Addressing policymakers, innovators, and educators, Dr Afolabi stressed the urgent need for collaboration between innovation and governance. “Look at how these technologies will come together again to help shape the world we live in, and, of course, help drive innovation,” he said.

He noted the scale of the challenge: “Lagos State has 10% of Nigeria’s population on just 3% of its land mass. For food security, we need to ensure that we’re thinking of smarter ways using technology to change the way we live.”

Dr Afolabi drew attention to the transformative potential of technology across multiple sectors. “Imagine the same in e-commerce. Imagine the same in manufacturing, power, healthcare, robotics, and agriculture. These are the things that will transform our state,” he said. 

He also pointed to innovations showcased at the event, including electric bikes, tricycles, precision farming, and vertical farming solutions, emphasising the role of practical solutions in urban sustainability.

The Eko Innovation Centre founder stressed the importance of workforce development: “We need to upskill our people, which is our biggest asset, get the policymakers to put the policies in place, and get the ecosystem people who are doing business to do their work, and the magic is going to happen.”

Dr Afolabi also placed Lagos in a global context, warning of urbanisation trends: “The next 50 years will see 80% of people living in global cities. Lagos must be ready.” 

He framed the city as an economic hub, currently among the top seven largest GDPs in Africa, and also as a future leader in innovation and technology.

The event also engaged over a thousand youths in future-ready courses and provided a platform for educators and innovators to explore solutions for a sustainable Lagos. 

At AOT Lagos 7.0, Dr Afolabi concluded by urging attendees to actively participate in building the city’s technological and economic future.

This year’s theme, “Experience Ignited: Fueling the Consumer Journey,” promises to explore the transformative power of technology in reshaping how brands connect with consumers.

MarkHack 4.0 is set to immerse startups in innovative solutions across immersive realities, digital storytelling, event innovation, gamification and phygital commerce, paving the way for the future of marketing and consumer engagement.

Victor Afolabi, CEO of GDM Group and Eko Innovation Centre, expressed the vision behind this event:

“MarkHack 4.0 calls on marketing professionals and innovators to embrace tech-driven evolution for impactful storytelling, elevating the consumer journey and engagement. Our platform unites brilliant minds every year to redefine how brands connect with audiences, setting new benchmarks for tech-driven marketing.”

From its early days as a growth-focused hackathon at MarkHack 1.0, this dynamic initiative has evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of the industry.

Today, MarkHack is more than just a platform for pitching ideas—it’s a full-scale conference that brings together established startups with proven products, market traction, and revenue generation, all under one roof.

The conference is set to take place on  Friday, 23rd May 2025, at the Landmark Event Center, VI, Lagos, MarkHack 4.0 will also host exhibitions showcasing the latest innovations and networking opportunities that bring together thought leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs from across the industry.

MarkHack 4.0 redefines the way startups innovate and scale, offering a comprehensive platform that combines immersive education, strategic pitching, and the excitement of a hackathon—all designed to drive real-world impact in media, marketing and technology.

A stellar lineup of sponsors, jurors, and speakers, including visionary leaders in media, marketing and technology, renowned techpreneurs shaping the digital landscape, and key industry players offering expert insights into the future of marketing.

MarkHack is a conference where media, marketing & tech professionals, policymakers, investors, tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and creatives, converge to shape the future of media, marketing & technology. Registration is now open! Visit markhack.tech for more information.

Be inspired. Be innovative. Be part of MarkHack 4.0.

MarkHack 3.0 is tagged “BEYOND LIMITS – Unleashing Creativity with Emerging Tech”.

MarkHack 3.0 will bring together the brightest minds in deep tech, artificial intelligence, blockchain and e-commerce industries to develop innovative solutions to real-time marketing and media challenges.

Victor Afolabi, CEO and Founder of GDM Group and Eko Innovation Centre and Curator of MarkHack stated that Deep Technology is the next big thing in marketing and media due to the constant evolvement of the industries.

