{"id":98289,"date":"2026-02-22T13:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T16:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/894564159\/2qZYmtYaGApwk883"},"modified":"2026-02-22T13:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T16:37:17","slug":"ministers-tijani-udeh-zinox-boss-ekeh-others-to-attend-enugu-tech-festival-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/22\/ministers-tijani-udeh-zinox-boss-ekeh-others-to-attend-enugu-tech-festival-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Ministers Tijani, Udeh, Zinox boss, Ekeh, others to attend Enugu Tech Festival 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026As Gov Mbah intensifies push for productivity-led economy_<\/strong><\/p>\n

Youth innovators at the weekend won big at the maiden edition of the state backed Enugu Campus Hackathon competition.<\/p>\n

The Campus Hackathon is an innovation platform to consolidate the state\u2019s place as a rising hub for youth-led digital enterprise and venture creation in line with the Enugu State Digital Transformation Strategy.<\/p>\n

An elated Enugu Governor, Dr Peter Mbah who witnessed the grand finale described the campus hackathon as part of his administration\u2019s bold innovation drives to move the state from a consumption-driven economy to a productivity-led economy.<\/p>\n

Speaking during the grand finale, which held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, Mbah described the youths as the heartbeat of knowledge-driven and digital economy.<\/p>\n

In the main category of the hackathon, which was delivered in collaboration with Genesys Tech Hub, The Garage, and Capitis Global Ventures, Growdex, an AI-powered advertising automation platform that enables creators and businesses to create, publish, and optimize ads across multiple channels from a single dashboard, won the star prize of $5,000 in investment grant.<\/p>\n

\n\"Maduka<\/div>\n

Zaddy Express, a tech-enabled logistics and on-demand delivery platform delivering fast, reliable, last-mile solutions for individuals and businesses, came second and won $3,500 investment grant.<\/p>\n

Linia Finance, a fintech platform providing accessible, data-driven credit and financial tools to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, and underserved individuals came third and got US$2,500 investment grant.<\/p>\n

In the DeepTech category powered by the African DeepTech Foundation, Ambu Gynacare, a health-tech startup developing biodegradable sanitary pads made from banana fibers to combat menstrual poverty and reduce plastic waste emerged winner, taking home the sum of US$2,500 in investment grant.<\/p>\n

According to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Economy and MSMEs, Arinze Chilo-Offiah, the winners will in addition to the cash grants, undergo a six-month post-hackathon incubation programme with Genesys Tech Hub, valued at over US$10,000, where they are to gain structured mentorship, product refinement, investor readiness, and scaling support.<\/p>\n

Chilo-Offiah, who doubles as the Director-General of the Enugu State SME Centre, said the focus of the hackathon on universities was deliberate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an incubation programme that goes to the heart of the startup ecosystem, which is our universities. That is where innovation starts,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

He explained that the top 10 teams emerged for the finale after campus rounds and a 10-day intensive boot camp.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Governor Mbah said the Enugu Campus Hackathon was designed to identify and accelerate high-potential technology talents across tertiary institutions in the state.<\/p>\n

He added that Hackathon reflects his administration\u2019s deliberate strategy to build a modern, innovation-driven economy anchored on enterprise, technology and private-sector growth.<\/p>\n

The governor , who was represented by the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, stressed that the administration\u2019s guiding philosophy \u201cis a clear shift from consumption to productivity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEnugu State must move from a consumption-driven structure to a productivity-led economy powered by enterprise, technology and a vibrant private sector. Today, we are not merely providing a platform for competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are architecting systems and institutional frameworks designed to unlock the vast potential of our youth. Our mission is to build a modern economy capable of competing on the global stage,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

Mbah described the initiative as part of a broader investment in what he termed \u201cintellectual infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are redesigning our educational system to produce problem-solvers rather than mere certificate holders. By modernising our curriculum and enabling technology-driven learning, we are preparing our young people for the demands of the future global workplace. This is what we call intellectual infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… in collaboration with Genesys Tech<\/span> Hub, The Garage, … . Zaddy Express, a tech<\/span>-enabled logistics and on- … Ambu Gynacare, a health-tech<\/span> startup developing biodegradable sanitary pads … and accelerate high-potential technology<\/span> talents across tertiary institutions …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98289"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98289\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}