The Co-founder of Codefest International, Mr Moss Uromtah, says promising technology ideas developed by young innovators should progress beyond competition prototypes into practical solutions to real-world challenges.
Uromtah said this in an interview with reporters on Thursday in Lagos.
He said that many hackathons demonstrated participants’ creativity but did not necessarily provide opportunities for their solutions to be tested or adopted after the competition.
“Hackathons should not end with winners receiving prizes; they should create pathways for solutions to continue beyond the competition,” Uromtah said.
He said that the Lagos Innovate Hackathon 2026 was designed to connect innovators directly with organisations seeking solutions to actual business, government and societal challenges.
According to him, the objective is to create pathways through which promising prototypes can progress into pilots, employment, investment, incubation or commercial opportunities.
He said that Lagos Innovate would involve challenge owners from the beginning, enabling them to define problems and engage participating teams.
Uromtah said that developers, founders, designers, researchers and other emerging talents would then build solutions against clearly defined problems and practical success criteria.
He said that participating organisations would assess teams during the development process, creating opportunities to identify technical and commercial talent.
The co-founder said that promising solutions could subsequently undergo proof-of-concept testing, customer validation, pilot programmes or further product development.
He said that the model could also create opportunities for internships, employment, accelerator programmes, procurement discussions, investment reviews and commercial partnerships.
Uromtah said that Lagos provided a suitable environment for the initiative because of its concentration of technology companies, startups, universities, investors and young professionals.
He said that the city also had significant challenges spanning mobility, healthcare, education, energy, commerce, logistics, public services and digital inclusion.
According to him, the challenges provide opportunities for technology builders to develop solutions with practical relevance beyond competition prizes.
Uromtah said that Codefest had operated since 2018 at the intersection of STEM, digital skills, hackathons, innovation and talent development.
He said that the platform had evolved from a grassroots student innovation event into an ecosystem connecting builders with mentors, institutions, employers and partners.
The co-founder said that the 2025 programme recorded 1,740 participants, more than 100 teams, over 20 mentors and 24 challenges.
He said that challenge activity was strongest in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, followed by Open Innovation, HealthTech, EdTech, FinTech, and Climate and Sustainability.
Uromtah said that the 2026 programme would also seek broader participation by women, noting that females represented 12.74 per cent of participants in 2025.
He said that increasing women’s participation would create opportunities for stronger representation in technology, STEM and technical career pathways.
The co-founder said that the Lagos Innovate Hackathon 2026 would culminate in an Innovation Expo and Awards on Nov. 19.
He urged corporations, government institutions, universities, investors, technology companies, mentors and innovators to participate as challenge, technology, talent, investment or ecosystem partners.
Uromtah said that the initiative ultimately sought to ensure that solutions developed during the hackathon could move from ideas and prototypes into practical applications.
