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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.

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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

North Central

North East

South West

South East

South South

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 27^th and 28^th 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.

“Our agenda for Universal Service Provision is based on the tripod of Availability, Accessibility and Affordability” - Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC)/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, FNSE, who was represented by Kelechi Nwankwo, Head of Strategy and Corporate Performance Monitoring at the USPF Secretariat, has said the strategic activities of the USPF are targeted at ensuring availability of service, accessibility of service and affordability of service which are the constitutive hallmarks of universal access.

The EVC stated this at Calabar, the venue of the South-South Zonal Workshop on ICT Utilisation and Sustainability organized by USPF.

He noted that the workshop was designed to enrich the experience of USPF’s implementing partners (managers) of Community Resource Centres (CRC) and School Knowledge Centres (SKC) State desk officers, teachers, students and other stakeholders interested in deepening ICT penetration.

Prof. Danbatta invited opinion leaders including community leaders, government functionaries, civil societies and tech enthusiasts to align with rural ICT projects that are capable of achieving developmental goals and also addressing the peculiar needs of the beneficiary communities and institutions. His address ignited enthusiasm and determination in the assembly of over 250 youths, representatives of community-based organisations, government officials, media and development workers who gathered in Calabar from 27^th to 28^th September, 2017, for the two-day knowledge-sharing interaction designed to deliver concrete results in the determination to expand the frontiers of ICT penetration and usage among the citizens of Nigeria, irrespective of where they live.

Similarly, the Secretary of USPF, Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu, who was also represented by Adejoke Atte, Principal Manager, Strategy and Corporate Performance Monitoring, amplified the USPF mandate to promote availability of ICT services in rural, unserved and underserved areas, the achievement of which will contribute measurably to the objectives of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG) on telecommunications and ICT.

These objectives are to: develop sufficient, efficient, affordable and critical ICT infrastructure as well as encourage rapid ICT penetration among all socio-economic levels and increase the current coverage of the active mobile broadband subscription per 100 from 20.95 to 50 percent by the Year 2020.

The second day of the workshop was a technology Bootcamp devoted wholly to training and technology transfer on web development, Android App development and Arduino Robotics and Artificial Intelligence also known as Machine Learning. The Bootcamp was a practical session on the application of ICT to enhance agriculture, health, education, early disaster warning, etc.

At the end of the workshop, which was the third in the series planned for all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, the participants created the Calabar Innovation Hub to harness and sustain the gains of the programme.

Registration for the USPF Innovation Changemaker Challenge 2017 has been extended to 28th August, 2017.

For further information, please visit www.uspfchangemaker.ng