CITIZENS COMPASS— ipNX Nigeria Limited has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing Nigeria’s technology ecosystem and empowering the next generation of innovators through its sponsorship of the Thrive-in-Tech 6.0 Hackathon, an innovation-driven programme that brought together young Nigerian talents to build technology solutions to real-world challenges.
Held from 21st to 22nd August 2026 at Golfview Hotel, Lagos, the hackathon provided participants with an immersive platform to learn, collaborate, experiment and transform ideas into viable technology solutions. The two-day programme featured product pitches, panel discussions, masterclasses and mentorship sessions designed to strengthen participants’ technical, entrepreneurial and problem-solving capabilities.
Speaking at the event, Oluwaseun Oluboyo, Chief Technology Architect, ipNX Nigeria, who also served as Chief Judge for the hackathon, provided technical guidance and evaluated the solutions developed by participating teams. He challenged the innovators to look beyond technology as an end in itself and focus on building solutions that create tangible value and lasting impact.
“You are not building today just to win a competition; you are building to solve real problems that matter. I expect that some of the solutions that are built here today will actually go on to be real products and solutions out there, see the light of day, be commercialised and make a difference,” he said to the event participants.
“Events like these are significant to us at ipNX because we believe in the ability of local home-grown talent to address our challenges. Yes, we can learn from the West, Silicon Valley and borrow from the rest of the world but the answers to these home-grown technology challenges will not come from those places. We have to bear the primary responsibility of developing our technology and solutions. That is what we have preached and practiced over the past two decades at ipNX” says Oluboyo.
Convener of the Hackathon, Femi Ayilara, explained that the initiative, which began in 2020, was borne out of the impact of mentorship on his career. “I’m a product of mentorship myself. A group of friends and I came together to start Thrive in Tech in 2020 because navigating the tech ecosystem can be challenging, but with mentoring and the right resources, anyone can go on to design and develop systems that solve real world problems. And that is the value the 45 teams participating in the Hackathon will be getting.”
Delivering the closing keynote, Bukola Olajuwon, Divisional CEO, ipNX Industrial and Consumer Electronics, challenged participants to embrace innovation with purpose, ambition and a long-term perspective. She urged them to think beyond the immediate challenge and consider the broader impact and scalability of what they create.
“We should ask the question: what are we building that will matter? Our thinking should be driven by the problem we are trying to solve, not the solution or application we want to build. I leave you with these words; build for scale, build for Africa, build people, and build beyond yourself. The future is not something that will happen to us, we have to create it,” she said.
The Thrive-in-Tech 6.0 Hackathon further reinforces ipNX’s broader commitment to building people, enabling innovation and creating possibilities through technology. As an indigenous technology company, ipNX recognises that the country’s greatest technological asset is not only the sophistication of its digital solutions, but the creativity, resilience and ingenuity of the people behind them.