He said, “The marketing and media landscape is in a perpetual state of evolution, marked by the continuous emergence of novel technologies and strategies; As such, businesses and organizations face the imperative of staying at the forefront, comprehending the intricacies of effectively reaching and engaging their target audience with deep tech”.

The MarkHack curator further emphasized that recognizing this need for adaptability and innovation was the bane for debuting MarkHack, to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, marketing professionals, disruptors and corporate bodies to create solutions to real-life marketing challenges in an intense period of 3 months, using creativity, technology, mentoring, resulting in prototypes, fresh new concepts, and innovative usages of tech for marketing and media.

Markhack 3.0. will run for 3 months and feature a launch event, pitch sessions, workshops, masterclasses, and mentorship sessions to help participants develop their skills and provide them with the resources they need to turn their ideas into market-ready products.

Finalists will have a chance to join an accelerator program with up to $10,000 equity investment and a chance to be mentored by industry experts for 3 months.

Visit the website for more information, click here.

Victor Afolabi, the curator of MarkHack and Founder of Eko Innovation Center and Art of Technology Lagos, disclosed this at the grand finale of the event in Lagos, Nigeria, where the three months of innovative pitch sessions, workshops, masterclasses and mentorship sessions aimed at helping participants develop skills and provide them with the resources needed to transform their ideas into market-ready products, climaxed with the emergence of Aremu as the winner of MarkHack 2.0.

Mentorship and free working space at the Eko Innovation Center and other consolation prizes also await the other finalists. 

Aremu, a robo-marketing tool that helps businesses run experiments to improve their product metric and conversion rate, beat nine (9) other startups to clinch the grand prize of $5,000 at the grand finale of the event in Lagos, Nigeria.

Ozi, a web application that helps businesses acquire, engage and manage customer conversions all from one place emerged as the first runner-up, carting away the sum of $3000 while Zander, a web-enabled and user-customized response AI tool for automating social media marketing/management and all brand campaign processes emerged as the second runner-up with a prize of $2000.

Tosin Adelowo, co-founder of Aremu stated that the win serves as a validation of the enormous potential in Nigeria’s creative sector, and commended Eko Innovation Center for the MarkHack platform.

“Indeed, this win is a validation that team Aremu can bring this great idea and vision to life with the potential of becoming a global brand in a few years”,

Mr. Adelowo remarked.

He further expressed appreciation to the organizers of MarkHack for creating the platform that provides an opportunity for new ideas to be birthed in the creative space. 

Azeez Adejumo, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ozi.ng, the second prize winner lauded the Eko Innovation Centre for promoting a culture of excellence in the discovery of new talents and ideas that will shape the future.

“Getting into incubator programs has not been easy for us as entrepreneurs in Nigeria; however, MarkHack has set a pace by opening the doors of opportunity for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas on a level playing field and get mentorship on how to scale their businesses”,  

Adejumo said. 

Themed ‘Unlocking the Power of the Creative Economy’, with focus areas on Immersive Experience (XR), Content Creation and Robo Marketing, MarkHack 2.0 is the second edition of Nigeria’s first and biggest marketing and media hackathon, MarkHack, curated by GDM Group and Eko Innovation Center. It climaxed on a disruptive note with 10 startups engaging in an innovative pitch contest of ideas before industry experts.

The top 10 startups that spiced up the evening with their innovative pitch sessions were Aremu; Ozi; Zander; Weeshr; Markett AI; VirtualX; Contenting; Shopalz; ShopXR and GetSeen.

The event gathered innovators, techies, entrepreneurs, policymakers, media mavens, marketing professionals and corporate moguls who collaborated to create innovative solutions to real-time marketing and media challenges.

It was characterized by igniting imaginations, unleashing tech’s potential, crafting creative marvels, illuminating the media sphere and revolutionizing innovation.

It was an unforgettable evening of discovery, collaboration and boundless excitement. The event’s second edition recorded over 1,365 applications from 92 locations across Europe, Asia and Africa, all of which were judged by 22 industry experts.

GDM Group, the curator of MarkHack is a leading marketing and media technology company renowned for bespoke service offerings ranging from marketing tech solutions, big data management and 360 integrated marketing services.

