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May 29, 2025

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News

Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami

USPF Collaborates with other Agencies at Virtual Commissioning of Digital Economy Projects

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, in the last couple of weeks and in 4 different phases, has virtually commissioned various completed projects of the agencies under the Ministry.

The projects executed by agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy namely Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Galaxy Backbone, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) are all connected to Nigeria’s digital economy drive as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

This according to the Minister, are projects connected to some pillars of the NDEPS, especially with respect to developmental regulation, digital literacy and skills, solid infrastructure, among others. The beneficiaries of these projects executed under President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, administration are the Nigerian citizens whose usage of ICT will boost the economic development in the country.

The Secretary of the USPF, Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu who also doubled as the Chairman of the Ministerial Committee on Project Review and Commissioning, welcomed the distinguished guests that included the Governors of Borno, Imo, Gombe and Jigawa States as well as the Ministers of Finance, Budget & National Planning, Works and Housing, Information and Culture, Interior, Education (State), Mines and Power (State), Aviation, Industry, Trade and Investment.

Shuaibu also appreciated the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry and their Directors; Board and Management Staff of the agencies under the Ministry, gentlemen of the press among others.

The USPF projects commissioned by the Minister are the Tertiary Institution Knowledge Center (TIKC) Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo; the Tertiary Institution Knowledge Center (TIKC) Delta State University Abaraka, Delta State and the School Knowledge Center (SKC) Government Day Secondary School Hassan Central, Gombe State.

Other commissioned projects include, the e-Library Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi, Kano State; e-Accessibility Center Government School for the Deaf, Malumfashi, Katsina State and the School Knowledge Center (SKC) A.U.D High School Ikole-Ekiti, Ekiti State.


Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami

Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Danbatta

L-R: Executive-Vice Chairman, NCC Prof. Umar Danbatta chatting with Secretary, USPF Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu.

Secretary, USPF/Chairman, Ministerial Committee on Projects Reviews and Commissioning, Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu.

L-R: Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, Secretary, USPF Ayuba Shuaibu and Executive-Vice Chairman, NCC Prof. Umar Danbatta

L-R: Executive-Vice Chairman, NCC Prof. Umar Danbatta; Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba; Governor of Imo State Hope Uzodinma; Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami and Minister of Information & Culture, Lai Muhammed, during the virtual commissioning of 11 ICT Projects located across the country which were executed by agencies under the Ministry in Abuja on Tuesday, August 11, 2020.

Team Food Prime and Team BC Scan emerge winners at the USPF Changemaker Challenge 2019

The USPF Changemaker Challenge 2019 is a Hackathon event to encourage startups and investors to create applications and services to deepen ICT solutions in the country particularly in the unserved and under-served areas.

The competition held in the Southern (Lagos) and Northern (Kano) zones of Nigeria and was facilitated by Surez Global Resources Ltd as well as Everly United Associates Limited respectively. It brought together software developers, data scientist, student and other ICT experts to create fully working prototypes of their ICT solutions capable of deepening ICT penetration in the country.

This 4th edition of the nationwide competition with the theme “A Break from the Norm – Advancing Humanity through Technology” had 5 Tech Solution Categorization namely; Artificial Intelligence, FinTech, Disaster & Emergency Management, Digital Transformation & Automation and Business Intelligence & Analytics.

The pitch presentations were judged based on the following criteria; Idea/Innovation, Presentation, Technology Stack, Market Viability, Scalability, Quality of the Team and Alignment with the USPF initiatives.

Prize money was won by the 10 teams that participated in the competition in the zones as follows; N1, 000, 000 (1st Prize), N750, 000 (2nd Prize), N500, 000 (3rd Prize) and a consolation prize of N150, 000 for the remaining teams. In addition, the top 3 winners will go for incubation and entrepreneurship training as well as have access to investors.

