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 Naijaonpoint 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.
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:
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.
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.
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.