NAN
Foremost search engine, Google, on Friday announced that three Nigerians had made it to the top 10 finalists in its Google “Africa Connected“ Competition.
In a statement made available in Lagos, Google said that the three Nigerian finalists were Eric Obuh, a social crusader; Eseoghene Odiete, a fashion designer, and Mayowa Adegbile, a philanthropist.
It said that the top 10 finalists also include two Kenyans, a Senegalese, a South African, a Zimbabwean and a Ghanaian.
The search engine said that five successful winners from among the finalists would now be selected by the online voting public.
According to Google, the winners would bag $25,000 (N4,065,000) each and would also have the opportunity to work with a Google sponsor over a six-month period, to further their online businesses.
It said that the competition was launched in August last year, calling entrepreneurs, creative innovators and web-lovers to share stories of how the web has transformed their lives and work.
The search engine said that the top ten finalists were selected by a panel of judges from over 2,200 entries from 35 countries.
It said that the competition categories included: Education, Entertainment/Arts/Sports, Technology, Community, NGOs and Small businesses.
Affiong Osuchukwu, Google Lead for the Africa Connected initiative was quoted as saying that the competition had run for over six months and they were thrilled at the amazing number of stories collected from across Africa.
“Today, we are excited to announce the Top 10 finalists who have been selected by our judges’ panel.
“The diversity of their ventures – from providing clean drinking water to preserving culture – shows how the web can truly drive positive change in the lives of many people and their communities.
“We look forward to seeing who the voting public choose as the winners – the top five most inspiring success stories from across our continent,” It quoted Osuchukwu as saying.
Google said that the winners would be announced on April 1, at an event in Nairobi, Kenya.
It added that anyone who would like to vote for the five winners, in whose lives the web and Google have played a pivotal role, could do so on the Africa Connected website: www.africaconnected.com.
