Meet the Nigerian Girls Who Won Top Honours at the 2018 Technovation World Pitch Summit in America

Junior Gold Scholarship Winners
Save A Soul
FD-Detector
Nigeria


FD-Detector (Fake Drug Detector) helps identify fake pharmaceutical drugs in Nigeria. The app leverages a drug's barcode to verify its authenticity and expiration date. Save A Soul will also partner with NAFDAC (National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control), an agency responsible for regulating drugs in Nigeria.


Teams Of Girls From India And Nigeria Win International Mobile App Competition MORE THAN $50,000 AWARDED TO FINALISTS AT IRIDESCENT'S 2018 TECHNOVATION WORLD PITCH SUMMIT IN SILICON VALLEY
Teams of girls worldwide learn the necessary skills to become tech entrepreneurs and leaders while creating apps addressing social issues in their communities.
    SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridescent, a nonprofit empowering underrepresented young people globally to become innovators and leaders, announced that two teams of girls - one from India and Nigeria - won top honors at its 2018 Technovation World Pitch Summit, the world's largest tech entrepreneurship program for girls ages 10-18. The two teams were named winners in the senior and junior divisions, respectively, during the "Global Innovation Celebration" held in the San Jose Theatre Aug. 9.
The celebration was the final event in the week-long World Pitch Summit Aug. 6-10. Finalists and visiting teams traveled from around the world for networking, field trips to tech companies, and career-building workshops.
Winning Teams:
Senior Division Team: Cantavits App name: Eedo Delhi, India
Senior division winners, Team Cantavits, hope to track and dispose of electronic waste in an eco-friendly manner through its app, Eedo. The app provides an end-to-end connection between e-waste producers and authorized recyclers.
"According to a study, 81% of people dispose of their e-waste in an improper manner, not realizing its consequences. E-waste comes back to them in the form of toxic fumes and polluted water. Our app and the seed money from the Technovation Challenge will help us combat this issue in India," said Team Cantavits
Junior Division Team: Save-A-Soul App name: FD-Detector Onitsha, AN, Nigeria
Junior division winners, Team Save-A-Soul, hopes to help consumers identify and avoid the intake of fake drugs in Nigeria using its app, FD-Detector (Fake Drug Detector). According to Team Save-A-Soul, Nigeria has one of the largest markets for fake drugs. The girls plan to partner with the agency responsible for drug regulation in Nigeria, the National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control.
"Leveraging technology to save lives is our utmost priority, that is why we have decided to maximize this opportunity to solve the incessant rate of death caused by fake drugs," said Team Save-A-Soul.
The Technovation Challenge tasks girls ages 10-18, working in teams of 1-5, with creating a mobile app addressing a problem in their own community. The 2018 World Pitch Summit is the final event following more than seven months of hard work, innovation, and problem solving by more than 19,000 girls in 115 countries supported by over 5,000 mentors.
Finalists were pitching for seed funding and scholarships. More than $50,000 USD was awarded across the teams.
"It is inspiring seeing the hard work and determination of girls around the world working to solve big challenges in their communities with smart solutions," said Tara Chklovski, CEO & Founder, Iridescent. "World Pitch is not only an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the nearly 100 girls advancing to the finals, it is a chance to celebrate the 20,000 that are making technology solutions for social good."
Technovation 2018 and World Pitch is made possible by volunteers around the world, and alliance sponsors Google.org, Salesforce.org, Adobe Foundation, and Uber.
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