Amidst growing global efforts aimed at tackling the raging Coronavirus (COVID-19), we took a step to herald the deployment of technology to seek complementary solutions.

On the 16th of June, 2020, the Civic Innovation Lab, powered by our vision of supporting indigenous start-ups through seed funding and business support to help from concept ideation to implementation, hosted a virtual hackathon aimed at harvesting a swathe of new ideas for using technology to combat covid-19.

A $1000 seedfund prize money was set for the winning solution, and our goal behind this HACKCOVID19 virtual hackathon was simple - generate ingenious, tech-driven and readily applicable solutions that will complement existing efforts at faster data/information gathering, dissemination, application and deployment, such that quicker and potentially life-saving decisions can be made as the fight against the novel virus rages on.

With this goal in mind, the potential solutions and ideation were asked to be focused on the following: .

• Prompt elimination dissemination on outbreak of cases and affected areas.
• Easy access to diagnosis (through Telehealth, remote diagnosis, etc).
• An inclusive sensitisation solution that informs citizens, both in city centres and rural communities, on the precautionary actions to take according to WHO standards.

Hosting the Hackcovid19 hackathon was crucial for us as we tried to acknowledge the overall impacts of this pandemic, including the social and the economic impact, and brainstorm on how we can together combat it.

Civiclab HACKCOVID-19 thus offered Nigeria's tech minds and enthusiasts a platform to collaborate with other stakeholders including government agencies, NGOS, hospitals, and medical practitioners, to bridge the gap in efforts against Covid-19.

At the close of the hackathon, a total of twenty-four (24) unique solutions were developed and pitched, and eight (8) out of the lot have been shortlisted for the final stretch. Participants partook in the hackathon via Github.

Today, using the parameters of accessibility, feasibility, implementation, maintenance, and problem solving capability, our judges have named the top 3 winning solutions for the 1000-dollar seed money and possible solution development fund(s) by other donor organizations.

Congratulations to Oluwadara Oluwalana, Chinonso Ani and Vincent Nwonah for their winning solutions.

Oluwalana’s solution will see to prompt development of face shields and pill dispensers using 3D printing machines; Ani created an app that will grant faster access to medical consultation and follow-up in vulnerable populations. Nwonah on the other hand developed a solution aimed at a more reliable means of contact tracing by the government.

Efforts at the Civic Innovation Lab have been steered towards the implementation of these winning tech-based solutions, with a hope to headline more.