An exclusive event poised to be the largest tech gathering in the southeast region of Nigeria.

Scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, December 1st, 2023, at Oakland Hotel in Enugu, this outdoor extravaganza promises an unforgettable experience, blending diverse elements to captivate, entertain, and inspire its diverse array of attendees, ranging from key players in tech industries to creatives and emerging tech talents.

The event, spearheaded by Elvis Obi-Nwankwo, MCBA’s Co-Founder and Chief of People, and Ihenacho Michael, the Co-Founder and Imagination Architect of MCBA, in collaboration with brands who are dedicated to community development and technological advancements, is strategically designed to foster a thriving tech community in the southeast.

BlueprintAfric, a subsidiary of the full-service media company, Blueafric Media, with its unwavering commitment to community building in the region, has always played a pivotal role in bringing together creatives and tech enthusiasts.

In addition to the numerous events they have hosted and sponsored in the past, this event is proof of the media organisation’s dedication to cultivating vibrant communities in the southeast.

In the dynamic environment of Southeast Nigeria’s growing tech community, MCBA’s Co-Founder and Chief of People, Elvis Obi-Nwankwo, popularly known as “The Plug,” emerges as a pioneering figure guiding the region toward a digital revival. Through the key role he plays at MCBA, his impact goes beyond conventional tech leadership.

With a career spanning public and private sectors, Elvis consistently advocates for digital transformation and innovation.

His previous role as the Special Adviser to the immediate past Enugu State Governor on Innovation, Science, and Technology significantly influenced the local tech scene, establishing Enugu as a hub for remote work in Nigeria.

Referred to as a Startup Founder and Serial Innovator, Elvis is not only a thought leader but also a community builder, protecting the rights of tech ecosystem participants and fostering collaboration.

Now back in the private sector, focusing on digitising payments, Elvis remains a driving force, shaping the future of technology in Africa.

His dedication to community development aligns seamlessly with the theme of the “Unwind the East” Tech Ecosystem Mixer, embodying the spirit of innovation and collaboration that characterises the event.

The evening kicks off at 4 pm and will feature a dynamic array of activities to ensure an engaging and enjoyable experience for all attendees. From networking sessions to the innovative “Sip & Paint” and “Camera, Rhythm & Booze,” every element has been meticulously crafted to encourage collaboration, spark creativity, and facilitate meaningful connections within the tech ecosystem.

Entertainment will be at the forefront, with a live DJ setting the vibe, a captivating live music performance, and MCs and Comedians to keep the energy high throughout the evening.

The events will be hosting some of the most distinguished names in the Nigerian tech community, with esteemed industry leaders and key players in the tech ecosystem in attendance, such as Rodney JacksonCole, CEO of Baniplay; Joshua Chibueze, Co-Founder of Piggyvest; Ihenacho Michael Bennert Ikechukwu, Co-Founder and Imagination Architect of MCBA; Ugochukwu Aronu, CEO of Xend Finance; Alex Onyia, CEO of Educare; Sam Eze, CEO of OurPass; Koromone Koroye, TechCabal and Jamit; Cynthia Chisom, SDC; Napa Onwusah, Startup Leader AWS, Sub-Saharan Africa; Yemi Olulana, CEO of FlexiApp, Arthur Chukwuebuka Ibik, CEO of Yebox; Ajibola Odukoya, COO of Afrilabs; Sean Burrowes, Co-Founder, Ingressive for Good, and many others.

Notable figures like Arinze Chilo-Offiah, Head of the Enugu SME Centre, and Engr Lawrence Eze, Commissioner on Innovation Science and Technology will add their insights to an evening of enlightening conversations, networking opportunities, and a celebration of the vibrant tech landscape in Nigeria.

The event is made possible through the generous support of sponsors like Blueafric Media, Tecno Mobile, Enugu SME Centre, Wicrypt, ePay, GDG Enugu, TechArt, OurPass, Xend Finance, Wema Bank, Educare, and Taprap.

Their commitment reflects the broader industry recognition of the importance of fostering communities in the tech ecosystem, encouraging innovation, and nurturing upcoming tech talents.

Tickets for “Unwind the East” are available on Kudibar, offering attendees the chance to be part of this landmark event.

“As we come together to celebrate the synergy of technology and community, MCBA, BlueprintAfric, and ePay invite you to be a part of an evening that promises not just to be a tech gathering but an immersive experience that defines the future of the southeast’s tech ecosystem”, Obi-Nwankwo said.

The first Wicrypt WiFi hotspots are already live on Krest, peaq’s sister blockchain, outfitted with their unique Peaq IDs.