With MarkHack 2.0, GDM Group and Eko Innovation Center have yet again reaffirmed their purpose of supporting enterprises by leveraging innovation and technology at the heart of businesses.

The SecureHack 1.0 Finale is set to be an unparalleled spectacle, showcasing groundbreaking innovation with top-selected teams vying for the take-home prize.  

SecureHack 1.0 Finale will showcase unprecedented innovation with top-selected teams vying for the take-home prize.

The hackathon, which was launched in February, garnered over 400 registrations from participants to form 100+ teams from 62 locations in 4 countries and across 2 continents. The launch was well attended by innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and security professionals, while many others across the world joined the event virtually.

The teams were split into groups of four and were required to work together for 3 weeks, brainstorming and ideating new concepts based on their focus areas which include cybersecurity, physical security, and biosecurity.

Each team went on to pitch their ideas to a respected jury of experts in the subject matter, and the best teams were selected. The array of mentors and jurors is composed of renowned experts in the hackathon focus areas who are participating in the event and are the industry’s best with decades of experience in cyber security, biosecurity, and physical security.

The best teams with the most viable concepts will go head-to-head at the finale on 15th April for a chance at the ₦2,000,000 prize pool and an acceleration program investment to get their products ready for the market among other benefits.

How to witness the grand finale:

You can now see reasons to secure your spot at the event by registering at securehack.tech/finale taking place on the 15th of April 2023.

Eko Innovation Centre is one of the leading tech hubs in Nigeria, curating events like Art of Technology Lagos, and The Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon amongst others.

Together with the Lagos State Government, the economic and technological core of Nigeria, Eko Innovation Centre, one of the leading tech hubs in Nigeria, is organizing the conference.

Eko Innovation Centre is responsible for organizing events such as MarkHack, the Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon, EkoClimathon, and Security hackathon

Talent Acceleration will be the primary emphasis of AOT 4.0, with a ten-year plan developed to increase the talent acceleration pipeline to ensure the sustainability of talent and, hence, the delivery of a Smarter Lagos.

At AOT 4.0, the Tech Ecosystem Award will be presented for the first time to recognize the efforts of individuals, groups, and businesses that have contributed significantly to the expansion and improvement of Nigeria’s technology sector. There were five main categories and twenty minor ones for nominations.

The award nomination voting ended on November 15, 2022, with over twenty thousand (20,000) votes cast across all categories. The winners will be revealed and acknowledged during the Gala and Awards Night, which is slated for December 9th, 2022.

In keeping with this year’s conference theme, the conference committee, led by the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Innovation and Strategy, went on a Hub Tour to educate startup founders on the importance of promoting policies that benefit the ecosystem and to extend an invitation to attend the conference. Co-Creation Hub, Impact Hub, Hub One, and Nest Hub were among the hubs visited

The AOT 4.0 will hold at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 8th and 9th, and will feature thirteen (13) plenary speakers, three (3) guest speakers, five (5) keynote speakers, and more than thirty-five thousand (35,000) registered participants from all sectors of the technology industry, including policymakers, enthusiasts, ecosystem players, investors, business founders and executives, venture capital firms, startups, and technology talent.

To be a part of the event, click on the link to register Here

A startup, according to the Act, is “a firm that has been in operation for no more than ten (10) years and whose aims include the invention, innovation, production, development, or adoption of a new digital technology creative product, service, or method.”

Interpretatively, the act aims to provide a legal and institutional framework for Nigerian startups, as well as an enabling environment for their establishment, development, and operation.

The Lagos State Government has organized a policy review workshop in an effort to implement the Act’s policies for the state’s growth.

The workshop, which was held on Friday, October 11, 2022, at Eko Innovation Centre, brought together startup founders, tech experts, innovators, and enthusiasts to join the state government in domesticating the policies in the Nigerian Startup Act.

The event led to the establishment of Knowledge, Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (KITE) Project which will equitably localise the Act.

