BYCEP hosts hackathon, seeks tech solutions for Nigeria's tourism industry
Posted by Ahmed Iyanda | 2 years ago | 844 times
BYCEP, with the support of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO), Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation(NTDC) and the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, is set to host a hackathon event tagged "Tourism Hackathon Nigeria" to bring together a network of Developers, Product designers, Doers, Dreamers, Makers, Entrepreneurs who would be dedicated to the development of a platform that delivers unique and innovative solutions to identified challenges and gaps across the tourism value chain in Nigeria.
Announcing the innovation while addressing journalists on Tuesday, the Founder of BYCEP and Hackathon Coordinator, Ayoola Gbade-Bello, stated that the initiative is being launched to utilise the potential of tourism for economic growth.
He said, "the primary aim of this hackathon would be to engender solutions to numerous problems facing the tourism sector in Nigeria and how it can be easier to deploy technology to solve these problems."
Going by the theme for the 2022 World Tourism Day "Rethinking Tourism," Ayoola pointed out that the hackathon was informed by the need to reflect and rethink operations in the industry over the years.
"The challenges bedeviling the domestic tourism industry in Nigeria are well documented. In addition, there's a widening disconnect between the stakeholders in the public and private sectors, all of which negatively impact the experience of the traveller."
"Some of these issues have been further accentuated by the novel coronavirus pandemic which had a huge impact on both travel and tourism in the country, '' he said.
Speaking further, Ayoola said the hackathon would be held during the forthcoming UNWTO Conference which is scheduled to hold in Lagos from 14th to 15th November, 2022. Participants are to register here.
While the application is open to everyone in the tourism space from the six geo political zones of the country, he said registrants will be engaged to develop technological apps, such that it would aid tourism growth.
According to him, applications must be submitted on or before 4th of November.
"The top five individuals will be picked at the first stage while the overall winner will be rewarded with an all expense paid trip to Madrid to pitch their solution at the UNWTO Innovation Challenge. The winner will also be accepted to accelerator programmes with access to mentorship and product support from BYCEP and its partners," he added.
Other benefits include access to partner companies looking to hire developers and project managers with experience building or managing enterprise applications.