The new version of the Wicrypt operating system makes the devices compatible with Peaq off-the-shelf, making it easier for people purchasing them to connect them to the network.

Unequal access to the internet, also known simply as the digital divide, still looms large over the world, with some 2.7 billion people—about one-third of the global population—lacking access to the World Wide Web.

Asia and Africa, the world’s two most populous continents, are also the most affected, with their respective internet penetration standing at 61% and 40%, respectively.

And it’s usually the most vulnerable communities—those who’d stand a lot to gain from access to online education, earning, and banking opportunities, that end up left behind most often.

Wicrypt, an innovative startup from Nigeria, is working to make the Web more accessible globally through its decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) of WiFi hotspots.

The hotspots enable people and businesses to share their Web connection with others, thus solving the last-mile delivery challenge, and earning tokens based on their usage stats.

Currently, Wicrypt’s DePIN counts more than 1,100 hotspots and stretches across 30+ countries, with some 45,000 accounts using more than 895TB of data.

As part of its integration with Peaq, first announced back in April 2023, Wicrypt has now connected several hotspots with Krest, peaq’s sister chain for testing dApps and DePINs, which went live in June.

The hotspots now have their unique Peaq IDs, which enable them to interact with the network, and can be found on Subscan — the blockchain explorer compatible with Krest — here, here, and here.

The devices are now able to register their transactions on Krest, which is a crucial step for further development, and will be able to earn rewards from Krest’s network fee distribution with future updates.

Furthermore, Wicrypt has released a new version of its operating system for the devices, which makes them compatible with Peaq off-the-shelf.

New users joining the network will have the option to purchase a device that’s been connected with Krest in advance.

The owners of existing devices will be able to switch to this operating system manually.

In a bid to support the development of Peaq, Wicrypt is open-sourcing the integration and releasing the supporting documentation and videos on linking the devices with Peaq. See videos steps one, two, three, and four for onboarding on the Peaq network.

“We are thrilled to be moving ahead with this integration and bringing the first hotspots live on Krest,” says Ugochukwu Aronu, the CEO at Wicrypt. “As a production-grade network, Krest gives us a perfect testing environment for everything we build on Peaq, and in the longer term, it will boost the rewards users earn on our DePIN ecosystem. It’s the perfect incentivization mechanism to power connecting the disconnected.”

“The digital divide is the plague of today’s world,” says Till Wendler, co-founder of Peaq.

“It’s exciting to see Krest work as a testing ground for a project working to cure it. The launch of Wicrypt hotspots on Krest is just the beginning as this DePIN takes on the global crisis with top-notch Web3 tools and a desire to make the world a better place.”

The Winner of the New World Award category, WICRYPT is a decentralized internet-sharing and monetizing Network which gives everyone the power to become a micro-ISP. While the winner of the Tech for Humanity category, RiceAfrika, is a tech-driven agriculture optimization service provider in Africa, which provides a platform that connects smallholder farmers in Africa.

While meeting with the Startups, Prof Pantami said that Nigeria is passionate about innovation which is why she developed the Startup Act. He stated that the challenge of unemployment, underemployment, and un-employability can only be addressed by promoting our digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship.

“We are more interested in supporting job providers than only supporting job seekers that can even hardly do the work even if they are employed,” he said.

He appreciated President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, for approving Nigeria to be part of a Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO). He went further to appreciate the DCO for the full sponsorship of Nigeria’s participation at the event.

“Many countries are contributing, but due to some challenges of funding, we are yet to make any contribution, but DCO sponsored 16 Nigerian Startups to attend the event without a single kobo from us by providing air tickets, accommodation, and everything for them,” Prof Pantami said.

“I want to also commend the National Information Technology Development Agency, particularly the management led by Kashifu Inuwa, for coordinating the event actively on our behalf and for making all our delegates and our startups to be very comfortable,” he said.

The Honourable Minister added, “I also commend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the Minister in Charge of Communications and Information Technology, His Excellency, Engr. Abdullah bin Amer Alswaha, for inviting Nigeria to attend the LEAP 2023.”

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, while officially presenting the 2 Nigerian Startups that won the cash price of $150,000 each to the Honourable Minister who led the Nigerian delegation to the LEAP 2023 Tech Event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, said that, based on the directive of the Honourable Minister, NITDA coordinated the participation of the startups through its subsidiary Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI).  

“We worked with them, we guided them, and we were there with them throughout the competition,” he stated.

“Out of the six categories, Nigeria took two, which accounts means almost 33.3 percent of the participants,” he said.

