To mark the launch of their Tinapa Centre on August 2nd, 2013, Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA) had a 42-hour app building hackathon in Tinapa Knowledge City, Calabar.
Of the ten teams that contested, three winners emerged, with the first place winner taking home N450,000. We asked the winning team a few questions and here is what they had to say:
THE WINNING TEAM
In first place, we had Team 2 who developed a media and entertainment app called Le-Media — learning meets entertainment. The team was made up of Aboluwarin Olaoluwa David, a certified web component developer who acted as the Team Leader, Strategist and Business Manager; Banjo Mofesola Paul, a third year Computer Science student at Federal University of Technology Akure who aced as the Technical Manager; and Oladapo Oluwadara Glory, a third year Computer Science student at Federal University of Technology Akure who acted as the Resource Manager.
How did you come up with your app idea?
We had a hard time trying to figure out (with our own minds) what we could achieve within the short time we were afforded, then we surrendered for God to help us through, and Le-media came up as simple as it is; an inspiration!
What need does your app address?
Le-media is an app that attempts to leverage education and entertainment, coming in as a simple game app which administers mathematical knowledge in an interesting and entertaining medium.
Conforming with the theme of the hackathon which demanded that all solutions be media-oriented, Le-media is not confined only to arithmetics but seeks to familiarize users with Nigerian artistes and culture. The kids and infants of course are not left out in the Le-media package as it contains a kids’ corner, which educates the youngsters by entertaining them.
What difficulties did you have in trying to build the app?
There wasn’t much of a challenge during the hackathon as we have trained ourselves to work on projects with short delivery timelines. We had good space to work, we had good internet access and we had the privilege of working with seasoned judges during the event which we consider to be a great point.
How did the iDEA centre/hackathon help?
They helped us by providing all necessary requirements to make our work stress-free. The timeline provided also helped us to focus our energy as a team and to work together better.
Where do you see Le-Media in 3 years? What is the plan for sustainability and continuity and potential monetization/profitability?
The solution will be published on available mobile app markets and revenue for sustainability and continuity will be generated via relevant ads.
Any last words? Lessons learned? Advice to people in software development?
It’s good to work, but better to work with a backup force — for us, it was (and will continually be) the Holy Spirit.