In his opening remarks, the Secretary of the Universal Service Provision Secretariat, Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu who was represented by the Head, Strategy & Corporate Performance Monitoring, Dr. Olubunmi Bamijoko stated that the objective of USPF Changemaker challenge is to provide a platform for ICT start-ups to create fully working prototypes of ICT solutions capable of deepening ICT penetration in Nigeria while creating employment for the young ICT entrepreneurs.  He expressed appreciation to the judges, mentors and participants at the event and emphasized that the prize money and consolation prizes are not only what would be won, but the incubation of the great ideas after the hackathon.

Team Food Prime won the 1st prize at the Lagos event and their ICT solution entails an electronic smart device solution that increases farmer’s yield by reducing losses and damages caused by pest using sensors, perimeter detectors, counter-sound etc. While, the Kano event 1st Prize went to Team BC Scan for pitching a breast cancer detection device using a chip in brassieres.

All the teams were adjudged winners for their innovative ICT solutions and advised to remain focused and pursue their ideas. More information on www.uspfchangemaker2019.ng

HSCPM Speech
Head, Strategy & Corporate Performance Monitoring, Dr. Olubunmi Bamijoko delivering the opening remarks for the Secretary USPF, Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu
Winners - Team Food Prime
Team Food Prime (middle), winners of the Lagos USPF Changemaker Challenge 2019 with staff of USPF, Judges and the Hackaton facilitator
Winners Kano - Team BC Scan
Team BC Scan (middle), winners of the Kano USPF Changemaker Challenge 2019 with staff of USPF and the Judges

The USPF Changemaker Challenge 2019

Following the USPF Management approval for Innovative ICT Solutions and Enterpreneuship Development, interested participants are hereby reminded that adverts for the 2019 event are already in the print media and the portal for event registration has been activated accordingly. Please visit the link below for more:

https://uspfchangemaker2019.ng/

Finals Of The USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017

The finals of the Universal Provision Fund (USPF) Changemaker Challenge 2017 was held at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos State on Saturday 28th October, 2017 following the emergence of 10 finalists who emerged from the initial 30 teams that contested the Semi Finals on Friday 27th October, 2017.

The USPF Changemaker Challenge is a nationwide competition opened to young aspiring innovators, software developers, techpreneurs and other ICT enthusiasts from the six (6) geographical zones of Nigeria. The major objective of the competition is to identify young talents offering modern ICT ideas and solutions that can be used to tackle a selection of identified problems based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they apply to Nigeria and offer solutions accordingly. Consequently, the contestants are given a golden opportunity for various sponsorship deals and also mentorship by some of the finest ICT professionals the industry has to offer as this will guarantee the success of various identified smart ideas and innovations in ICT.

A total of thirty (30) teams, five (5) from each of the six (6) geopolitical zones of Nigeria, comprising two (2) to four (4) team members, showcased their applications and software which cuts across major sectors of the economy ranging from Agriculture, Health, Education, E-Government, E-Commerce, Cyber Security, Environment, amongst others, in the Semi Finals and Finals of the event in Lagos.

Out of the thirty (30) Semi Finalists that contested, ten (10) teams made it to the Finals after an extensive battle whereby the three (3) best teams emerged to claim various prizes plus acceptance into incubation programme.

The three winning teams are:

1st Position = NICADEMIA (A video platform that offers over 200 Animations in seven (7) Nigerian local dialects that help children learn more about Western/African Education, History, Culture, etc.)

2nd Position = JIGGLE (An innovative platform that provides students in Tertiary Institutions 3 square meals daily through the purchase of 3 available Jiggle plans which in turn generates meal credits.

3rd Position = KANO MAGENTA (A mobile/web application for ordering water from local vendors popularly known as "Garuwas", additionally the Garuwa application can help report leakages and also sanitize water)

Please visit www.uspfchangemaker.ng for more information.

