Habeeb Akinsola, a talented Biomedical Engineering graduate from the University of Ilorin, has distinguished himself as one of the 20 winners in a fiercely competitive ₦1.6 million startup pitch competition.
The event, held as part of the 2nd Cohort of Project I2M (Innovation to Market), celebrated Akinsola and other exceptional innovators from Nigeria’s budding tech landscape.
Project I2M, a consortium-backed initiative, empowers Nigerian researchers and innovators by providing vital support to transform their innovations into market-ready products. Fully funded by the UK’s Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) and implemented by the University of Lagos Innovation and Technology Management Office (ITMO), this project aims to catalyze the commercialization of local innovations.
From an impressive pool of over 500 applicants, only 100 were selected for the next phase, which included rigorous screenings that narrowed the field down to 52 promising innovators.
These participants engaged in a comprehensive incubator programme, beginning with five weeks of online training, before dividing into two batches for hands-on training. The first batch of 24 commenced in-person training on November 11, culminating in the highly anticipated startup pitch competition on November 15.
Akinsola’s success is rooted in his remarkable final year project, Abiyamọ. This innovative project won the University of Ilorin’s Hult Prize OnCampus Programme in 2023 and even made it to the Hult Prize Global Summit in Nairobi, underscoring his potential to impact the global market.
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