Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) team ‘Software Chasers’ won the latest Agro Tech Hackathon competition sponsored by Microsoft, Sterling Bank, and TedPrime Hub.
The announcement comes after a June 28th, 2022 event at the Microsoft African Transformation Office, Kings Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos State.
The organisers of the programme planned to provide grants of N2.5 million, N1.5 million, and N1 million to the top three teams.
The ‘Software Chasers’ team was made up of three students from the UDUS Computer Science Department, according to News Digest Nigeria.
The team was directed by Muhammad Auwal Muktar, a 400-level student and current president of the National Association of Computing Students (NACOS).
Mudathir M. Salahudeen (Albany), a 400-level student and the Association’s Assistant Secretary-General, and Saadu Salihu Abubakar (Sultan), a 300-level student and the association’s Software Director 2.
The competition was developed, according to the organisers, to make agricultural value chains and employment prospects more available to Nigerians, particularly farmers, while also striving to select solutions that encourage sustainable and inclusive outlets.
Team Software Chasers won a race against hundreds of other applications, defeating a pool of rival teams. For winning the race, the team got N2.5 million in cash.
The ‘Sell Harvest’ solution developed by the team is a digital solution that connects farmers directly to buyers/consumers. It is a straightforward solution that supports both local and foreign languages, making it easy to use and implement.
“Over 68,000 people applied for the contest, and 2000 teams were formed from these people.” The organisers chose the best 700 teams with outstanding content. Teams were eliminated, teams were chosen, and the team was chosen along with 49 others for the next stage of the competition.
“These 50 teams with exciting ideas were then narrowed down to ten.” And our team came in first place at the end,” Salaudeen, a team member, said, adding that the competition was difficult.
Last year, the Software Chasers finished second in the UDUS Web/Mobile App Development Competition.