Picture Gallery:

    

         

         

 

 

Announcement Of Regional Pre-qualification For The National Finals

The USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017 is pleased to announce the prequalification of 5 (five) entries from each of the 6 (six) geopolitical regions for the National Finals of the competition. The submitted entries from each region were assessed based on the following criteria:

  • Originality of the Idea (Concept and Audacity);
  • Level of Innovation (Logic and Thought Process Demonstrated);
  • Local Content (Applicability to the Local Market);
  • Pitch Quality and Impact (Presentation and Communication of Concept);
  • Documentation and Video (Quality of Submitted Material).

The prequalified teams for each region are as follows:

North West

S/N

Team Name

Category   Specified

1

Corper Meet

Communications, Quality of Service

2

Kano Magenta

Environment

3

Young Innovators

e-Government

4

MTGSTC KANO

e-Government

5

TechGirl

Girls4Tech

North Central

S/N

Team Name

Category   Specified

1

Team Unity

e-Government

2

Impact Gs

e-Commerce

3

iTOOknow

Education

4

MyPikin

Disease Destroyer Games

5

team UJAB

Education

North East

S/N

Team Name

Category   Specified

1

Team Kasu'a

e-Commerce

2

Developers Crew

e-Commerce

3

Bright Minds

Education

4

ChangeSphare

National Security

5

Queue-Verse Systems LTD

e-Commerce

 

South West

S/N

Team Name

Category   Specified

1

Team Belle

Health/Lifestyle

2

Team UpNepa

Communications,   Quality of Service

3

DoctorsOfficeNg

Health/Lifestyle

4

Loystar

e-Commerce

5

GeoWeb   Solutions

e-Government

South East

S/N

Team Name

Category   Specified

1

UWE

e-Commerce

2

SafeMe

National Security

3

Imagination Over Flow

Agriculture

4

TEAM EAGLES

Environment

5

NICADEMIA

Education

 

South South

S/N

Team Name

Category   Specified

1

DreamTeam

Education

2

The MUDIA project

Education

3

Team SCEPH

Agriculture

4

Jiggle

e-Commerce

5

Academix

Education

Congratulations to the prequalified teams, who have already been contacted by the USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017 Team with invitations to the National Finals and instructions on next steps.

For the entries that did not prequalify from their respective regions, we would like to encourage them to refine and upgrade their solutions, as well as to continue to innovate. Truly innovative solutions will invariably attract opportunities for investment, mentorship, and eventual success.

All entrants who will be in Lagos or its environs on the 27th and 28th of October 2017, and are interested in attending the National Finals, are welcome to attend as spectators. Please note that the refund of transportation only applies to prequalified teams.

Thank you to all entrants for participating in the USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017, and we wish you all continued success for the future.

Look out for update and details of the solutions in this space.

  1. The EVC Reiterates In Calabar Agenda For Universal Access/Service In Nigeria
  2. Extension Of Registration For The USPF Innovation Changemaker 2017
  3. Registration Has Commenced For USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017!!!
  4. Nigeria @ ITU Telecom World 2016, Bangkok-Thailand

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Projects At A Glance

image/svg+xml NW NE NC SW SE SS

Clusters of ICT Gap

Important Links

Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF)
Nigerian Communications Commission Head Office Building,
Plot 423, Aguiyi Ironsi Street,
Maitama, Abuja,
Federal Capital Territory,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Telephone: +234 209 4617446
Email:

  • The Federal Ministry Of
    Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy
  • Nigerian Communications
    Commission (NCC)
  • National Information Technology
    Development Agency (NITDA)
  • Digital Bridge Institute
  • Payment Channel (Remita)

Universal Service Provision Fund

Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF)
Nigerian Communications Commission Head Office Building,
Plot 423, Aguiyi Ironsi Street,
Maitama, Abuja,
Federal Capital Territory,
Federal Republic of Nigeria
Telephone: +234 209 4617446
Email:

Important Links

  • The Federal Ministry Of
    Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy
  • Nigerian Communications
    Commission (NCC)
  • National Information Technology
    Development Agency (NITDA)
  • Digital Bridge Institute
  • Payment Channel (Remita)

Universal Service Provision Fund