A team of Nigerian female teenagers on Thursday emerged winners of the 2018 Technovation World Pitch in California, United States. The team, Save-A-Soul, developed a mobile application called ‘FD Detector’ to tackle the problem of fake pharmaceutical products in the country.
They were selected from 2,000 mobile app developers to represent Africa at the world pitch. The Nigerian girls defeated teams from the United States, Spain, Turkey, Uzbekistan and China to become the first Nigerian team to win the competition.
Nigeria’s acting president Yemi Osinbajo applauded them. “These young ladies in Junior Secondary School developed a mobile application called ‘FD Detector’ to tackle the problems of fake pharmaceutical products in Nigeria. Yesterday, they won the 2018 Technovation World Pitch in California. Congratulations! We are very proud of you,” Osinbajo tweeted.
These young ladies in Junior Secondary School, developed a mobile application called 'FD Detector' to tackle the problems of fake pharmaceutical products in Nigeria.
Yesterday, they won the 2018 Technovation World Pitch in California.
Congratulations! We are very proud of you. pic.twitter.com/SFFVvP88JB
— Prof Yemi Osinbajo (@ProfOsinbajo) August 10, 2018
The teenage girls from Anambra State will be pitching their app to investors in the Silicon Valley. The team argue that Nigeria has the largest market for fake drugs, and they plan to partner with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), using the app, to tackle this challenge.
Technovation is a program that invites girls to identify a problem in their communities and then challenge them to solve them by developing apps.
It offers girls around the world the opportunity to learn the skills they need to emerge as tech entrepreneurs and leaders. Every year we invite girls to identify a problem in their community, and then challenge them to solve it.
Girls work in teams to build both a mobile app and a business plan to launch that app, supported by mentors and guided by our curriculum.
Technovation’s curriculum takes students through 4 stages of launching a mobile app startup, inspired by the principles of design thinking.
In a related development, a social enterprise named Girlcode, aimed at empowering young girls and women through technology has announced the national winners of its 5th annual Hackathon.
