Dr. Collins Chukwuka Akumabor, a medical doctor by training and entrepreneur by career and the founder of LOOP RECYCLERS TECH LTD. (LRT) which is involved with the use of technology for the building of smart cities, came third in the Commonwealth-wide ideas competition to find innovative solutions to ocean and climate challenges using the power of satellites.
Dr. Akumabor , a native of Umunede, in Ika East Local Government of Delta State, a Nigeria Environment advocate, in his presentation at the Hack The Planet Competition 2021, said the concept is to use geospatial data to monitor and improve recycling rates for plastics, preventing them from reaching rivers and the ocean.
SEE ALSO: MY DRIVE, BEING OUTSTANDING IN WHATEVER I DO – Onyeka
British creators of Plastic-I; a powerful tool for mapping ocean plastics with earth-observing satellites; won the competition. Plastic-i is an idea to help tackle marine pollution by combining satellite data with machine learning to create an open-source map of floating pollution, updated daily.
Terangi Team from Malaysia won second place for their pitch to create a technology platform to monitor environmental elements such as climate change and water quality while analysing potential threats.
SEE ALSO: OSIELE, IKA BORN FOOTBALLER MAKES WAVE IN USA
The three winners will share a prize pool of £20,000 plus over £85,000 in satellite data and cloud computing services, according to a statement issued by Josephine Latu-Sanft, Senior Communications Officer of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Hack the Planet is an entirely virtual international ideas competition that brings together concepts from diverse communities living on the front line in facing the challenges of the climate emergency and ocean sustainability across the Commonwealth, together with the technical resources to support the innovation of new solutions.
The distinguished panel of judges that selected the winners included: Chris Gorell Barnes, Founding Partner, Ocean 14 Capital and Co-Founder of Blue Marine Foundation; Angelique Pouponneau, CEO, Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust; Andrew Zolli, VP for Sustainability and Impact at Planet; Angelique Braithwaite, Co-Founder of Blue Finance; Phil Cooper, Aerospace and Satellite Solutions, Regional Manager EMEA at Amazon Web Services; and Laura Benns, Director of Programmes at Second Muse.
According to Dr. Akumabor, “Our objectives are to transform communities to smart cities, eliminate plastic waste, achieve healthier being and empower youths.
“As part of our plans for sustainable development, we foster creativity through collaboration and partnership for the goals.”