Five Africans won the Data Analytics Hackathon, held by 10Alytics and Mustard Insights. Nigerians and other Africans are rewarded for their data expertise through one of the 10Alytics’ creative projects, the Data Analytics Hackathon.
Over 1,686 entries were received for the two-day virtual competition, which was held on December 3 and 4, 2022, with 44% of women and 56% of men participating.
600 people from the UK, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, and other African nations took part in the hackathon.
Out of the 200 submissions, 17 finalists were chosen to compete for the prizes. They were given the case study “Tackling the Health Crises in Africa” to work on, and they were required to present findings supported by data and make appropriate recommendations.
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10Alytics Data Analytics Hackathon Winners
The winners are Mariam Azeez, Kwame Otchere, Sodiq Adeoti, Gershinen Shanding, and Tina Okonkwo, who came first, second, third, fourth, and fifth position, respectively.
Cash awards won by the competitors are N400,000 for the first place, N275,000 for the second position, N175,000 for the third position, N100,000 for the fourth position, and N50,000 for the fifth position, according to Efemena Ikpro, co-founder of 10Alytics.
He claims that winners will get cash awards in their preferred currency, which will be deposited into their designated bank accounts. All participants would be given priority consideration for Data Analyst positions in partner firms, he noted.
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The Data Analytics creative projects Panel of Judges
The panel of judges at the hackathon consisted of Founder, Mustard Insights, Lawretta Egba; Head, Business Intelligence, Mastercard Foundation, Toyosi Odukoya; Manager, Revenue Assurance, 9mobile, Victor Oti; Data Analyst/Engineer Lead, TAJBank Limited, Habeeb Zakariya; and Data Analyst, University of Cambridge, Sebastian Obeta.
Others include Founder, Realaax Technologies, Hussien Azeez; Client Technology Lead at Microsoft, Mojisola Olawepo; Business Intelligence Data Analyst at Shell, Efe Otorfia; and Lead Analyst, TrustPilot, Sadiqah Musa.
According to Adeiza Suleman, Co-founder 10Alytics, participants were assessed based on how well they understood the case study, effectively communicated the findings, managed their time during presentations, responded to the questions effectively, and produced high-quality insights.
Suleman expressed the following when discussing the 10Alytics vision: “There’s a gap between what you learn and how you apply it, which is why we started 10Alytics. Africans are brilliant, intelligent, and smart people. But how do you transition from the classroom to the board room? 10Alytics equips people with soft skills and also guides them through the learning process by helping them review their CVs, prepare for interviews and optimize their LinkedIn profiles.
“This has been a life-changing experience. We need people, especially Africans to step up and start to solve the problems that Africa faces today. Data Analytics is a language spoken all over the world and no solution is new, but how you bring new ideas and narratives to that area is important as it can bring about innovations. This is what we seek to achieve.”
The top winner, Mariam Azeez, made the following comment: “I started data analytics around July this year, but I became more conscious about it because of my new role as a Core Finance Analyst. When I heard about the hackathon, I decided to test my knowledge. Up until yesterday, I was unsure about myself, but I just decided to keep going.
“So, coming here today and hearing wonderful things and even winning made me proud of myself. I appreciate the organizers for this opportunity as this just boosted my confidence.”
Over 15 participants in both the first and second iterations of the hackathon—which took place on October 9 and 10, 2021, and May 7 and 8, 2022, respectively—won cash prizes and full-time jobs as well as internship opportunities.