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NCDMB Names 15 Semi-Finalists for Science Tech Competition

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NCDMB Science Tech Competition

By Adedapo Adesanya

A total of 15 teams have emerged as regional semi-finalists in the first Nigerian Content Science and Technology Innovation Challenge (STIC) for higher institutions in Nigeria.

The competition, which was opened in November 2020, is sponsored by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and implemented by Enactus Nigeria.

The semi-finalists were picked from higher institutions across the country, five respectively from the North, West and South/Eastern regions.

Each team in the competition is made up of two undergraduates and their schools include University of Ilorin, University of Jos, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Federal University, Dutse, Usman Danfodio University, Tai Solarin University of Education, University of Ibadan, Yaba College of Technology.

Other successful institutions are Anchor University, Lagos, Babcock University, Cross River University of Technology, Niger Delta University, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Alex Ekwueme Federal University and Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

According to the Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, Mr Michael Ajayi, the semi-finalist teams will now advance to the ‘proof of concept’ stage of the competition, where each team will be given N500,000 to develop a functional prototype of their innovative ideas.

According to him, “these will then be presented to a panel of judges at the in-person regional final competitions which will be held in the Northern, Western region and the South/East region respectively.

“During this event, the representatives of the participating institutions will be expected to demonstrate, using their functional prototypes, how their proposed innovation works to solve identified problems and also demonstrate to the panel of judges how the innovation will continually create opportunities for job and wealth creation if accelerated and transformed into business ventures.”

A total of six regional finalists – two from each region will emerge from the 15 teams after the regional competition and will proceed to a one-week bootcamp where seasoned business development professionals from reputable organisations will work with NCDMB and Enactus Nigeria to mentor the six finalists to test their assumptions and perfect the business cases for their innovations.

“This strategy is a necessary step towards ensuring that the students’ innovations transition into full-fledged profitable enterprises that will create jobs for Nigerians, while creating sustainable wealth,” Mr Ajayi said.

The Nigerian Content STIC is an enterprise-development program designed to challenge undergraduates of all accredited Nigerian tertiary institutions to stretch their ingenuity and apply science & technology, to create home-grown, innovative, and technologically driven business solutions that address some of the Country’s most pressing everyday problems, accelerate reverse-innovation and create wealth, while also providing job opportunities for the growing numbers of the unemployed people in Nigeria.

The Country Director confirmed that the process of arriving at the 15 teams for the regional semi-final was very rigorous. He stated that a panel of 63 individuals from diverse fields, ranging from business development to information technology, business strategy and social enterprise development committed over 156 man-hours to complete a three-stage screening process over a period of three weeks.

Apart from the handsome money for the winning team, the NCDMB will also award N20 million investment towards the development of a research and development centre in the institution that the winning undergraduates represent.

The online portal for the competition was open from November 19, 2020, until January 31, 2021, during which time a total of 511 entries were received from undergraduates in 129 tertiary institutions across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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AI Legal Tech Firm Ivo Gets $55m for Contract Intelligence

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AI legal tech Ivo

By Dipo Olowookere

The sum of $55 million has been injected into an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered contract intelligence platform, Ivo, to support product development and scaling as the company deepens its reach across the hundreds of organizations that already rely on its product, including Uber, Shopify, Atlassian, Reddit, and Canva.

The Series B funding round comes after a year of substantial growth in product performance, customer adoption, and market traction to accelerate its mission of making contract intelligence available to every business.

Since its last funding round, Ivo has grown annual recurring revenue by 500 per cent, increased total customers by 134 per cent, and expanded adoption within the Fortune 500 by 250 per cent.

Business Post gathered that the latest funding support came from Blackbird, Costanoa Ventures, Uncork Capital, Fika Ventures, GD1 and Icehouse Ventures.

Ivo is purpose-built for in-house teams that need both reviews with surgical accuracy as well as visibility into their complete contract library.

The company’s AI-powered contract review solution, Ivo Review, allows users to complete reviews in a fraction of the time; customers report saving up to 75 per cent of the time that manual review would demand.

The product standardizes a company’s positions and precedents using playbooks built and implemented by lawyers. This means that every contract is reviewed accurately, consistently, and efficiently, critical for large and globally distributed teams.

“Our goal has always been to make interacting with contracts fast, accurate, and enjoyable. Every key relationship in a business is defined by an agreement, yet most organizations struggle to extract the insights inside them.

“Our focus is to give in-house teams a trustworthy solution that helps them work faster and gives them visibility into their contracts that was previously impossible,” the chief executive and co-founder of Ivo, Min-Kyu Jung, stated.

Also commenting, a Principal at Blackbird, Mr James Palmer, said, “In-house legal teams demand products that are deeply accurate and aligned to how they work. The most sophisticated teams are incredibly selective about the tools they trust.

“Ivo’s traction with some of the world’s best companies shows it consistently exceeds that bar. With exceptional product execution and an uncompromising quality bar, we believe Ivo is defining and leading the category.”