The KITE project is expected to significantly contribute to Nigeria’s economic development and position Lagos State as the hub for innovation in Nigeria. Also, as the state is becoming a popular location for technology investors and entrepreneurs, it will enable the state to further push its technology and innovation agenda.

It will begin in Yaba, which will serve as a medium for the government and private sector to create an ICT cluster. Yaba is known as the bedrock of internet-enabled businesses, with over 60 startups and active venture capital firms in residence. It is also a thriving centre for innovation in Nigeria.

By 2030, the Yaba KITE cluster is expected to be Africa’s main source of transformational solutions, propelling the continent’s socio-economic progress via technological leadership, disruptive innovation, and high-quality stem talent. Access to financing, advocacy and marketing, research and development, network and cooperation, talent, skills, education, infrastructure, policy, regulation, and governance are also goals of the KITE initiative.

According to the workshop anchor, Mr Wale Adelaja, the workshop was organised to allow the private sector and government agencies to review the policies established in the KITE project. “For an ICT business, cluster, or ecosystem to be sustainable, policies to support its longevity are required,” he said.

Hon. Olanrewaju Suleiman Afinni, Head of the House Committee on Science and Technology, at the event, urged the private sector stakeholders to look over the law and make it as complete as possible so that it doesn’t need to be changed often.

On her part, Tracy Okoro, one of the private stakeholders who championed the Nigerian Startup Act movement, acknowledged that the NSA2022 is the result of people’s desire for change and it succeeded because a group of young people came together to champion the move.

Her words, “We have a volunteer group of over 800 people who drove this from beginning to end without demanding payment. The Act is significant for connecting the government with the business sector.”

During the workshop, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Innovation and Technology, Mr. Tunbosun Alake, said the NSA2022 regulations will assist startups in registering quicker, and obtaining permits faster, thereby boosting the ease of doing business.

“To drive the ecosystem and boost innovation, each state throughout the federation needs to adopt distinct legislation that will help foster and deepen startup activity.

“Lagos’ startup policy structure has been in development for some time before the Act. The regulations will assist startups in registering quicker, obtaining permits faster, and easing business for commercial organisations classified as startups.

“It is critical for entrepreneurs in the ecosystem to participate in the workshop review to have an impact on the state legislation being drafted. The KITE project is like Silicon Valley in that it will be a state-wide initiative that will create ICT clusters, which will promote innovation throughout the state and benefit the nation’s economy,” Alake enthused.

Startup founders, innovators, and other workshop attendees participated in a break-out session to share their thoughts on the policies discussed as a government representative listened in and took notes and feedback.

The session was interactive, as the workshop served as a forum for attendees to voice concerns and receive answers to pressing issues.

The conference brings together technology industry stakeholders, policymakers, enthusiasts, ecosystem players, investors, business founders and executives, venture capital firms, startups, and technology talents to create policies that will drive the development of a smarter Lagos.

The conference which has had an accumulated number of over 29,000 participants since its inception ranging from startups to investors to tech founders is set to raise the bar for its fourth edition scheduled to hold in December 2022.

AOT 1.0 gave birth to the Lagos Innovation Master Plan – an innovation strategy and tactical plan that sought to transform Lagos into a smart city through technology.

AOT 2.0 saw the launch of Startup Lagos & Eko Opensource, an innovative information portal that sought to deliver critical insights into the technology startup ecosystem and a platform that serves as a bridge for private sector developers to solve governmental technology challenges.

AOT 3.0 engaged founders and policymakers to highlight challenges with attracting funding and create enabling policies to increase the attractiveness of startups to investors. AOT 3.0 also saw over sixty million naira awarded to innovative startups and R&D projects nestled in Lagos Universities.

This year, AOT 4.0 will be focusing on development, retainment, and employability of talent for the future-of-work economy.

The remodeling of our education curriculum in order to change learning paradigms and contribute to policies that foster an enabling environment to produce and retain the talent that will drive the future.

The theme of AOT 4.0 is Talent Acceleration and a Smarter Lagos, and is set for the 8th and 9th of December at the LandMark Event Centre in Lagos.

Participation in AOT Lagos 4.0 is free but you are required to pre-register Here.

