Total splashes N18m on 3 winners of contest

Three young Nigerians emerged the winners of the 2018-2019 Startupper of the Year by Total Challenge in Lagos on Tuesday with each being supported with N6 million for their projects.

The winners were selected by local experts out of 50,000 entries. They are Ogunbanjo Olumide, AgroData Network: AgroData Network promotes organic farming via community-based beekeeping providing farmers with free beehives.

Obaoye Justus, Carido Automobiles Service Technology: Carido is an on-demand automobile service technology which aggregates automobile maintenance demands through mobile devices and thereafter facilitates their fulfilment through select offline services performed by competent and vetted mechanics.

Ijir Aondosoo, My Waste My Energy: My Waste, My Energy converts rice husk waste to energy source and provides a sustainable form of domestic energy, reduces environmental degradation and deaths associated with respiratory diseases as Nigeria records 93,000 deaths annually due to smoke from firewood.

The young entrepreneurs will receive financial support of up to N6m for the first prize to develop their project.

The first prize winner in each country will see their project presented to the international grand juries that will pick the six Grand Winners from all 55 countries.

The winner of the Top Female Entrepreneur award, a new addition to the 2018-2019 Challenge to support women in business, is Omotosho Oghenekevwe, Isabiwork: Isabiwork is an app which helps customers easily locate the nearest artisan or service provider in their location thereby bridging the digital divide between artisans and their potential customers.

The Challenge held simultaneously in 55 countries 37 of which are in Africa, 11 in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, 4 in the Americas, and 3 in Europe.