Historically, the role of children in technological advancements and societal development has been greatly misunderstood and trivialised. However, these indispensable stakeholders in the sustainable progress of a nation possess notable levels of ingenuity and inquisitiveness that, if well harnessed, can become seeds for epoch-making inventions.
It is upon this bedrock that foremost Nigerian fintech company, SystemSpecs, and owners of Remita, set out to inspire Nigerian children to showcase their ideas and allow their creative juices flow in the recently concluded SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition.
As such, innovation and creativity were on the minds of these youngsters who turned out in their numbers with sheer grit to proffer turnkey strategies for promoting the wellbeing of Nigeria.
Themed “Building a more Secure Nigeria using Technology”, students wrote about how the country can overcome its present security challenges through technology. Amongst several others, facial recognition, CCTV cameras, fingerprints, and trackers lead the pack of ideas put forward by the kids who also expressed hope in the future of the country.
According to SystemSpecs, which is one of the oldest African Technology firms, the essay competition is aimed at developing indigenous IT capacity for national prosperity.
Now in its second year, the competition received over 2000 entries from students between ages 9 and 16 from secondary schools in all the states of the country, including Borno State, the epicentre of Boko Haram’s deadly insurgency.
In the end, 12-year-old Chetachi Best Mbalu of Lagooz College, Iyana Ipaja, Lagos emerged winner in the junior category, while 15-year-old Uchenna Rita Ohiaeri of Queensland Academy, Okota, Lagos emerged winner in the senior category.
The technology house also rewarded schools with exceptional performance, donating 15 laptops to winning school in the senior category, and 10 laptops to the winning school in the junior category.
Managing Director of SystemSpecs, John Obaro, praised the patriotism of all the participants in the essay competition which was geared towards helping the young stars envision a society where everyone can actively participate in moving the country forward.
According to Obaro, it was great to receive diverse suggestions from children on how to solve the pressing challenge of insecurity. “It has given us hope that we have a foundation on which we can build the future of the country,” he added.
The initiative numbers amongst efforts by corporates to support the government as Nigeria continues gradually on the path of recovery from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, some of the interventions have received widespread criticism from individuals and sections of the society for lacking relevance to prevailing circumstances.
Whilst the public sector is vested heavily with the responsibility of transformation and revival in such a time as this, SystemSpecs is one of the companies making valuable contributions by innovating new ways to enhance speedy recoup, improve local capacity development, and help Nigeria to regain its economic vibrance and stature globally.
In lending credence to the company’s commitment to the wellbeing of the society, Executive Director, Deremi Atanda, disclosed that the tech firm’s CSR interventions is largely focused on advancing technology capacity for national prosperity. This has informed many of its past initiatives such as the annual summer coding camp for secondary school students, hackathon for university undergrads, girls-in-ICT advocacy and events, internship placement for home and Diaspora-based Nigerians, building and equipping of a library and donation of books to other libraries.
Over the years, the fintech leader has consistently blazed the trail, setting a positive example for its peers through a strong commitment to corporate citizenship, national development, and sustainable business.
The company also boasts of a robust catalogue of interventions of which the SystemSpecs Children’s Day Essay Competition is only a part.
One of such initiatives which assents the company’s drive for increased local capacity is its continuous support for the Devcamp, and annual intensive software development bootcamp for the next generation of tech talents. Founded by the UK-Nigeria Tech hub and implemented by Wootlab, Devcamp usually culminates in the exhibition of innovative technological solutions developed by participants. Some of the innovative solutions showcased in the last Devcamp include Agrotech, an app that simplifies the communication between investors and farmers, and Medicreen, an AI powered chatbot that helps to create a medical diagnosis report.
Another annual initiative deeply supported by SystemSpecs is the Girl in ICT Day, organized by the E-business Life magazine, an annual event geared at sensitising young girls to take up career paths that are related to ICT.
SystemSpecs has also partnered with the Lagos State government and other partners to organise some other CSR initiatives targeted at improving local IT capacity and empowering Nigerian youths . These include Code Lagos, Ready, Set, Go, and the Hackaton amongst others.
SystemSpecs is a leading provider of Financial Technology and Human Resource Management solutions, with remarkable products like Remita, HumanManager and Paylink that are helping governments, businesses, banks, and individuals to solve various problems. Yet, it believes there is more to be done for society via CSR. Through these laudable initiatives, and many more, this pioneering firm continues to make its positive contributions to national development.