Mbah Intensifies Push for Productivity-led Economy as Young Innovators Win at Enugu

Oriarehu Bonny

Youth innovators at the weekend won big at  the maiden edition of the state backed Enugu Campus Hackathon competition.

The Campus Hackathon is an innovation platform to consolidate the state’s place as a rising hub for youth-led digital enterprise and venture creation in line with the Enugu State Digital Transformation Strategy.

An elated Enugu Governor, Dr Peter Mbah who witnessed the grand finale  described the campus hackathon as part of his administration’s bold innovation drives to move the state from a consumption-driven economy to a productivity-led economy.

Speaking during the grand finale, Mbah described the youths as the heartbeat of knowledge-driven and digital economy.

In the main category of the hackathon, which was delivered in collaboration with Genesys Tech Hub, The Garage, and Capitis Global Ventures, Growdex, an AI-powered advertising automation platform that enables creators and businesses to create, publish, and optimize ads across multiple channels from a single dashboard, won the star prize of $5,000 in investment grant.

Zaddy Express, a tech-enabled logistics and on-demand delivery platform delivering fast, reliable, last-mile solutions for individuals and businesses, came second and won $3,500 investment grant.

Linia Finance, a fintech platform providing accessible, data-driven credit and financial tools to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, and underserved individuals came third and got $2,500 investment grant.

According to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Digital Economy and MSMEs, Arinze Chilo-Offiah, the winners will in addition to the cash grants, undergo a six-month post-hackathon incubation programme with Genesys Tech Hub, valued at over US$10,000, where they are to gain structured mentorship, product refinement, investor readiness, and scaling support.

Chilo-Offiah, who doubles as the Director-General of the Enugu State SME Centre, said the focus of the hackathon on universities was deliberate.

Meanwhile, Governor Mbah said the Enugu Campus Hackathon was designed to identify and accelerate high-potential technology talents across tertiary institutions in the state.

He added that Hackathon reflects his administration’s deliberate strategy to build a modern, innovation-driven economy anchored on enterprise, technology and private-sector growth.