At ICT for Africa Summit: ICT University rewards young innovators with mouthwatering prizes.

Winners of the tech competition, both in the university and secondary school categories, bagged home a cash prize of FCFA 1 million each.

While a project, known as AGRIBOT, won the first prize in the University Category, Versatile Eco-Farming Robotic Technology, V.E.R.T, won the prize in the Secondary School Category. 

The closing ceremony, Last Thursday, was attended by several dignitaries, including the Founder and President of the Board of Trustees of the ICT University, Prof Victor Mbarika.

The winners of the tech challenge have described the material prizes as a great boost to their projects.

Noumbissi Yamd Jeuson, whose AGRIBOT project won the first prize in the University Category, expressed gratitude to the organisers, stating that the money will enable his team participate in other tech competitions, both national and international.

Noumbissi explained that his AGRIBOT project “is a police censor robot. We built it with the intention of reducing the amount of fixed censor placed in our farms which is very costly. AGRIBOT comes with a lot of advantages such as camera surveillance…”.

He disclosed that: “We intend to use this money to buy our flight ticket for Singapore because we have another competition there”.

For her part, Tendo Kellya Linsey, leader of the group that won the prize in the Secondary School Category, said: “We are Upper Sixth students from BGS Molyko Buea and we are working on an automated greenhouse project called…Versatile eco- farming Robotic Technology, VERT.”

She explained that the project is a compact “automated greenhouse which is smart and uses AI to monitor the conditions of the greenhouse without the presence of the farmer. The greenhouse can be monitored from anywhere through a web on your phone”.

“We are hoping to use this money to integrate AI into the system, buy more censors and also improve digital technology…” she disclosed.

Meanwhile, commenting on the conduct of the tech challenge, Dr Ebelle Peter, a member of the jury, detailed that: “It was a really tough and difficult competition. We started off with the semifinals…and the final went up to actual prototypes of innovative solutions across several categories including health, education, finance and agriculture”.

“I want to say that the quality of projects were really wonderful. It is a deserving prize for the award winners because the jury was made up of over four industry leaders,” he added.

Biggest ICT Summit in Africa…

The 2026 edition of the ICT for Africa Summit and Tech Innovation Challenge, it should be recalled, officially kicked off Tuesday August 4, 2026, on the campus of the ICT University in Yaounde.

Held under the theme: “Africa’s Next-GEN Innovators: Driving Digital Innovation for Inclusive Development,” the three-day gathering brought together students, researchers, academics, public decision-makers, and digital experts. 

The opening ceremony featured a panoply of guest speakers and panelists, amongst who were Cybersecurity expert, Felix Fomemgia; Business Consultant, Valentine Che and Executive Producer and Director, Tatapong Beyala. 

The opening ceremony was equally attended by a host of university leaders and government officials, whose focus was on channeling youth creativity toward sustainable socio-economic growth.

In his opening address, the Founder of the ICT University, Professor Victor Mbarika, emphasised that the Summit was far more than a simple academic conference.

He said it serves as a strategic platform designed to enhance youth skills, foster collaboration across the digital ecosystem, and stimulate practical problem-solving. 

Transitioning from previous editions that focused primarily on discussions, Conference Chair, Professor Foluso Ayeni, noted that the 18th edition marks a decisive shift toward incubations, tangible outputs, and scalable enterprises.

Reflecting on the expanding footprint of the Summit, he said the flagship Tech Innovation Challenge, has evolved significantly in both participant diversity and institutional reach. 

While earlier competitions, primarily targeted High School students, he said the initiative has broadened its scope to encompass university-level innovators. 

Among the Higher Education institutions that showcased their projects this year were the University of Bamenda and the University of Dschang, alongside nearly fifty competing teams, who presented prototypes and Minimum Viable Products – MVPs.

The scope of solutions evaluated by the panel also expanded to meet the continent’s diverse needs. 

The competition sectors increased from three to four distinct verticals, including Agriculture, Finance, Health, and Technology. 

By integrating digital health alongside fintech, e-agriculture, and ed-tech, the Summit offered a more comprehensive platform for projects addressing critical infrastructural and societal challenges across Central Africa and beyond.

A primary highlight of the Summit was the 3.5 million FCFA prize pool, dedicated to rewarding the top-performing projects. 

However, organisers stressed that financial rewards were merely a launching pad. 

Professor Ayeni pointed out that post-competition support, including long-term technical and entrepreneurial guidance, is vital to preventing viable projects from stalling. 

Enter keynote speaker

Delivering his keynote address, Ousman Touray, urged African youth to recognise their creative potential and discard reliance on foreign technical imports. 

He called on participants to design solutions with pan-African applicability, leveraging digital networks to collaborate across borders. 

Emphasising the privilege of having access to institutional resources like those at the ICT University, the keynote speaker challenged the students to act as Ambassadors for a new wave of regional tech entrepreneurship.

 Full government support

Speaking at the start of the conference, the representative of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, reaffirmed government’s support to the initiative.

Representing the Minister, Dr Nlend Raphael, Technical Advisor N°1, highlighted MINPOSTEL’s ongoing efforts to establish an enabling environment for young tech creators. He noted that government’s support includes providing crucial infrastructure, funding avenues, incubators, co-working spaces, and structured mentoring to ensure enterprises’ initiatives remain sustainable.

Ultimately, the 2026 Summit underscores a growing consensus that Africa’s socio-economic trajectory relies heavily on its youth. 

ICT University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Emmanuel Tonye, described the gathering as a “Technological Olympics,” where students gain the validation and resources needed to see themselves as true innovators.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3871 of Friday August 07, 2026