

The NITDA Boss urged all the young women who participated in the training to take full advantage of the opportunity to make significant contributions to the digital economy and Nigeria’s development.

Inuwa reiterated NITDA’s commitment to ensuring that the entire citizenry is empowered with information technologies through the development of a critical mass of proficient and globally competitive IT manpower.

According to him, NITDA remains poised to actualise its mandate through strategic and inclusive stakeholder management, local and international partnership, and efficient utilisation of resources in the interest of Nigeria.

The Director-General who later presented certificates to the participants congratulated them and expressed the hope of seeing the positive impact of the programme on the lives of young women in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Natview Technology, Nuradeen Maidoki who earlier welcomed everyone to the closing ceremony described the Fasaha: Gina Mata, Gina Al-umma (“Building Women, Empowering Communities”) being implemented by Natview Technology as part of the firm’s contribution towards driving digital literacy and skills across Nigeria.

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While appreciating NITDA and the World Bank for delivering digital competency beyond Nigeria, Maidoki said through the initiative, Natview hopes to create a pipeline of highly skilled female technologists who can contribute to innovation and growth in Nigeria’s technology industry as the firm believes that by empowering young women with digital skills, it can create a more inclusive and diverse technology industry that reflects the richness and diversity of the society.

“During the 4-day launch, 200 young women were selected to participate in the digital content creation training. Beyond the digital content creation training, these young women also received skills training that will enable them to participate in the gig economy, which creates a platform for them to earn income from home,” Maidoki noted.

“The goal of the programme is to train and equip at least 800 girls and young women with digital skills and competencies to be globally competitive in the remote workplace. The pilot launch focuses on training 200 women around digital content creation and marketing while in the future, an additional 600 young women will be integrated from four Northern Nigeria states (Borno, Gombe, Kano, Zamfara) with high FCV cases,” Maidoki added.

 

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UK-Nigeria Tech Hub And Google Collaborate For Startups

-To Award $3 Million Cloud Credit To Women Founders

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A panel session at the programme marking the International Women’s Day by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google, held in Lagos

The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, a pillar of the UK government’s broader Digital Access Program (DAP), has announced a collaboration with Google for Startups, Africa.

This collaboration will see the two entities award $3 million in Google Cloud credits to women founders in Nigeria.

This support will subsidise cloud technology-related costs for startups, allowing them to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and growth.

The joint effort by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google for Startups Africa will help promote digital inclusion and jointly support technology businesses run by women founders.

To commemorate International Women’s Day in March, the two organisations co-hosted an event in Lagos, on Friday, bringing together women founders, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders.

The event aims to help women founders understand the technology funding landscape and position themselves to secure funding for their startups.

Country Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Justina Oha said, “We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Google for Startups, which comes at a time when the world is celebrating International Women’s Day.

“This partnership is a testament to our commitment to supporting women founders and helping them reach their full potential. Partnerships like this are one of the great ways that stakeholders can come together to advance Nigeria’s tech ecosystem at an accelerated pace.”

Head of Startup Ecosystem Google Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi speaking on the collaboration, said: “We are excited to partner with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to empower women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This collaboration is a unique opportunity to provide women founders with the support and resources they need to scale their businesses and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

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“At Google for Startups, we are committed to supporting startups and entrepreneurs around the world, and we believe that empowering women founders is key to building a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.”

 

 

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Nigeria Recorded Over 1.4 million Cyber Attacks On 2023 Guber Elections Day- Pantami

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The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami on Wednesday disclosed that Nigeria recorded a total of 3,834,244 cyber-attacks before, during and after the gubernatorial election of March 18, 2023, out of which over 1.4million was recorded on election day.

In a release signed by Dr. Femi Adeluyi, Senior Technical Assistant (Research and Development) to the Honourable Minister, Prof. Pantami provided the breakdown of the attacks as follows:

Friday 17th March 2023 1,046,896
Saturday 18th March 2023 1,481,847
Sunday 19th March 2023    327,718
Monday 20th March 2023    977,783

“During this period and as previously reported, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and Internet Protocol Spoofing (IPS) attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing, originating from both within and outside Nigeria,” the Minister disclosed.

Recall that on March 14, 2023, the Office of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy released a Press Statement regarding the activities of the Ministry and its parastatals before, during and after the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“As a follow up to that and in line with the Ministry’s mandate as well as in our efforts aimed at supporting the initiatives of securing the Nigerian cyberspace, the Honourable Minister directed the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure to further enhance the cyberspace surveillance activities of the three cybersecurity Centres of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB),” the statement further read.

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The statement disclosed that based on the Honourable Minister’s directives, the Committee provided close oversight on the activities of the cybersecurity Centres, from Friday 17th March 2023 to Monday 20th March 2023.

The statement further quoted the Minister as saying that the activities of cyber threat actors on Nigerian cyberspace during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections were much lower than those during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“This is neither surprising nor unexpected as, Nigeria being Africa’s largest democracy, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are bound to attract more attention of everyone, including cyber threat actors, than during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections,” the Minister stated.

Recall also that the Committee, inaugurated by the Honourable Minister on the eve of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, was charged with the following responsibilities, among others:

  • Monitoring of Telecommunication Infrastructure for the successful conduct of the 2023 General Elections;
  • Developing and implementing plans to enhance the resilience of critical digital infrastructure against cyber threats;
  • Designing procedures and using technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks, as well as developing the ability to quickly recover from any damage that is done;
  • Developing a comprehensive risk assessment, analysing the nation’s current cybersecurity capabilities, and identifying gaps that need to be addressed; and
  • Providing professional advice to the Government on the effective utilisation of digital technologies in the conduct of the 2023 General Elections.

Prof. Pantami who expressed confidence that the implementation of some recommendations as well as measures taken to fortify Nigeria’s cyber defence mechanisms might have helped in this, reiterated that these attainments would not have been possible without the continued support of President Muhammadu Buhari, in particular, and the administration in general, towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.

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