The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has said it will continue to boost innovation as part of efforts to address local problems in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
The NCDMB said the five winning innovators in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Technology Hackathon would get sustained institutional and financial support from it and other industry stakeholders to enable them to become successful businesses.
The Executive Secretary NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, stated these at the demo day held in Lagos, where the five startups showcased their homegrown innovative solutions tailored to solve local problems in the industry and related sectors.
He said the NCDMB had earlier given $10,000 grant each to the startups, namely AirSynQ, Fuel Intellisense, Gricd Mote, Homefort Energy and Kiakia Gas.
He said the startups had completed a three-month incubation programme, where they had resources and mentors that helped them identify their pilot clients and markets.
According to a statement issued by the organisation, the NOGTECH Hackathon was launched in July 2020 under the sponsorship of NCDMB and 630 promising startups applied, with 15 finalists selected at the end of the screening phase.
It said the 15 groups took part in the three-day Hackathon stage held in September 2020, where the top five teams were selected.
Wabote said the board would continue to support the five startups using the Nigerian Content Research and Development Council, with membership from relevant organisations and the $50m Nigerian Content Research and Development Fund.
According to him, the NCDMB deploys an end-to-end strategy in its projects and will not relent until the innovations are fully deployed and begin to solve societal problems.
He said some of the solutions extended beyond the oil and gas sector and would impact the health sector, community surveillance and the military in their fight against insurgence.
“These are innovative solutions to everyday problems that we face in the country; it is beyond the oil and gas industry,” Wabote added.
According to him, the NOGTECH Hackathon initiative promotes research and development and capacity building, and constitutes key pillars of NCDMB’s mandate and its 10-year strategic roadmap.
