Young Nigerian people turn their ideas into projects that help their communities
Through Better Together, a virtual program hosted by Goodwall and Generation Unlimited, participants build skills and gain hope.
Habiba (24), Ojumah (19), and Shinen (25) are interested in applying technology to improve health systems and agriculture, respectively, and also engage children in innovative thinking experiences.
They brought these ideas to BetterTogether, a global and virtual program hosted by Goodwall in partnership with Generation Unlimited.
They pitched their projects and won prizes to start putting those ideas into practice.
Habiba is from Oyo State , South West Nigeria, and gained recognition for her entry for the final #Pitch Challenge focused on telemedicine in Nigeria. She is a medical student and leads a foundation that promotes child and maternal health. She said, "I have a dream of a Nigeria where everyone can have access to affordable and less stressful healthcare.”
She is concerned about hospital saturation and believes technology could help control the crowd and flow of patients while reaching out to more people in their homes. She calls it Flexihealth. For this idea, she claimed a winning prize of $500 from HUS Awards, which is about 1/5th of the proposed budget to fully execute her idea. She, therefore, will use a part of the money to start the research aspect of the project.
"My message to everyone with an idea, no matter how silly it may seem to you, is just put your ideas out there, and you may also be lucky to find people who'd take interest in it and sponsor it. Always believe in your idea!" she says.
Ojumah is from Lagos, Nigeria, and is a passionate entrepreneur focused on creating sustainable solutions to pressing needs in Africa. He was one of the finalists for the final #Pitch Challenge for his idea to revolutionize the farming industry in Africa by enabling both local and industrial farmers to take control of the entire farming process. He stated, "I really loved the experience of engaging with various Goodwallers in sharing experiences and diverse insights to solve problems." Ojumah’s prize was $1000.
Shinen is from Plateau State (Central Nigeria) and is currently serving the country in the NYSC Scheme. He said he had initially participated because he had the goals of pushing himself to the limit in a quest of self-discovery and an exploration of how he could contribute to humanity. With COVID-19 in the way and restrictions from physically achieving these goals, he resorted to hopping on an online platform after learning of the initiative via Ureport Nigeria.
Shinen was the grand prize winner of the final #Pitch Challenge claiming $1,000 from HUS Awards. With this prize, he'll be building a team of like-minded people that collaborates with local schools to set up creative, innovative clubs and connect children with potential sponsors.
The Better Together experience included ten online challenges and weekly and exclusive live sessions with CEOs, mentors, and role models. Participants built skills and gained hope and access to courses, scholarships, jobs, and investments.