The Twenty media professionals were selected across the country for the maiden Media Innovation Programme by MTN Nigeria in partnership with the School of Media and Communications (SMC), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU).

The six-month fully funded fellowship is for innovative storytellers and media leaders that will equip them with new skills needed to function in the rapidly changing media world.

The MTN Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP) began on May 23, 2022 and will run until October 28, 2022.

As part of activities for week-four, we set out on a visit, to learn from innovative minds at Eko Innovation Centre.

Opening the doors to us, Destiny Agbanimu, the Head, Funding, and Partnerships at Eko Innovation Centre, said the EIC draws its strength from ‘supporting enterprises leveraging innovation and technology at the core of their businesses’.

He said EIC is ‘passionate about the growth and development of Startups and entrepreneurship in Nigeria, grooming them to become global challengers, and help boost the economic revival of Africa’.

“We see all possible ways to provide solutions to most pressing problems in Africa. We are focused on the African Union Agenda 2063, which is very important to us; and also the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We focused on Goals 1,4,8 &13, which talked about fighting poverty through quality education and combating climate change; and how we can reduce the emission of carbon into the atmosphere. And they say that innovation is the next disruption. Innovation is the big thing. Everybody now is thinking about how to infuse innovations to do things differently, in a drastic, interesting and creative manner. And I will say again, welcome to Eko Innovation Centre; we are so happy to have you.

Why we are here:

Leading the MTN MIP Fellows to EIC, Mr. Isaac – Ogugua Ezechukwu, the Director, Professional Programmes, School of Media and Communications (SMC), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), explained, thus:

“We are from the School of Media and Communications (SMC) at Pan-Atlantic University, and are glad to be here. The team comprises of MTN MIP Fellows; these are vibrant Nigerian journalists from both mainstream and new media.

“Why are we interested in coming here? The primary reason for our coming to Eko Innovation Centre is to put theories to practices when are discussing innovation. The word innovation, sometimes, looks abstract. Sometimes, you want to see what have been achieved as a concept. So, how do we fuse innovation into media practices; from thinking to reality?

“We are here to see how Eko Innovation Centre (EIC) has been doing it within the period of its existence so that the whole aims of the training can be achieved. Therefore, we are here with open minds to learn.

The Future of Media: The Role of Innovation and Technology

Mr. Victor ‘Gbenga Afolabi, the Founder of Eko Innovation Centre, was happy receiving the team.

His presentation focused on ‘The Future of Media: The Role of Innovation and Technology’. He was the right man to handle that topic and I will tell you why:

Victor Gbenga Afolabi is a passionate and visionary leader who has in the last 20 years not only displayed and demonstrated an exceptional knack for turning businesses around, but has also sustainably birthed several business ventures with an unbroken chain of top and bottom line growth across multi-disciplinary industries.

A consummate venture capitalist , Tech Enthusiast and business curator , Victor has the innate ability to create energised and consumer centric culture of continuous improvement, innovation and creative but tailored strategies to ultimately position companies to hit the competitive landscape running, ultimately growing market share consistently whilst sustainably improving bottom line profits.

With people management and talent development at the forefront of his core strategy.

Victor Gbenga Afolabi doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Hazon Holdings, a diversified business Holding Company.

V’GA holds a bachelor of Pharmacy degree from ABU, Zaria, Master’s degree in Managerial Psychology from the University of Ibadan, an MBA from Alliance Business School, Manchester University, UK, and an alumina of the Lagos Business School.

He is an Acumen Partner and also a member of several Professional bodies and recipient of many awards.

He spearheaded the team that organized first Marketing and Media Hackathon in Nigeria codenamed MarkHack.

With over 500 individuals registered participants in the hackathon and heavy artillery of industry leaders as speakers, mentors and judges, MarkHack 1.0 gathered innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, Marketing, and Media Professionals, for an intense period of time leveraging creativity, technology, and mentoring to create prototypes, fresh new concepts, and innovative usage of tech in Marketing and Media.

