By Victor Nwegede, Abakaliki.
The Founder Codefest International and President, Codefest Institute of Technology, Abakaliki, Moss Uromtah has empowered over 10,000 Ebonyi citizens in digital literacy and job placement.
He said, "Codefest International was brought to Ebonyi in the year 2022 and since then, we have empowered over 10,000 Ebonyians," adding that the beneficiaries included students from secondary school to the high institution and the working class.
He noted that the institute offers several programs in the area of digital literacy, certification, job placement, and internships, among others. He said Ebonyi has made tremendous records in infrastructure development, especially on road and bridge projects, but observed that the state needs to join the new trend of information and communication technology.
"We have roads, bridges and people from other states who have come to Ebonyi had testified that, but we need information. If you go to Lagos and other states, you see our brothers are known to be industrialists; some are hawking, but that is the high level of entrepreneurs we have as Ebonyians.
"However, it can be eased when we key into the trend. You know the trend now is not heavy or hard work. The trend now is digital, soft work. So, we started the concept of digital Ebonyi, moving into digital Ebonyi, transforming into digital Ebonyi and that's what Codefest is all about.
"Everybody is aware and a good number of people have been keying in, and we have been empowering ourselves with the technology. And that's the inspiration because I can't be out there doing things in India, in other countries, and even in Lagos and my Ebonyi will not have a seal of digital drive.
"That's why we started Ebonyi Hackathon, which is the platform that will expose the tech-drive talents. We will bring every tech-driven talent we see in Ebonyi; we bring them to the Ebonyi Hackathon for the world to see because all that you see here will not end here - meaning that we are going to showcase them to the world.
"Hackathon is a technology competition as the marathon is a competition for runners, but a hackathon is a tech competition. In a marathon, you go and run and win the prize, but in a hackathon, you come and code and the right code in programming wins the prize," the tech entrepreneur explained.
Uromtah called for sponsorship of the project, noting that it demands a huge financial budget to facilitate the program and alleviate the Ebonyi citizens from poverty. "We do hope in the next Ebonyi Hackathon, we will have a government in fully, to own, take and highjack the project to use and push a lot of goods into tech, let them live their dreams and end poverty in the land. We can do all kinds of hard work, but when we do the soft work, a lot of people will be out of poverty" Uromtah hinted.
In his keynote address, Professor Ugochukwu Osisiogu of Evangel University, Akaeze in Ebonyi State, explained that Ebonyi Hackathon was ultimately designed by the Codefest International team to promote technology progress, improve skill development and stimulate economic growth in Ebonyi State and other parts of Southeast Nigeria.
He said the Hackathon was founded on the vision of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in the area, providing tech-savvy youth with the chance to tackle real-world problems, pointing out the event sought to unite developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to collaboratively devise solutions that would benefit the local communities.
The University Don observed that the technology landscape in Ebonyi State is on the rise, featuring a burgeoning community of young, talented individuals keen to innovate and contribute to technological advancement, saying solutions related to e-governance, agriculture, and smart city initiatives could significantly improve the conditions of the state.
He expressed optimism that the participants in the Hackathon would tackle critical challenges such as healthcare access, educational disparities, environmental sustainability, and youth unemployment in Ebonyi, considering its program plans which included access to mentorship, technical resources, and funding opportunities through collaborations with local businesses, government entities and development organizations.
"Ebonyi is a tourism destination for Nigeria, but this can happen if the state government allows private companies to come in and operate, ensuring it creates an enabling environment for business to flourish in the state," Kaurani said.
Other speakers during the event including Dr Hillary Nweli - a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, and Israel Okey, among others also called for government and individual support to the tech investors especially in establishing awards to honour and reward high achieving teams, demonstrating their commitment to fostering innovation and technological progress in Ebonyi State and beyond.
