Kwara State Government’s Ilorin Innovation Hub will on January 28 and 29, 2023 hold an e-Government Hackathon targeted at further identifying and helping young techies in the state, a statement said.

Managing Director of Ilorin Innovation Hub Temi Kolawole said in the statement that the programme will hold at the Kwara State Banquet Hall in Ilorin, the capital city.

He said that participants adjudged to be exceptional at the programme will win various prizes totalling N10m.

“The event is geared towards solving common problems within government using technology. The Kwara State Government is giving all its young people an opportunity to become part of the development process and proffer solutions that the government can adopt,” the statement added.

“The goal of the event is to come up with at least five working solutions that can be deployed immediately and put to use by various arms of government within and outside Kwara State.

“Some of the partners for the event are UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), IHS Towers, MTN, Interswitch, the Centre for Digital Economy (KWASU) and Kwara Build. More partners and sponsors are expected and will be announced soon.

“As this is the first event of its kind by a state government in Nigeria, we want to kickstart youth participation in government and encourage them that the digital skills they are acquiring can be used to make the lives of Kwarans better. The administration of His Excellency AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is committed to empowering young people with digital skills that can create a sustainable future and open opportunities for them globally.

“The two-day event will be opened by the Director General of NITDA Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi with keynote speeches by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, Vice President of IHS Towers Kazeem Oladepo, and Justina Ohia Country Manager of the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub. The hackathon will start after the opening session and run for the next two days.

“The participants will then do their demos and winners will be selected for the Gala and Awards ceremony shortly after. Over ten million Naira worth of prizes are to be won.

“To register to either attend as a guest or to compete in the hackathon, please visit https://bit.ly/EGovHackathon. For more details and information, please contact the Ilorin Innovation Hub at contact@iih.ng.”