With that experience and as a consummate media and marketing personality, V’GA delved into the presentation:

Digital disruption

He reminded the MTN MIP Fellows that digital disruption is changing the way media is funded, produced, and consumed. There is no gainsaying the three keywords (highlighted) define the existence of any media platform.

Therefore, media practitioners must lean into the digital transformation and be willing to experiment if they want to stay relevant.

Less viewership

The big elephant in the room – viewership or reach. He emphasized that media houses must think out of the box and innovate around retaining readership.

He cited this example: “Traditional television is seeing a decrease in viewership while 38% of online users can imagine ‘not watching television at all in 5-year time’.

Social Media

“The rise of TikTok and other social media platforms to create and share content has led to the development of specialist agencies who understand how to engage a targeted audience on those platforms”

Decreasing Speed

“In 2020, 275 million U.S. dollars were spent on traditional television advertising in Nigeria, a decrease of around 26 million dollars compared to 2019. The majority money was spent on digital terrestrial advertisement at around $191 million”

Move online

V’GA quoted Phillip Moross of The Cutting Edge Group who recently said, “Last year, YouTube had $27 billion in advertising revenue. There’s no question where the movement is, it’s towards the online.”

There is no better time to innovate:

My take home from V’GA’s presentation is to be flexible to unlearn and relearn. He pointed at this by saying, “Idea is a commodity, and to survive these turbulence times, ideation is a must. This process starts from creating an Idea dump where you deposit all kind of ideas.

“Know what triggers your ideation process, determine the environment your ideation thrives, embrace systems and people that think about the future.

“Build into your structure a system that gives you feedback; and that feedback loop must be very strong.

“And you can leverage available tools. The two critical tools for ideation are Future Casting and Scenario Planning”.

The future of Media

Obviously, the future of media revolves around an interconnected media experience that combines data, AI and human-centered design to create a fully immersive and personalized media offering

At this stage, the media must work as ‘Live Commerce’; “Media increasingly incorporates shopping experiences because consumers Want. It. Now.

“The digital world is merging with the physical world. The best of both is now being combined into a merged reality. This blended world will stimulate all of our senses.

“We’ll experience a shift from the information age toward an immersive, experimental age

“Not only are individual creators leveraging increasingly professional tools and easy uploads to pour passion into platforms they’ve never had access to before, but established content also lives on. Creators can watch their contents evolve as other producers put their own spin on it for the world to consume

Conclusion

The Founder of Eko Innovation Centre, challenges the media and entertainment industry to create real human value out of technological progress – to use technology to attract people through emotion and enhance and experience real life.

“Let us, with all curiosity create and discover the future of media and entertainment and rebuild the outdated media industry”, he said.

Well, my diary is still open, I will tell you about the firechat session with Nengi Akinola, Head, Marketing and Branding – FairMoney.

Comments, please…

In collaboration with Generation Unlimited 9Ja, a new public-private youth partnership platform is changing the narrative around climate change by curating this hackathon to ideate and create solutions that will build global solutions that will help the world meet its climate goal.

The repercussions of climate change are being felt daily all across the planet. Businesses are being forced to reconsider their approach to attracting customers and creating goods in the next generation as a result of unpredictable weather, pollution, increasing sea levels, heatwaves, and storms. 

EkoClimathon aims to involve Nigerian innovators in creating international solutions that would aid in the achievement of the world’s climate goals. Stakeholder action in minimizing the long-term adverse effects and conditions of climate change will be encouraged by innovative solutions.

After three (3) weeks of workathon, the teams present their innovative solutions that can better position businesses and organizations to reduce their influence on the environment. The EkoClimathon 1.0 pitch session started on August 3. 

About 24 selection jurors listened to over 35 teams’ presentations of their concepts, and they were more than capable of picking out the most inventive solutions to issues in the Circular Economy, Industry, Energy, Transportation, Agriculture, and Nature focus areas.

At the finals, the top 10 teams with the most promising ideas will compete for a $7,500 prize fund. Additionally, they will have the chance to enroll in an acceleration program that would aid in marketing their products.

To know more about EkoClimathon 1.0; visit the site.