The event brought developers, entrepreneurs, and healthcare experts together at The Nest in Yaba, Lagos, which provided the essential collaborative environment and technical resources.

Focused on accelerating digital health adoption across Africa, the hackathon challenged participants to build solutions integrating DrugStoc’s API to address critical issues of healthcare access, affordability, and interoperability.

The week kicked off with technical integration sessions on November 21st, providing teams with the necessary assistance to incorporate the platform into their prototypes.

After days of intense development and mentorship, the event culminated in a Demo Day on November 24th, where ten shortlisted tech founding teams pitched their innovations to a panel of judges.

The winners were announced the following day, November 25th, at the broader AHEAD Africa HealthTech Conference held at the Radisson Blu in Ikeja.

The hackathon winners are:

• First Place: ApexHealthTech
• Second Place: FCMF Group (First Class Muslim Foundation Group)
• Third Place: MedsightAI 

People’s Choice Award: PharmaEco

The winning teams earned rewards of up to ₦10 million. As a follow-up, the top seven participants will receive further mentorship to develop their HealthTech ideas into viable businesses.

The hackathon served as a dynamic launchpad for sustainable solutions, bridging the gap between innovation and real-world implementation.

Its outcomes were showcased at the main AHEAD Africa HealthTech Conference, which convened industry leaders to discuss building equitable and efficient health systems.

Conference panels emphasised critical themes like interoperability, exploring how EMR platforms and other digital tools can seamlessly connect to improve patient care across the continent.

Monday, the Nest Innovation Technology announced a strategic partnership with UnternemerTUM on driving innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa through the Africa Meets Bavaria program.

This is a two-year Bavarian State Chancellery-backed project connecting Bavaria with Africa to foster place-based innovation and entrepreneurial collaboration.

It empowers young African tech talents to innovate locally while enabling Bavarian companies to tap into emerging African markets.

The project aims to address some of the most pressing global challenges, including sustainability, mobility transformation, and climate change.

By working on local solutions to these challenges, participants contribute to the sustainable development and economic growth of their home countries.

This project is done in partnership with UnternemarTum, which has been announced by Financial Times as Europe’s leading start up hub for 2024-2025.

The initiative brings together leading innovation hubs across Africa, including:

• The Nest Innovation Technology Park (Nigeria)
• MEST Africa (Ghana)
• Impact Hub Kigali (Rwanda)
• iHub Nairobi (Kenya)

Together, these hubs, alongside UnternehmerTUM, are building a new wave of African entrepreneurs, promoting talent, and providing a launchpad for groundbreaking businesses.

“Nigeria is full of brilliant entrepreneurs. What’s often missing is access—the right structures, the right networks, and the right resources. This partnership is about breaking those barriers and ensuring our entrepreneurs are positioned to succeed globally,” said Oluwajoba Oloba, co-founder of The Nest.

We are excited about this as this partnership unlocks a co-creation and cross-pollination engagement between our university labs in Nigeria and UnternehmerTUM.

This is very much in line with the objective of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital innovation and a critical element of the Nigeria Startup Act.

While technical expertise is crucial, true leadership demands a unique set of skills, ones that can navigate through shifting trends and inspire teams to reach new heights.

This need for strategic leadership was recently underscored in a thought-provoking Strategic Leadership Webinar, hosted by The Nest Innovation Park.

The Nest, an organization with its finger on the pulse of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, recognized the critical leadership deficit among entrepreneurs and founders.

The mission of The Nest is deeply rooted in providing the support and guidance necessary for these visionaries to not only survive but to thrive in the ever-competitive business landscape.

Top Intellectual Property Mistakes SMEs, Entrepreneurs Should Avoid

This webinar brought together thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and founders to address this leadership gap and explore solutions in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

A pivotal moment during the event was the keynote address by Dr. Emmanuel Toye Sobande, a business management consultant with expertise in strategic leadership. Dr. Sobande, a distinguished lawyer, Lead Consultant, and President of Stephens Leadership Consultancy LLC, is also the author of “The Leadership Myth: Why Leadership Principles Do Not Work in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

His insights into strategic leadership in the entrepreneurial world enlightened the audience. Dr. Sobande emphasized that leadership is not an inherent trait but a set of skills that can be cultivated through self-awareness and an open mind.

He eloquently highlighted the key facets of leadership, including innovation, change management, problem-solving, and the ability to inspire and influence others.

Dr. Emmanuel Toye Sobande’s words resonated with one of The Nest’s core objectives – the creation of an enabling ecosystem that equips entrepreneurs and founders with the essential leadership capabilities required to navigate the complexities of the business landscape.

He articulated that success as an entrepreneur extends beyond a deep understanding of one’s field, it requires emotional intelligence, the ability to inspire and guide others, and the capacity to innovate.

The distinguished panel included luminaries such as Dr. Kole-Dawodu Olubunmi, Director of the Lagos State Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

SMEDAN plays a vital role in bolstering small and medium-sized businesses in Nigeria by offering support services, facilitating access to finance, providing capacity-building initiatives, and advocating for policies that benefit SMEs.

Additionally, Mrs. Kemi Ogunkoya, Co-Founder of LeaderX App, and Mr. Bolaji Cole, Director of the Centre of Entrepreneurship at Yaba College of Technology enriched the discourse.

Yaba College of Technology, as a pioneer in entrepreneurship development, established Nigeria’s first Centre for Entrepreneurship Development.

This center has actively fostered connections between academia and industry, enhancing the dialogue with their insights.

