Etisalat Nigeria has announced its strong panel of judges for the 2014 Pan-African Prize for Innovation.
The judges include Founder and CEO of Chocolate City Group; Babatunde Fafunwa, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Rancard Solutions; Audu Maikori, Managing Director of Kitskoo Limited; Ehizogie Binitie, Entrepreneur/Consultant; Otuyemi Otule, CEO of MainOne telecommunications solutions provider; Henrik Palsson, Chief Information Officer at Etisalat Nigeria; Funke Opeke, Vice President Commerce at Etisalat Group and George Held, Chief Executive Officer at Etisalat Nigeria.
The Etisalat Pan-African Prize for Innovation, which was launched in 2012, aims at encouraging and celebrating valuable innovative ideas and products in the African market and drive the use of mobile broadband. The first prize of US $25, 000 is reserved for the most innovative product or service launched within the last 12 months while the second prize of US $10,000, will go to the most innovative idea.
While announcing the board of innovators and judges, Matthew Willsher the CEO of Etisalat Nigeria stated, “The main aim of the ‘Etisalat Pan-African Prize for Innovation’ is to celebrate and encourage valuable innovation for driving the use of mobile broadband within the African market.
“Having some of these distinguished professionals in their various fields as judges and custodians of the prize will further reward and encourage corporate organizations, small and growing businesses in addition to individuals who are continually contributing to the mobile broadband solutions and platforms development within Africa.”
Participants can be promised a critical assessment of their ideas or products and the winning entries will represent the very best, according to Willsher.
Every year, finalists display bold technology integration and fresh thinking, driving the boundaries of possibilities in the continually evolving broadband arena. Finalists will attend the seventh annual AfricaCom awards, which is due to take place in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2014.