{
  "id": 19729311,
  "title": "Wema Bank awards N300m to 11 tech innovation winners",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/wema-bank-awards-n300m-to-11-tech-innovation-winners-19729311",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-13T00:10:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/wema-bank-awards-n300m-to-11-tech-innovation-winners/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Wema Bank presented N300 million in funding to 11 innovators at the seventh iteration of its Hackaholics innovation program, which aims to foster the creation and commercialization of technology solutions addressing economic and societal issues. The grand finale of Hackaholics 7.0, themed \"Festival of the Future,\" was recently held in Lagos. A bank statement disclosed that the competition received 5,329 participants and generated 1,632 ideas and innovative solutions from seven pitch centers across various Nigerian cities. After a nationwide selection, 59 participants advanced, and 21 finalists were chosen through multiple stages to compete for prizes in four categories: Startup/Ideathon, Social Impact, Women-Led, and Hackathon.\n\nThe top prize, N60 million, was awarded to Tony Nwose, the founder of Niteon, for his agricultural technology solution that links farmers to processors, financial services, and markets. Emmanuel Adeboje of Acceede, in the Startup/Ideathon category, took second place with N40 million for his education-focused innovation. David Lawani of All-Arbitrates placed third, receiving N20 million for his platform aimed at improving access to arbitration and dispute resolution. Kabir Olaosebikan of Craft Planet won the Social Impact category with N40 million for his plastic waste-to-building-materials innovation. Samuel Shonubi of SocialSign came second, with N30 million for his sign language technology solution. Oluwaseyi Akinlolu of Harthio secured third place with N20 million for his mental wellness solution.\n\nIn the Women-Led category, Zainab Boluwatife Adeagbo of MamaAlert won N20 million for her digital healthcare solution, which aims to enhance women's access to timely medical services. Precious Zino of URI took second place with N10 million for her AI-driven marketing solution. Kelvin Nnadi of Neural Forge emerged the winner of the Hackathon category, receiving N30 million for his AI-powered medical diagnostic innovation. David Campbell of Nexa AI received the second position and N20 million for his AI-powered customer intelligence solution. Uti Henry of Vhorde came third with N10 million for his AI-enabled smart glasses, IRIS, designed to help visually impaired people navigate independently.",
  "summary": "Wema Bank has awarded N300 million to 11 winning teams at the seventh edition of its Hackaholics innovation programme to accelerate tech-based solutions. Read More: https://punchng.com/wema-bank-awards-n300m-to-11-tech-innovation-winners/",
  "key_points": [
    "Wema Bank awarded N300 million to 11 tech innovators in Hackaholics 7.0",
    "Tony Nwose won N60 million for agricultural technology solution",
    "Kabir Olaosebikan received N40 million for plastic waste-to-building-materials innovation"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Investing significant capital into diverse technological sectors signals a shift toward using private banking resources to accelerate the commercialization of local solutions for agriculture, healthcare, and social impact.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}