YABATECH advances in Hult Prize competition

The Hult Prize has announced the winning team from Yaba College of Technology that has advanced to the eighth yearly regional finals of the competition.The Hult Prize is a crowd-sourcing platform for social good, named one of the top five ideas changing the world by TIME magazine. The innovative crowd sourcing platform identifies and launches disruptive and catalytic social ventures that aim to solve the planet’s most pressing challenges. This year, the Hult is focused around finding solutions for millions of people around the world affected by “harnessing the power of energy to improve 10 million lives challenge.”

The winning team members from Yaba College of Technology include: Akpan Ekom, Akwa Ibom State; Ubietu Patience, Delta State; Abbah Patience, Kogi State; and Bello Adeola, Oyo State. On December 6, the team built a solution to this year’s challenge, harnessing the power of energy to improve 10 million lives. Their solution is harnessing the power of human faeces to improve the lives of 20 million people.

The team will now move on to compete at the regional finals in March 2018, which are being hosted in 15 cities around the world. Yaba College of Technology would compete in San Francisco.Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Hult Prize, Ahmad Ashkar, attributed the success of the competition to the global youth revolution.

He said: “We continue to be moved by the large number of students from around the world, who are capitalizing on the opportunity to develop business models that target those who are in most need. We wish every team the best of luck and thank Yaba College of Technology for supporting this initiative.”
 
Following the regionals, one winning team from each host city will advance to an intensive 8-week summer business incubator, where they would receive mentorship, advisory and strategic planning as they create prototypes and set up to launch their new social business. The final round of the competition would take place in September, where a jury panel will select the annual Hult Prize winner, and present $1 million to the winning team.