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OmniBiz Africa, Emergency Response Africa, Others Receive Awards at the Nigeria Innovation Summit 2022
The Nigeria Innovation Summit 2022 with the theme: Re-imaging Innovation, organized by InnovationHub Africa, and held on October 4-8, 2022 was successfully concluded with the participation of delegates and stakeholders across the globe, who participated in the event.
The Summit in its 7th year is an annual event that brings together stakeholders from different sectors of Nigeria’s economy, governments, investors, policymakers, and players in the tech and innovation ecosystem to discuss ground-breaking ideas, trends, and opportunities to innovate solutions that solve unique challenges within Nigeria, and the African continent at large.
This year’s Summit was a one-week event dedicated to promoting innovation in all sectors of the economy in Nigeria.
The highlights of the summit were the Nigeria Innovations Experience Talks (NiX Talks) featuring innovators in different fields and subsets of Nigeria’s economy who showcased their innovations; the novel Innovation Tour to highly innovative organizations and experience centers to deepen the conversation and relationship with those bringing true innovation and disruption into the Nigerian innovation ecosystem.
Other features were fireside chats, panel discussions/interactive session’s innovative showcases and exhibitions, and keynote presentations which Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, the EVC, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi DG, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) delivered.
We also had expert insights on emerging technologies and new technologies unveiling. Some of the speakers and panellists include Deepankar Rustagi, Founder, OmniBiz Africa; Ayodeji Balogun, CEO of AFEX; Lanre Ogungbe, CEO IdentityPass; Kenneth Okolie, CEO of SYNLAB Nigeria; Olamidun Majekodunmi – Country Director, Nexford University; Oyin Johnson – Senior Legal & Compliance Counsel, The Room; Victoria Fabunmi – Head of Investments, Growth Capital Fund by CcHub; Greene Apaokagi Maryam (Taaooma), a comedian & content creator; Mark Slade, Co-Founder of Jara Resort, and others.
The crowning of the Nigerian Innovation Summit (NIS) 2022, was the Nigeria Innovation Awards Night (NIAN) 2022. The Nigeria Innovation Awards recognises and awards key innovators at the forefront of the Nigerian Innovation landscape, as well as disruptors bringing positive and empirical impacts as well as progressive solutions to unique challenges.
The submissions from the 2022 NIS Awards prove that there is a need to build innovative business solutions, and develop an ecosystem in Nigeria across all sectors to drive innovation by promoting local content development, and locally-relevant technological solutions to impact significantly on the socio-economic development of Nigeria so that local innovation can solve local issues.
Of the hundreds nominated for the Nigerian Innovation Awards 2022, only eight organisations and individuals emerged as worthy recipients of this year’s awards, given their impressive track record of innovatively tackling problems and measurable impacts in keeping the Nigerian innovation landscape sustainable, and have embraced innovation to move Nigeria forward through their works. And for the first time, individuals showcasing creative and innovative works in technology, art, and entertainment were recognised.
The 2022 NIAN awardees include Emergency Response Africa, Innovating in Healthcare Emergencies in Africa; Mr. Macaroni, Innovating in Entertainment; Omnibiz Africa, Innovating in B2B Retail Commerce; Pakam Technology Limited, Innovating in Waste Management in Nigeria; Space Finish, Innovating Workspaces of the Future; Quadloop, Innovating Renewable Energy; PWC Nigeria, Special Recognition for applying emerging technologies to build innovative indigenous solutions
The Nigeria Innovation Summit 2022 had in participation delegates from government agencies, diplomats, academic communities and research institutes, international organisations, investors, innovators, business/thought leaders, innovators, startups and students.
This year’s Summit received huge support from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); Microsoft Nigeria; The Nest; Union Bank; Nexford University; DoChase; PwC as partners, and was sponsored by IdentityPass, Omnibiz Africa, Synlab, The Room, AFEX, Bitmama, and KuCoin.
Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief Enterprise business officer, MTN Nigeria, has assured the network subscribers that the new end-user billing system for the use of USSD services will jot affect them.
USSD, otherwise Unstructured Supplementary Service Data codes are commonly used for banking transactions, airtime recharges, and other mobile services.
The telco said that there is no significant impact or change other than the fact that they will now pay the same N6.98 per session (120 seconds) with their airtime instead of direct bank debit.
Saint-Nwafor, said this during a chat with MTN MIP fellows, explaining that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered telecom operators to ensure that the new billing model resolves trust issues and ensures transparency in the billing process.
“Our regulator insisted that at the end of every month, we are going to be providing history and statistics on the performance of the service across the board”, she explained.
Saint-Nwafor added that the new billing model has standardized messaging across all operators and ensures consistent communication with customers.
“We will take all the error codes and map them into messages that are standardised across the board. So, if you initiate a transaction, you will know if it is failing. And, when the transaction fails, you will know if it is from your bank or the telco,” she explained.
The U.S. government has recovered $225 million in what is now the largest seizure of funds linked to a cryptocurrency investment scam.
In a statement released Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said the recovery followed an extensive investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, using blockchain analysis and other forensic tools. The statement did not confirm whether any arrests had been made.
According to the authorities, the stolen funds originated from fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes that tricked victims into believing they were making legitimate investments. More than 400 individuals around the world, including dozens in the United States, were reportedly affected.
The operation involved a sophisticated money laundering network that carried out hundreds of thousands of blockchain transactions to obscure the source and ownership of the stolen assets.
“These scams prey on trust, often resulting in extreme financial hardship for the victims,” said Shawn Bradstreet, Special Agent in Charge at the U.S. Secret Service office in San Francisco.
Bradstreet added that U.S. officials hope the recovered funds can eventually be returned to the rightful victims.
Cryptocurrency investment fraud accounted for over $5.8 billion in reported losses in 2024 alone, according to the statement.
In a rousing declaration that is electrifying minds across the continent, Hon. Nnaemeka Ani, Special Adviser on ICT to Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, has called for a homegrown digital revolution under the banner “Africa Will Rise: By Code, By Courage, By Us.”
Hon. Nnaemeka Ani
The message, part challenge, part philosophical—seeks to galvanize African innovators to move beyond buzzwords and build technology with impact and legacy in mind.
“Let’s stop building for hype. Let’s start building for legacy,” Ani urged while speaking to ICT journalists over the weekend. “Let’s stop waiting for someone else. Let’s start creating the future—on our own terms.”
At the heart of Ani’s vision is a shift from tech consumerism to tech authorship. With innovation hubs sprouting across cities like Enugu, Lagos, Kigali, Jo’Burg, and Nairobi, and a growing community of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs determined to solve Africa’s unique challenges, the movement is already taking shape.
Ani emphasized that Africa’s future lies not in flashy apps or international admiration but in persistent, intentional solutions that uplift communities—solutions that digitize public services, bridge rural-urban divides, empower women and youth, and build resilience in food and climate systems.
“We have the talent,” he said. “Now it’s time to harness it—to stop building for likes and start building for lasting impact.”
With support from leaders like Ani and rising momentum in Africa’s tech corridors, it seems that a new chapter is being written—one line of code at a time.
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