Universal Service Provision Fund Tasks Young Innovators

…Says they ought to be solutions providers

By Clifford Agugoesi

From the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) comes a challenge to Nigerian young techpreneurs to deploy  their ingenuity in  solving relevant problems  confronting the country and wrought disruption in the system through creativity and innovation.

As a catalyst to this charge, it has set up a nationwide contest  open to young innovators, software developers, UX designers, students, and other ICT enthusiasts from all over Nigeria, tagged  USPF Innovation Changemaker Challenge 2017.

Africa Telecom & IT understands that the challenge is aimed at tackling a selection of identified problems based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), as they apply to Nigeria and offer working solutions to them.

Participants will be required to create their own technology intervention for any of the following areas:

1.         Agriculture and Creation of Mass Employment: In the production, storage or distribution of food.

2.         Environment: Oil & Gas, Flood, Erosion/Climate Change.

3.         National e-data on Poverty, Disease, Security.

4.         Health/Lifestyle: Medical Doctors Information Exchange Tool; Health Insurance etc.

5.         Epidemic Mobility Tracking Solutions: e.g. Ebola, Lassa fever.

6.         Disease Destroyer Games: Educational games on disease eradication e.g. Malaria, Polio, and HIV.

7.         Education: Virtual Education, E-Library & E-Learning Systems.

8.         Intelligent Technologies for Scientists, Science Teachers, Engineers, etc.

9.         Girls4Tech: Interactive solutions aimed at getting young girls interested technology and innovation.

10.       Fraud whistle-Blowers: Enabling or assistive technology.

11.       Information Technology: Communications Quality of Service.

12.       National Security: Cybercrime and Cyber security Solutions, etc.

13.       E-Government: Government Automation Processes.

14.       E-Commerce: e-Transactions, Payment Systems, etc.

Entry is open to teams, minimum of 2 and maximum of 4 members (no individuals). Teams with female members will have definite added advantage as USPF seeks to encourage more gender diversity in technology innovation. Thirty (30) teams will be shortlisted (consisting of the top 5 entries from each geopolitical zone). They will be invited for the national finals, where the top 3 finalists will win the following prizes:

1st Prize – N1, 000,000* plus acceptance into incubation programme

2nd Prize – N750, 000* plus acceptance into incubation programme

3rd Prize – N500, 000* plus acceptance into incubation programme

*Monetary prize includes product completion and cash

Registration for the challenge commenced  4th July and closes  14th August, 2017.

Finals for the Changemaker Challenge  come up on 28th & 29th October, 2017

To register, interested contestants are to log on to: http://www.uspfchangemaker.ng

The Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) No 19 of 2003, Part IV, established the Universal Service Provision and mandated the Board to supervise and provide broad policy directions for the management of the USP Fund.

Section 118 of the Act established the USP Secretariat and states that it shall reside in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Universal Service Provision. Pursuant to this mandate, the USP Fund started operation in August 2006 and has embarked on various projects to realize its objectives.