Indeed, the future belongs to the younger generation, especially those who are committed to owning that it. This was the case at the recently held Gen-Z event which witnessed the gathering of Africa’s youngest innovators and change makers.
The programme which was a hybrid event, comprising a virtual and physical experience kicked off on the 1st of July 2022, and started with an opening declaration by the leadership of the Gen-Z Techies in the person of Eniola Osabiya. The event started as a virtual experience with attendees from various parts of the African continent joining in via their devices.
The event continued as a virtual Hackathon with different Gen-Z’s competition to develop prototype solutions to real-world problems within the African ecosystem. This Hackathon continued for 3 days until the 3rd of July 2022 when it was declared closed in preparation for the physical event scheduled for the 11th of July 2022.
The Experience
Tech Steroid reporter caught up with a few persons during the virtual event who had various stories to share about the Gen-Z movement and the Hackathon. Emmanuel from Ghana in West Africa said; “The Gen-Z community has made me feel more connected to other like minds who are daring the odds and building something out of nothing. being a software developer and a UI/UX developer, I can say that the Gen-Z community will bring to reality a lot of solutions for the African Continent.”
We also spoke with Usman Hassan who joined in from Benue state, Nigeria. He told the TechSteroid team that his belief in Tech and his commitment to building valuable Tech products have been constantly fueled by the quality of persons who makes up the Gen-Z community. Usman also mentioned that his experience at the recently concluded Gen-Z Hackfest cannot be swept under the carpet because he was blown off by the outcome of the event which he believes was better than some other non-Gen-Z events he had previously attended.
Below is a short video of what the hall looked like and the atmosphere of happiness and excitement during the physical event.
Social Media Feedback
The Twitter platform went alive with lots of Tweets and re-tweets with various persons sharing their experiences leveraging the #GenZHackfest hashtag. Below is a Tweet showing where organizers declared their surprise at the Turnout of the event.
The Winners
Usman Hassan emerged first winning a sum of Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira through a project he built during the Hackathon. The project called Safe Pal, which is built to help people report missing people and track the movement of their loved ones, whilst also helping people seek emergency help.
When asked what he felt after winning the first prize, he had the below to say about the event;
In second place was the Heiven Africa team which was led by Caleb Areeveeso. the team built a platform that connects the homeless to places of shelter and food. The team behind this believes doing this will help tackle the issue of homelessness and hunger in Nigeria. they seem ready to let the homeless know, that they are not alone.
In third place was the Artik team led by Confidence Efem. The team built a platform that helps connect and bridge the gap between a handyman and a person in need of his service.
The Future
The future is indeed bright and one can expect that a whole lot more will happen within the Gen-Z community, considering the passion and commitment this individuals invests into their personal development and pursuit of excellence. The story of success in the community is in abundance a critical example is that of Clinton Imaro
We will be putting out more publications about the various happenings and growth happening in the Gen-Z ecosystem.
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