Twelve student teams from across Nigeria gathered in Lagos for the grand finale of the Nigerian National AI Hackathon, organised by DeepFunding and SingularityNET, showcasing a new generation of locally driven artificial intelligence solutions focused on healthcare access, language inclusion and assistive technology.
- +Students showcase AI innovations at DeepFunding hackathon
The finale, held at the Remostart AI and Blockchain Labs last December, marked the culmination of a nationwide innovation programme that hosted regional and university hackathons across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones before selecting top-performing teams for a final 12-hour build challenge and pitch session at the Lagos Oriental Hotel.
The finale, held at the Remostart AI and Blockchain Labs last December, marked the culmination of a nationwide innovation programme that hosted regional and university hackathons across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones before selecting top-performing teams for a final 12-hour build challenge and pitch session at the Lagos Oriental Hotel.
Organisers said in a statement on Sunday that the competition was a growing push to encourage African developers to create AI products tailored to local realities rather than relying solely on imported technologies.
The top prize went to Doctor Robot, an AI-powered medical companion designed to provide healthcare guidance in multiple Nigerian languages.
The developers said the platform was built to address accessibility gaps in a country where millions of people communicate primarily in indigenous languages instead of English.
Team Sophia secured second place with an AI-driven community healthcare system aimed at improving access to medical support at the grassroots level, while Team Eusate placed third with a multilingual customer support platform supporting major Nigerian languages and Nigerian Pidgin.
Other finalists included Team SOAT, which developed an AI-powered automated medication dispensing system, and Path Pilot, an AI visual navigation solution for visually impaired users. Path Pilot also received a Special Judges’ Award for the quality of its presentation and solution design.
Organisers said the hackathon was designed not only as a competition but also as a gateway into DeepFunding’s decentralised AI ecosystem, where participating teams can continue building their projects and potentially publish AI services on the SingularityNET marketplace.
The approach allows developers to retain ownership of their models while monetising their intellectual property, offering an alternative to traditional accelerator models that often require startups to surrender equity or control.
Chief Executive Officer of Remostart and DeepFunding’s representative in Nigeria, Ubio Obu, used the event to encourage African developers to become contributors to global AI infrastructure rather than passive consumers of foreign-built systems.
Addressing the participants, Obu outlined the different stages of AI development and argued that decentralised AI frameworks could create more opportunities for local builders across emerging markets.
Head of Marketing at Remostart and co-host of the event, Ese Williams, also led sessions focused on startup storytelling and pitching, helping participating teams refine how they communicate their ideas to investors and partners.
One of the defining features of the hackathon was its nationwide structure. Rather than limiting participation to major technology hubs such as Lagos or Abuja, organisers activated coordinators and technical mentors across all six geopolitical zones to encourage broader inclusion.
Regional coordinators included Prof. Autine for the South-South, Engr Olajide Blessing for the South-West, Dr Oreofe Ajayi for the North-West and Daniel Obiyo for the South-East, alongside Prof. James Agajo, who served as national coordinator. Dr B.K. Nuhu acted as national secretary for the initiative.
The decentralised structure reflects DeepFunding’s broader philosophy of open participation and distributed innovation, where developers from underserved regions can access the same opportunities as participants in established technology centres.
The range of projects presented during the finale also highlighted a growing awareness among young Nigerian developers of the country’s socioeconomic challenges and the role AI could play in addressing them.
Many of the solutions focused on improving access to healthcare services, reducing language barriers, expanding accessibility for persons with disabilities and strengthening community-level support systems.
DeepFunding described the Nigerian hackathon as a potential blueprint for AI ecosystem development in emerging markets, particularly as African countries seek to build local technology capacity amid rising global interest in artificial intelligence.
