The Innocent Chukwuma Award for Innovation instituted in honour of Innocent Chukwuma, late Civil Society leader and former Regional Director (West Africa) at Ford Foundation seeks to recognize Individuals and Organizations advancing the Innovation ecosystem in Nigeria.
The Award is a special category under The Startup Awards by #StartupSouth which is a celebration of individuals and organizations (both public and private) who have shown verifiable track record and support for the innovation ecosystem and the #StartupSouth ethos.
In a statement officially announcing the release of the finalists, StartupSouth Enterprise Development LTD/GTE (#StartupSouth), the organizers said over 500 nominations were received from the public across over 20 categories.
Leading the Nominees include Sir Kingsley Eze, (Founder, Tenece & Genesys Tech Hub), Ukinebo Dare (Former MD, Edo Innovation Hub), Mohamed Jega (Founder,. Startup Arewa) and Adia Sowho (Chief Marketing Officer, MTN). Other nominees include The Ken Saro-Wiwa Foundation, Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta (PIND), Keeping it Real Foundation and Fate Foundation. Other companies nominated include last mile trade logistics Startup Omni Biz, Proptech Startup, House Africa and many others.
You can find the official nominee list here.
Online Voting will account for 20% of scoring with factors such as geographic spread (with special emphasis on regional), Growth and impact accounting for the rest points across all categories except the Innocent Chukwuma Awards for innovation where a special Jury will review each nominee suitability for the award. Voting ends on the 8th of November while the award ceremony will take place on the 11th of November as part of the programme at #StartupSouth7 Port Harcourt conference. You can go here to vote for the nominees in the different categories: bit.ly/ss7-vote.
To register for the conference, go to 7.startupsouth.org.
About #StartupSouth Conference
#StartupSouth Conference is a regional Startup community event held annually in a city within the South-South/South-East. Build-up events are held in several other cities bringing together high level founders, investors, government officials, international companies and foundations to discuss, learn, network, exchange ideas and transact. It provides a platform for digital skills education, networking, access to investors and interaction with government officials from different states within the region.
About #StartupSouth
StartupSouth Enterprise Development LTD/GTE is a Startup/Digital Economy Ecosystem development and advocacy organization inspiring a generation of founders building high growth, opportunity and wealth creating ventures in Nigeria with special focus on the South-South/South-East regions.
#StartupSouth is also a Startup (Innovation driven Entrepreneurship) Community organization registered as a Non-Profit Foundation with a thriving network of founders and innovators who believe in the power of entrepreneurship for development. Visit startupsouth.org to learn more.
