Four Rivers State Students Fly Nigeria’s Flag, Bag Double Awards at Technovation Girls Summit

Four girls from Jacob’s Well High School, Port Harcourt, Rivers State have been named Social Impact and Combating Hunger Award winners of the global competition for Technovation Girls’, a global technology entrepreneurship program for girls ages 8-18.

The competition took place at Technovation’s World Summit, where the 15 finalist teams from 12 countries pitched their mobile app ideas to a judging panel composed of industry experts and advocates. The team pitched their mobile app, AgriConnect—a mobile application connecting farmers, nearby landowners, and seedling sellers.

It also provides modern sustainable agricultural techniques for both farmers and aspiring farmers. It hopes to tackle the problem of food insecurity in the country.

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Oghenemaro Tejiri, Salome Akhabhau, Excel Barile-Nwika and Goodness Nwonanne-Chima, developed the AgriConnect

The talented team members—

• Oghenemaro Tejiri (12),
• Salome Akhabhau (11),
• Excel Barile-Nwika (11), and
• Goodness Nwonanne-Chima (12) —were mentored by Somkenechukwu Mamah, founder of Code Ambassadors, an organisation dedicated to training young minds between the ages of 5-17 in technology, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship skills.

They girls have been working since January 2024 to identify a problem in their Niger Delta communities and develop a mobile app-based solution to that problem.

The team of the girls known as Smart Elite presented their solution through the initial and semi-final rounds of virtual judging and in person at World Summit where they were selected as  Social Impact Award and Combating Hunger Special Award winners.

They represented both Nigeria and Africa in the beginners division.

Tejiri, Barile-Nwika, Nwonanne and Akhabhau pitched along with other teams from around the world and spent two days getting to know the other teams and networking with industry professionals in Silicon Valley, California. As finalists, the team also received a scholarship to advance their education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.

“The girls who participate in Technovation are extraordinary,” said Tara Chklovski, founder and CEO of Technovation. “These are girls and young women who see problems in their communities and decide to stand up and make a difference. They have the drive and the ideas, Technovation just helps them access the tools. We’re so proud to be part of these girls’ journeys, and know this is just the start for these impressive young women.”

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