Inuwa said that out of the 220, eight startups from Nigeria were selected. He said in the first round 90 were selected to participate in the semi-final with all eight Nigerian Startups making the shortlist. Out of the 90, 12 were qualified to move to the final stage and out of the 12 startups, three were from Nigeria. This he said included WICRYPT, under the Into the New World Award category, and the Rise Africa Technology under the Tech for Humanity, and Scholar Limited.

The Winners appreciated the Ministry and NITDA for the platform given to them to blossom and for pushing young people to  explore their talents.

It was a proud moment of excitement for the Nigerian delegation, led by Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, accompanied by Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General of NITDA, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission,  and the Engr. Tukur Muhammad Funtua, Managing Director, Nigerian Communication Satellite, that participated at the 2nd edition of the LEAP Technology Exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

According to a statement signed by Uwa Suleiman, Senior Special Assistant Media/Spokesperson to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, over 10,000 Startups submitted applications from different countries.

After rigorous scrutiny, the applicants were down to 220, and only 90 startups were selected to pitch their business ideas in the semi-final. Eight Nigerian Startups participated at the semi-final, and three reached the final stage.

RiceAfrika Technologies – is a tech-driven agric optimisation startup that deploys IoT-enabled harvester and its FARMEasy mobile app for smallholder farming communities in Africa.

RiceAfrika believes Africa can feed itself and feed the world. It emerged as the global best in ‘The Tech for Humanity Award’ category and is coming home with 150,000 dollars.

While Wicrypt is an innovative Tech startup decentralising internet globally.

The startup has a custom OS and hardware that allows users to share data with people around them and charge an affordable rate also won 150,000 dollars after he was announced as the global best in the ‘The Into New World Award’ category.

Professor Pantami leader of Nigerian delegation expressed his delight while maintaining that Nigerian Startups have all it takes to compete with their peers in the global stage.

“I am so proud of our Startups who emerged as the global best in these categories. It is quite a long journey that followed rigorous process until the end; from over 10,000 applications to the final 12, in which three Nigerians took part and two emerged winners. We are delighted that our startups are not only amazing but went through a lot of nurturing and mentorship to be the best in the world,” he noted.

The Minister stated that Nigeria is on the right track in implementing its National Digital Economy Policy and Strategies to ensure that Nigerian Startups add value to the global tech ecosystem. We are building the ecosystem and making it more conducive for nurturing innovation-driven enterprises. Our startups are creating solutions for the local market that can easily scale to the global market.

“The journey started in 2019 shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria. Now we are reaping the positive benefits of our commitment. In the space of five months, we have Nigerians that are making us proud on the global stage.

“The eight entries from Nigeria competed with over 90 Startups in the semi-finals, showcasing their innovative ideas that will transform economies and solve pertinent issues around the world. Therefore, they emerged global best. They did not only pitch to win grants but also attended various knowledge-sharing sessions, conferences and investor meetings that have exposed them to numerous ways to accelerate their products for the best market fit. The startups intracted with the world’s best mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists.”

“It is also noteworthy that eight Startups we brought to this year’s LEAP, three made it the Grand Finale, two won, and are going back home to add value to our Digital Economy. On behalf of the Nigerian government, we sincerely appreciate the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) Headquarters, Riyadh, for sponsoring our innovative startups to participate and showcase their innovations to the world”, he added.

Prof. Pantami also said that the successes of Nigerian Startups in GITEX, Dubai, United Arab Emirates in October last year, and today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is evident that the country’s innovators have accepted the challenge posed to them by the Federal Government to not stell as the African leaders but compute globally.

“The recent successes are the fruit of policies we put in place to ensure our Startups walk shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government appreciates the outstanding exploits of startups in the country, which are helping to create jobs, fast-track economic development, and also winning awards and grants amounting to millions of naira,” he concluded.

This year’s LEAP brought together breackthrough innovative ideas and emerging developments in technology under one roof. A landmark technology event that galvanised public and private organisations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Five startups were crowned as category winners, and the sixth, Plastus Biotech, ascended to victory and held the LEAP 2023 Award for the best overall startup. All of this took place in front of seasoned judges, angel investors, tech experts and government stakeholders from around the world!

The six awards divided the startup entrants by size, scale, impact on society, amount of funding, years in business, and a number of employees. Judges for the competition include Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder, of Mamaearth and Judge, Shark Tank India, Baroness Karren Brady CBE, Vice Chairman of West Ham United Football Club, James Caan CBE, entrepreneur, businessman, investor, and former Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, and Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur, investor, podcaster, and current Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.