Ecobank Nigeria's Kola Adeleke Promotes Youth Innovation

Kola Adeleke, Executive Director of Commercial and Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, urged young Nigerians to convert innovative ideas into practical solutions to address challenges in banking, technology, business, and society. Speaking at the grand finale of the N22m InnovateX Hackathon in Lagos, he emphasized the importance of providing platforms, resources, and mentorship to help young innovators succeed.

The competition attracted 168 teams from 90 universities, with 20 teams advancing to the finale. Team Vhorde won the competition and received N5m, while E-Nation and Konvoy were first and second runners-up, receiving N4m and N3.5m respectively.

Ecobank distributed a total of N22m among the finalist teams, with the 20th place team receiving N500,000. Victor Yalokwu, Head of Products and Analytics at Ecobank Nigeria, noted that the hackathon is part of the bank's Blaze youth initiative, which also includes a Campus Ambassadors Programme aimed at developing leadership and entrepreneurial skills among students.