UDUSOK Students Win N2.5 Million in Agro-Tech Hackathon

Team ‘Software Chasers’ from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) has won the latest Agro Tech Hackathon competition sponsored by Microsoft, Sterling Bank, and TedPrime Hub.

The announcement follows an event held on June 28th, 2022 at the Microsoft African Transformation Office, Kings Tower, Ikoyi, Lagos State.

The program’s organisers intended to award grants of N2.5 million, N1.5 million, and N1 million to the first, second, and third best teams, respectively.

According to News Digest Nigeria, the ‘Software Chasers’ team was made up of three students from the UDUS Computer Science Department.

Muhammad Auwal Muktar, a 400-level student and the current president of the National Association of Computing Students, led the team (NACOS).

Mudathir M. Salahudeen (Albany), a 400-level student who was the team’s developer and the Assistant Secretary-General of (NACOS), and Saadu Salihu Abubakar (Sultan), a 300-level student and the association’s Software Director 2.

According to the organisers, the competition was created to make agricultural value chains and employment opportunities more accessible to Nigerians, particularly farmers, while also aiming to select solutions that promote sustainable and inclusive outlets.

In a race against hundreds of other applicants, Team Software Chasers came out on top, defeating a pool of competing teams. The team received a N2.5 million cash prize for finishing first in the race.

The team’s ‘Sell Harvest’ solution is a digital solution that connects farmers directly to buyers/consumers. It is a simple solution that supports both local and international languages, making it simple to use and adopt.

“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.

Remember that the Software Chasers previously finished second in the UDUS Web/Mobile App development competition last year.