In recognition of his unwavering dedication and pioneering role in shaping the world of entrepreneurship and leadership, The Nest extended an International Merit Award to Dr. Emmanuel Toye Sobande.

Miss Light Ohwoka, the Convener of the Webinar and Head of Entrepreneurship at The Nest, highlighted that this accolade celebrates his unwavering support for entrepreneurship and leadership, in alignment with The Nest’s vision of entrepreneurship as the engine of economic growth and leadership development.

In a world where change is the only constant, strategic leadership is the beacon guiding entrepreneurs towards success.

The Nest, through its initiatives, programs, events, and engaging webinars, is not just illuminating this path but encouraging entrepreneurs to embrace change, innovation, and transformation with open minds and unwavering determination.

In this endeavour, The Nest is not just fostering business growth, it’s nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.

Bolt will today open applications for the Bolt Den, a €25,000 seed fund available to support business plans developed by Nigerian drivers that link to its Africa City Vision, based around sustainable transport.

This will be run in close partnership with The Nest, whose network of mentors will support eligible drivers in developing their business plans before a pitch day is held in November.

To Apply, click here.

Bolt will simultaneously in November launch the Bolt Academy, a tailored online training program for Nigerian drivers to promote business development skills and support future career development.

The Bolt Academy online training will be provided by global leader Coursera and supported by in-person sessions with PM4Success International.

Together, these two initiatives will form the Bolt Accelerator Program, which seeks to redefine the journey of drivers as entrepreneurs and amplify economic growth prospects across Nigeria.

“Ride hailing has always offered drivers the flexibility to earn whilst pursuing wider career opportunities” – said Caroline Wanjihia, Bolt’s Regional Directors of Rides for Africa.

“we hope this program will take this a step further, supporting concepts that will transform drivers’ lives, make a real difference to communities and could even one day be incorporated into Bolt’s own operations.  

She continued: “Drivers are the heartbeat of our business, and we believe that offering more developed economic empowerment opportunities makes our platform a more attractive place to come. It’s a win-win and we hope to take the program further afield in Africa.”

“At The Nest, we maintain a deliberate and discerning approach when selecting our partners and undertaking projects”  – said Oluwajoba Oloba, Co-founder at The Nest.

“We hold a high level of enthusiasm for the Bolt accelerator program due to its alignment with Bolt’s commitment to the prosperity and welfare of its stakeholders, a quality that distinguishes Bolt from its counterparts”.

He continued: “This initiative not only promises to enhance the quality of life for individuals within the Bolt ecosystem but also to make a valuable contribution to the innovation landscape of our ecosystem and the overall GDP of our country”  

“We’re thrilled to play a role in unlocking potential and nurturing entrepreneurship among Bolt drivers,”

says Hadi Moussa, Managing Director EMEA at Coursera.

“Through this program, we’re not just fostering individual growth with vital business skills, but also positively impacting Nigeria’s economic landscape. It underlines our belief in the transformative power of education on lives and communities.”

Bolt already runs a range of engagement initiatives in Nigeria, tailored towards building and fostering a deeper relationship with the driver ecosystem operating on Bolt platform. These initiatives include the Bolt Novelty Football Match, Bolt Women Summit, a Facebook group for verified drivers in Nigeria to connect, share experiences, and access first-hand information.

The innovation hub in partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) launched a Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) in Yaba, Lagos, where it’s domiciled. The partnership has been described by many stakeholders who graced the event as a move to foster innovation in the country.

Intellectual Property is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright, and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create.

With the TISC launch startups, and innovators in Nigeria will have access to locally-based, high-quality technology information and related services, helping them to exploit their innovative potential and to create, protect, and manage their Intellectual Property (IP) rights.

Speaking with TechEconomy, Peter Ogedengbe, Cofounder, The Nest, said they are very much concerned about the protection of Intellectual Property, encouraging innovators to register for patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

At Nest, we are excited about the partnership and recognition we have had from the World Intellectual Property Organization as the center for ensuring that people start registering for these services.

The goal, according to Ogedengbe, is to spread the message to various players in different sectors about how important it is to have ideas patented, trademarks, and copyrights. 

“We have been helping startups from inception, we are looking forward to letting them know through our various programs about this protecting and managing their ideas and how it will help them.”

Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; symbols, names, and images used in commerce.

Without the protection of ideas, businesses and individuals would not reap the full benefits of their inventions and would focus less on research and development.   

“The Nest will provide startups with the required support they need in developing and launching their products,” Ayokunle Adetula, Senior Associate at a law firm in Lagos, told TechEconomy.

He said due to the intangible nature of Intellectual Property, businesses or individuals should have them protected and The Nest will always be at their service.

“Before any business starts exploiting you, you must lay the foundation, and the foundation deals with patents, trademarks, copyrights.” By the time you have them, then you can begin to exploit,” he added. Oluwajoba Oloba, Cofounder, The Nest, said the TISC center would help Nigerian startups and entrepreneurs to make use of the best technology tools and resources to scale up their businesses.  

“If a startup is developing a solution that will address specific challenges, the startup needs to know if other startups have already developed that solution and whether such product has been registered and patented within the tech ecosystem. These are some of the advantages that people will get if they are registered with TISC in Nigeria,” Oloba said.

The Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) would also involve offering other services such as access to online patent and non-patent (scientific and technical) resources and IP-related publications; assistance in searching and retrieving technology information; training in a database search; on-demand searches (novelty, state-of-the-art, and infringement); monitoring technology and competitors; basic information on industrial property laws, management and strategy, and technology commercialization and marketing.