The Senior Manager for Contract Operations at Uber, Ms Kate Gardner, said, “Uber selected Ivo because it was intuitive to use, demonstrated a high level of accuracy, could work in multiple languages, and met its confidentiality requirements. Furthermore, the Ivo team was highly responsive to Uber’s needs.”

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Nigeria Leads in AI for Learning, Entrepreneurship—Google

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AI for Learning Nigeria

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A new report released by global tech giant, Google, in collaboration with Ipsos, has revealed that Nigeria is writing the playbook on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it leads in AI for learning and entrepreneurship.

In the study titled Our Life with AI: Helpfulness in the hands of more people, it was shown that Nigerians are using AI tools for everything from education to entrepreneurship at a remarkable rate, showing immense optimism for the technology’s future.

It was disclosed that about 88 per cent of Nigerian adults have used an AI chatbot, a huge 18-point jump from 2024, placing the West African country well ahead of the global average of 62 per cent.

It was also found out that while the top use for AI globally has shifted to learning, Nigerians are taking it a step further, using AI as a powerful tool for personal and professional development.

A staggering 93 per cent of Nigerians use AI to learn or understand complex topics, compared to 74 per cent globally, with 91 per cent using the tool to assist them with their work.

In addition, the research observed that 80 per cent of Nigerians are using AI to explore a new business or career change—nearly double the global average of 42 per cent.

Nigerians have overwhelmingly positive feelings about AI’s role in the classroom and beyond, seeing it as a game-changer for education, with 91 per cent feeling AI is having a positive impact on how we learn and access information versus 65 per cent globally.

The report showed that 95 per cent believe university students and educators are likely to benefit from AI, as 80 per cent of Nigerians are more excited about the possibilities of AI, versus just 20 per cent who are more concerned. Globally, the split is much closer at 53 per cent excited and 46 per cent concerned).

Commenting on the findings, the Communications and Public Affairs Manager for Google in West Africa, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, said, “It’s inspiring to see how Nigerians are creatively and purposefully using AI to unlock new opportunities for learning, growth, and economic empowerment.

“This report doesn’t just show high adoption rates; it tells the story of a nation that is actively shaping its future with technology, using AI as a tool to accelerate progress and achieve its ambitions. We’re committed to ensuring that AI remains a helpful and accessible tool for everyone.”

Business Post gathered that the research was conducted by Ipsos between September 22 and October 10, 2025, on behalf of Google.

For this survey, a sample of roughly 1,000 adults aged 18+ who are residents of Nigeria and were interviewed online, representing the country’s online population.

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NCC Grants Three Satellite Licences to Boost Broadband Services

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NCC

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has licensed three additional global internet service providers, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, BeetleSat-1, and and Germany-based Satelio IoT Services, as part of efforts to strengthen internet connectivity via satellite and to boost competition among existing internet service providers in the country.

Amazon Leo, formerly Project Kuiper, is Amazon’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network, designed to provide fast, reliable internet to customers and communities beyond the reach of existing networks, while BeetleSat (formerly NSLComm) is an international company with strong ties to both Israel and Spain, and its corporate structure involves multiple countries, building a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of 250 satellites to provide high-throughput, low-latency, satellite internet, cellular backhaul, and mobility services globally, and Satelio IoT was approved for its planned 491-satellite IoT system, though only one satellite is currently in orbit.

NCC granted the global internet operators seven-year licences to each to operate in Nigeria from February 28, 2026, to February 28, 2033.

These operators were granted Ka-Band for their frequency band operations, and the licence is renewable after the seven years expiration, according to the regulator.

The NCC’s landing permit authorises Project Kuiper to operate its space segment in Nigeria as part of a global constellation of up to 3,236 satellites.

According to the NCC, the approval aligns with global best practices and reflects Nigeria’s willingness to open its satellite communications market to next-generation broadband providers.

The permit positions Project Kuiper to provide satellite internet services over Nigerian territory and sets the stage for intensified competition with Starlink, currently the most visible Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite internet provider in the country.

The permit also gives Amazon LEO and BeetleSat-1, the legal certainty to invest in ground infrastructure, local partnerships, and enterprise contracts, while giving Nigeria a wider market opportunity to play in space internet service delivery, where Starlink currently operates.

Amazon’s Kuiper will offer three categories of satellite services in Nigeria: Fixed Satellite Service (FSS), Mobile Satellite Service (MSS), and Earth Stations at Sea (ESAS).

FSS enables broadband connectivity between satellites and fixed ground stations, such as homes, enterprises, telecom base stations, and government facilities. This is the core service behind satellite home internet and enterprise backhaul; MSS, by contrast, is designed for mobility and resilience; and ESIM extends high-speed satellite broadband to moving platforms, including aircraft, ships, trains, and vehicles.

These systems rely on sophisticated antennas that can track satellites in real time while in motion, making them critical for aviation and maritime connectivity as well as logistics and transport sectors.

BeetleSat was founded in Israel, where its groundbreaking antenna technology was developed and supported by the Israel Space Agency.

In 2021, it formed a strategic alliance with the Spanish technology group Arquimea, which is now BeetleSat’s largest shareholder and main industrial partner.

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