Greensprings students develop app to tackle kidnapping in schools
Two students of Greensprings School, Lagos, Chioma Abone and Emmanuela Ilok, have developed the idea of products that use wearable technology to address the increasing abduction of school children in Nigeria.
The students, while presenting their idea at this year’s Young Tycoon Business Competition, said the plan is to have a security company that will develop two products that keep school students safe by alerting family and friends when they are in a state of emergency.
The duo emerged one of the 28 finalists out of the 7,000 participants from 80 countries that entered for the competition.
Winner of the competition is expected to win $960,000 worth of prizes.
Explaining their business idea, the students said: “The inspiration for our business idea came from insecurity in the country. As students, we are not happy with the news of the constant abduction of fellow students in some parts of Nigeria.
“So, we decided to work on an idea about a company called Paramount Guard, which seeks to offer security services to school students, not only in Nigeria but all over the world. The company plans to introduce AirGuard Wearable, which pairs with the AirGuard App to help students quickly alert family members and friends when in critical situation or a state of emergency.”
Secondary school principal at Greensprings, Anthony campus, Mrs Magdalene Okrikri, expressed happiness at the students’ advancement to the finals, saying with the total number of participants, their emergence as finalists was a great feat.
She said: “This achievement is a testament to Greensprings School’s drive to raise young entrepreneurs. We are indeed very proud of them and I wish them success in the final.”
The Young Tycoon Business Competition is organised by a consortium of the world’s top universities and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, with the aim of motivating and mentoring aspiring high-school entrepreneurs across the globe.
The competition started in May, and finalists have gone through three rounds, where they submitted their business ideas, developed business plans and defended their pitch decks. The fourth and final round will take place at a later date yet to be announced.
