Ingressive for Good (I4G), one of Africa’s leading ed-tech non-profit organisations, has announced her first physical festival I4G HACKFEST 2022, an annual event that celebrates the growth of African techies and communities while also showcasing rising talents, industry trends and insights from leading tech startups and professionals.
Hosted by filmmaker and content creator, Kunle Idowu, also known as Frank Donga’, the one-day event themed ‘No Techies Left Behind’ will be held at 9am on Saturday, November 12, 2022, at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking about the festival, the Co-founder of Ingressive for Good, Blessing Abeng, said the 2022 edition is community-centric, with several members of the tech communities and significant industry contributors to be spotlighted.
“This year, tech contributed majorly to Nigeria’s GDP. Across tech sectors, we are witnessing outstanding market expansion, creativity and growth in the African tech industry. In June 2022, startups raised up $3billion, a remarkable increase from the $1.19billion raised during the same period last year. But these opportunities also emphasise the importance of improving and providing support for African tech talents to meet the demand for their skills, and ensure that they are nurtured, upskilled and placed in the best companies across the continent. At I4G we believe that there is a place for every tech talent, they just need to be purposefully nurtured and supported. That’s why we themed this event, “No Techie Left Behind” in line with our commitment to our community of African techies to hold their hands as they navigate their unique tech journey and increase their earning power. ”.
The event will feature engaging conversations with thought leaders and influencers in the tech industry, including a keynote speech on Creating a Chain Reaction of Change by Odunayo Eweniyi, the Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer PiggyVest, one of Africa’s leading fintech companies. This will come right after a fireside chat with Ezekiel Sanni of TeamApt, who tells the inspiring story of transitioning from a POS merchant to becoming the Head of Offline Distribution and Growth at Nigeria’s largest payment platform. Also speaking will be The cofounders of I4G – Maya Horgan Famodu, Sean Burrowes, and Blessing Abeng, Adora Nwodo of Microsoft, Uwem Uwemakpan of Ingressive Capital, Edwin Madu of Zikoko, Koromone Koroye of TechCabal, Joshua Koya of Nguvu Health, Oladiwura Oladepo of Tech4Dev, Victor Fatanmi of FourthCanvas, Samuel Otigba of Meta, Tamilore Oni of Google, Shodipo Ayomide of Polygon, Tage Kene-Okafor of Techcrunch, Tunde Onakoya of Chess In Slums, Salem King, Tobi Ayeni (MissTechy), Oladiwura Oladepo, Amanda Iheme, Alma Asinobi, and many others. With topics focused on personal and professional growth in the tech ecosystem. The sessions will highlight strategies for promoting diverse aspects of the technology sector from an individual to a collective basis.
Tech startups, companies, and communities like TeamApt, Mara Foundation and Circle, Propel, Seamfix, Mainstack, Kibo School of Technology will also support and participate in the event, giving techies the opportunity to pitch themselves and their skills to stakeholders and land jobs and opportunities. Exponential Destiny will be exposing attendees to VR and how to leverage the Metaverse for SDGs. While Propel will be hosting a series of masterclasses to help techies prepare, get the upper hand, and position themselves for global opportunities.
In addition, a Hackathon geared towards digital identity transformation in Africa, will be open to developers to create solutions using Verified Africa, an identity verification product by Seamfix. The winner will walk away with half a million naira and more goodies by Seamfix.
To celebrate the great work of catalysts in the ecosystem, several tech leaders and impactful members of the tech community, including Ingressive For Good ambassadors in various tertiary institutions will be recognised and presented awards by TeamApt to celebrate their amazing strides in the past year.
During the event, both physical and online attendees will have the opportunity to network and engage with talents in the tech community and gain insights from leading members of the community.