The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled the 2024 Digital Nigeria Innovation Challenge, offering ₦11 million in cash prizes to participants who compete to develop digital maps highlighting Nigeria’s critical infrastructure.
NITDA says that the competition invites innovators across the country to use technology-driven solutions to shape the future of Nigeria’s development, with winners gaining nationwide recognition.
“Teams should aim to create detailed, insightful, and actionable digital maps that can be used by government agencies, startups, and international organizations to better understand the state’s infrastructure landscape”, NITDA announced.
2024 Digital Nigeria Innovation Challenge: An Overview
NITDA highlighted that participants are tasked with generating comprehensive, data-driven digital maps for Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). These maps will focus on key infrastructure areas such as healthcare, education, transportation, utilities, and public services, providing valuable insights for government agencies, startups, and international organizations. The goal is to use technology to address Nigeria’s infrastructure challenges and drive sustainable development.
Teams and Scope of Work
NIDTA says that teams consisting of 2 to 5 members will work together to identify critical infrastructure in their selected states, using tools like Google Maps API, ArcGIS, and QGIS to create interactive digital maps. The maps must be insightful, visually engaging, and designed to inform decision-making for stakeholders. Each team is required to focus on at least one key area, including healthcare facilities, schools, roads, utilities, and public services.
Prizes and Recognition
According to NITDA, the challenge features a two-stage competition: regional and national. Six regional winners will be selected from the North Central, North East, North West, South East, South West, and South South regions, each receiving ₦1 million in prize money. The national competition will follow, where one grand prize winner will receive ₦5 million.
Key Dates
Regional Level Challenge: October 2 – October 11, 2024
National Level Challenge: October 14 – October 18, 2024
National Grand Prize Announcement: October 23, 2024
Teams will have the opportunity to pitch their projects during the Digital Nigeria Innovation Day, and the winning project will be selected based on its potential to shape Nigeria’s infrastructure development.
Eligibility and Participation
NITDA emphasized that the competition is open to Nigerian citizens aged 18 and above. Teams must represent a specific state and are encouraged to combine technical and domain expertise to produce well-rounded solutions. Submissions must adhere to ethical data sourcing practices, and all teams are required to submit their final projects as URLs to interactive digital maps.
Interested participants can register for the 2024 Digital Nigeria Innovation Challenge by visiting https://digitalnigeria.gov.ng/challenge/, NITDA says.
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