Two Nigerian girls have brought international recognition to the country after winning the 2025 Technovation Global Summit (Beginner Division) with an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) application designed to combat drowsy and distracted driving.
The young prodigies, 10-year-old Akachukwu Blessed Nwachukwu and Ifunanya Gabriella Okoye, both from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, developed “Stay Woke,” an AI-powered mobile app that uses facial recognition and voice interaction to detect driver fatigue in real time and issue alerts to prevent accidents. Competing as Team Appsolute, the duo triumphed over strong contenders from Japan, Spain, Canada, and Peru to clinch the world title at the competition’s grand finale.
Technovation, the world’s largest tech entrepreneurship program for girls aged 8 to 18, recorded over 33,000 participants from 117 countries this year, with 11,000 completing the program and more than 3,200 tech-based solutions developed.
Their mentor, Somkenechukwu Mamah, founder of Code Ambassadors Academy, hailed the victory as a major breakthrough for African innovation. “This victory proves that innovation knows no age or boundary. Akachukwu and Ifunanya have shown resilience, creativity, and courage, demonstrating that young people in Nigeria and across Africa can compete and win on the global stage,” he said.
The girls, who were trained through the Code Ambassadors Academy—a STEM-accredited platform that has empowered over 7,000 Nigerian children with coding, robotics, AI, and design skills—dedicated their win to their parents, their mentor, and every girl who dreams of transforming the world through technology.
