From Dorm Rooms to Deal Rooms: Inside Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s Push to Build Enugu’s $30B Digital Economy Through the Campus Hackathon

The Enugu Campus Hackathon 2025 is not just a student competition; it is an early-stage track on the digital rails of a transformative economic agenda. As part of the Enugu State Government’s Digital Economy Transformation Plan, the Hackathon is designed to position youth-led innovation as a cornerstone of the state’s strategy to unlock a projected $30 billion economy.

Led by the Enugu SME Center/Office of Digital Economy (Enugu MSME & Startup Agency) and championed by His Excellency, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, Governor of Enugu State, this initiative brings together structured entrepreneurship, broadband infrastructure, innovation spaces, and skills acceleration, all rooted in local campuses and scaling toward global relevance.

Partners give the effort its engine. Genesys Tech Hub, The Garage, and Capitis Global Ventures work with the Agency to find talent, mentor teams, and connect ideas to real users. The result is a pipeline where a pitch can become a product, and a product can become a company.

Campuses and momentum Teams mobilized across six institutions: University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC), Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Godfrey Okoye University (GOU), Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), and Coal City University. The solutions span classrooms, clinics, farms, shops, and city streets. Judges reward ideas that are feasible, useful, and built for local impact.

Who is heading to the bootcamp The next phase is a one-week bootcamp. The strongest teams who emerged from each campus are sent to sharpen products, gain more knowledge, test with users, and prepare for the final pitch. UNN produced a larger field of high-quality entries, and GOU did as well, so both campuses are sending extra teams to learn at bootcamp. At the Grand Finale, the rule stays simple. Only the top three from each campus compete on stage for prizes and long-term support. Extra teams at bootcamp gain the same access to mentors and networks, then take those gains back to their product and the market.

UNN cohort Finalists advancing to the grand finale include; EulaIQ — An EdTech that transforms dense textbooks into podcasts, explainer videos, and interactive quizzes so students grasp complex material faster.

Idea Boys (FLOF) — FLOF Mart — AgriTech; a discount marketplace that connects farmers, manufacturers, and small retailers, making food and essentials cheaper to buy in bulk and The Mavericks — FurniFit AR — Consumer tech, an offline-first AR that lets shoppers preview furniture in their own space with a quick room scan, then place and move 3D models without internet.

The bootcamp invitees from the University of Nigeria Nsukka that are learning track, but not competing at the finale are: Mindnest — EdTech; ChainMove — Fintech and real-world assets; Team Flickmart — Flickmart — Marketplace; The Unlimited 1s — Ziro — AI and security; Zeuus — Campus Engagement Platform — EdTech and MarTech; Startrz — Blob — AI and 3D creation; Oneway — Retail tech; and HealthDocX — HealthTech.

Others are: Julitech — an accident detection device — AI and IoT; Techgators — Bitroot — EdTech and creator tools; Agritech UNN — AgricTechhub — AgriTech and AI; and Paradox — Nora — EdTech and AI.

IMT and Coal City University cohort Finalists advancing to the grand finale include: Teeketing — Teeketing Event Tech Services Ltd — Event tech that creates events, sell tickets, manage check-ins, send updates, issue certificates, and collect feedback in one place for physical and online events.

HighScore — EdTech, a gamified JAMB and SSCE prep, lessons, past questions, and real-time quiz battles build confidence and better results.

BuildNation — VentroPay — Fintech, cross-border payments using stablecoins on Aptos that settle in minutes at low fees, paid out in local currency without crypto know-how.

UNEC cohort Finalists advancing to the grand finale include: Anbu Gynaecare — HealthTech, biodegradable sanitary pads made from banana fibers to fight period poverty and plastic waste, paired with digital access for affordable, dignified care. StokOps — STOKOPS — SME tools; a mobile-first inventory and customer management that helps African SMEs avoid stockouts and theft with real-time.

Tell Person — HealthTech; a safe, anonymous platform where anyone can talk to a trained listener for just ₦1,000 an hour—offering affordable emotional support and connection to professional help when needed.

ESUT cohort Finalists advancing to the grand finale are: Growdex — AdTech, an AI-powered ad automation that lets creators and businesses create, publish, and optimize ads across channels from one dashboard with smart copy, targeting, a unified wallet, and real-time insights.

AgroTrack — AgriTech; a GPS tracking and geo-fencing to prevent farmer–herder conflict, with real-time alerts, an AI education bot, and a secure marketplace for peaceful, sustainable farming.

High Flyer — Zaddy Express — Logistics; a platform that connects individuals and businesses with independent dispatch riders for on-demand last-mile delivery.

GOU cohort Finalists advancing to the grand finale are: Gencoach — Gen Coach — AI; conversational AI for personalized, voice-driven coaching and tutoring that makes learning interactive, accessible, and human.

Outreach — HealthTech; a digital mental health platform that offers a safe, anonymous, accessible space to connect with trained volunteer therapists for emotional support. Netrobase — Kralis — EdTech; a scalable school management platform for results, fees, enrollment, and communication, already serving 15+ schools and 10,000+ students.

Bootcamp invitees from GOU, learning track not competing at the finale are: FutureNow — FutureNow School Labs — EdTech; Team Tech Titans — ZEMPAA (ZAI and ZOT) — AI and e-commerce.

“Others” cohort, non-campus track Bootcamp learning track only, not competing at the finale include: Linia Finance — Fintech, a smart budgeting platform that links multiple wallets to one bank account and card, so users choose in real time which wallet to spend from. SpitchLabs — AI and sales, an AI sales agent for cold outreach and lead qualification that frees teams to focus on delivery while the bot warms and filters prospects.

— AI and analytics, a market-sentiment intelligence that analyzes news, blogs, and social posts so businesses and investors can read the room and decide with data.

A pipeline, not a moment “Hackathons are often treated as the finish line,” said Arinze Chilo-Offiah, Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Economy and MSMEs and Director-General of the Enugu SME Center (Enugu MSME & Startup Agency). “In Enugu, they are the starting point. We are assembling an investable pipeline for the state’s digital economy.”

Teams move through bootcamp to sharpen product thinking, business models, and user experience. Finalists then pitch at the grand finale. From there, the most promising founders continue into the Enugu Startup Accelerator with mentors, funding pathways, and real customer exposure.

A city-center Tech and Innovation Hub provides co-working, fast internet, investor meetups, and longer runway support. Idea to prototype. Prototype to pilot. Pilot to market.

Youth programme, economic lever This model goes beyond training or a one-time grant. It connects to human capital goals, statewide innovation capacity, and jobs through exportable digital services. Talent formed in classrooms can now find work on real products, with real users, on a real timeline.

What comes next With campus rounds closed and bootcamp about to open, the signal is clear. With focus and the right partners, young ideas become young companies. Enugu has put policy, budget, and infrastructure on the table. The teams are meeting that bet with grit and invention. If Nigeria is searching for a new growth path, this is one that looks practical and close at hand.

About the Enugu Campus Hackathon The Enugu Campus Hackathon is a state-backed innovation program of the Enugu SME Center/Office of Digital Economy (Enugu MSME & Startup Agency). The initiative accelerates student and youth innovation across six campuses and a non-campus track. It offers grants, mentorship, and a pathway into incubation and market access, supported by partners Genesys Tech Hub, The Garage, and Capitis Global Ventures.

Media contact: [email protected] | Website: enugucampushackathon.ng

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