The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has renewed its push for homegrown technology, urging innovators, investors and industry players to develop digital solutions that respond directly to Nigeria’s challenges.
The call came at the grand finale of the fourth edition of the NCC Hackathon Live Show in Abuja, where three startups received a combined N6 million for developing technology solutions aimed at improving digital access for persons with disabilities.
The two-day event, themed “Technology Without Barriers: Innovative Solutions for Persons with Disabilities,” brought together young developers, entrepreneurs, researchers and other technology stakeholders. Twenty contestants participated in the competition before five finalists advanced to the final stage.
The latest development is significant because the NCC is presenting the hackathon as more than a technology contest. It is also part of a broader attempt to encourage Nigerians to build solutions locally rather than depend heavily on imported technologies.
NCC wants Nigerian innovators to solve local problems
Speaking through the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, NCC officials said technology should be designed around the actual needs of Nigerians, particularly people who continue to experience barriers in accessing digital services.
The commission highlighted challenges affecting persons with disabilities in areas including communication, education, healthcare, employment, emergency services and access to government platforms.
Hellen Obi, Director of the Digital Economy Department at the NCC, said the commission’s interest was in innovations that could remove physical, communication, literacy, income and geographical barriers. Some of the solutions presented during the hackathon included artificial intelligence-powered speech-to-text applications, real-time sign language translation, accessible USSD services, voice-enabled systems and image-to-voice navigation.
The commission also wants the technologies to be practical and affordable. This is particularly important in Nigeria, where expensive devices, limited internet access and uneven connectivity can prevent otherwise useful digital products from reaching the people who need them most.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Aminu Maida, said locally developed assistive technologies could help move Nigeria from being mainly a consumer of foreign software to a country that creates technology suited to its own population. He also linked digital inclusion to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy, arguing that economic growth would be difficult if sections of the population remained excluded from the digital economy.
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Three startups win N6 million at NCC hackathon
At the end of the competition, Sora emerged as the overall winner and received N3 million. Clear Signal came second with N2 million, while Ikor placed third and received N1 million.
Sora, developed by Abdulhaqq Motolani Somoye, is an inclusive job-matching and adaptive skills platform created for persons with disabilities. The platform is designed to connect qualified candidates with employers and government organisations while providing learning opportunities adapted to different forms of disability.
Somoye said the idea was partly influenced by the Federal Government’s policy requiring government organisations to allocate at least five per cent of their workforce to persons with disabilities. He explained that many conventional recruitment platforms were not sufficiently accessible, prompting his team to develop a dedicated alternative. The team is also working with disability organisations towards a system for verifying users, starting in Abuja.
Clear Signal, founded by Stephanie Nwangwu, developed a notification platform that allows blind, visually impaired, deaf and hard-of-hearing electricity consumers to receive information about power outages through accessible channels.
Ikor, developed by Victor Akpan, focuses on AI-powered voice dictation and writing assistance. Its aim is to reduce barriers associated with physical typing, expensive assistive hardware and high internet requirements.
Also Read: NITDA Urges Nigerian Government Agencies to Prioritise Homegrown Technology Solutions
Back story: From technology competition to digital inclusion
The NCC’s fourth hackathon reflects a growing interest in using technology to address problems that are often overlooked by mainstream digital products.
Twenty solutions were presented during the initial phase, covering areas such as healthcare, education, emergency communication, electricity, employment and digital commerce. Among the ideas were ADITUS, which proposed USSD and SMS access to the 112 emergency service for people unable to make voice calls, and SignBridge AI, which seeks to improve communication between deaf patients and healthcare providers.
For the NCC, however, winning a competition is only the beginning. The commission has called on telecommunications operators, venture capitalists, investors and other private-sector organisations to help promising startups move from prototypes to commercially viable products.
MTN Nigeria has indicated interest in supporting startups emerging from the programme, while the NCC said it would follow up with stakeholders including the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry responsible for innovation and technology to explore further opportunities for the innovators.
The bigger question now is whether these ideas can move beyond Abuja’s hackathon stage and become affordable technologies used by Nigerians across the country. For Nigeria’s local technology ecosystem, that may ultimately be a more important measure of success than the N6 million prize itself.
