NEVO’s AI learning platform wins the 3MTT South-West hackathon.

 NEVO, an AI-driven personalised learning platform for neurodivergent children won the South-West regional final of Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, with Microbiz and Fincoach taking runner-up spots. Read what each product does and why the judges picked them.

An AI learning platform designed for children with dyslexia, ADHD, autism, and other neurodivergent learning profiles claimed first place at the Southwest regional edition of the third cohort of Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program. The Lagos-based NEVO team walked away with the ₦500,000 (≈ $339) grand prize after a final pitch round that brought together state winners from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ekiti.

The regional contest, part of a larger national effort run by the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy, tested teams on both technical chops and the real-world readiness of their ideas. Judges evaluated products for market fit, social impact, and scalability, not just code quality.

Podium finishers and prize breakdown

·         1st—NEVO (Lagos): ₦500,000 (~$339)

·         2nd—Microbiz (Oyo): ₦300,000 (~$204)

·         3rd—Fincoach (Ondo): ₦200,000 (~$136)

A six-member panel determined the winners after the final presentations.

Why NEVO won: personalised learning for different brains

NEVO is an adaptive learning system that begins with diagnostic assessments to map a child’s learning tendencies and neurodivergent traits. From there it crafts personalized lesson paths, using visual prompts, structured progressions, teacher dashboards, and analytics for parents.

Key platform features:

· Diagnostic assessment to identify learning patterns and neurodivergent indicators.

· Adaptive lesson plans that change as the child improves.

· Teacher dashboard to monitor class performance and intervention points.

·  Parental analytics to show progress and suggest at-home activities.

Onstage, team presenter Lydia Solomon explained the motivation behind the product and the research that shaped it. She said the team discovered many neurodivergent children are often “mislabelled or misunderstood in classrooms.”

These children are not slow; they just don’t learn the same way other children do, she said. NEVO personalizes learning so every child can understand at their own pace, and the platform keeps learning the child as the child learns. If a child improves, the system upgrades the curriculum too.

 Microbiz digitising MSME finance

Microbiz, the Oyo State winner and first runner-up, tackles an often-ignored barrier for small businesses: the absence of formal financial records. The app digitizes sales and expense tracking, issues invoices, and generates simple financial statements that can be used for credit assessment.

What Microbiz offers:

· Sales and expense recording with invoice generation.

·   Automated basic credit scoring and turnover checks.

·   A channel for microfinance institutions to view verified records without paperwork.

Presenter Clement Okelola framed the problem plainly: lack of documented financial history excludes many MSMEs from loans, grants, and growth opportunities. “Because many MSMEs don’t have structured financial data, they’re shut out of credit, government grants, and growth opportunities,” he said. “Our app evaluates your credit score, checks turnover, and tells you when you’re ready for a loan. Microfinance banks can also view your records instantly without paperwork.”

Fincoach  gamified, local-language financial literacy

Fincoach, from Ondo State, placed third with a financial-education product that uses gamification and localized audio. The app targets young adults and low-income earners who benefit more from spoken, culturally resonant lessons than long text guides.

· Audio lessons and dialect voiceovers to reach non-readers.

·    Gamified modules on saving, budgeting, investing, and credit.

· AI elements to personalize learning and track progress.

Team member Goddey Iyanuoluwa said the platform focuses on practical financial decision-making for users who lack formal training.

Other notable projects at the showcase

Beyond the top three, regional finalists presented a broad set of solutions addressing mental health, waste management, and enterprise operations:

·         MindBuddy (Ekiti): A mental-wellness toolkit built after the team leader’s personal battle with anxiety. Combines AI chatbots, guided exercises, mood tracking, and emergency contact alerts as a first-line support product.

·         Ecocycle (Ogun): An AI-driven waste collection and recycling coordination platform that routes recyclable materials into productive value chains to reduce litter and increase recycling rates.

· InventoryPro (Osun): A multi-branch inventory system with AI low-stock alerts, demand forecasting, and batch-level profit calculations

 Presenter Okunola Gold highlighted the platform’s ability to capture the true cost of goods and separate batch performance.

What this means for Nigeria’s tech talent pipeline

The 3MTT program aims to create a pipeline of young, industry-ready tech talent and foster practical, homegrown solutions to local problems. Regional hackathons like this one serve a dual purpose: they validate the projects’ commercial potential and give participants a staged environment to iterate, get feedback, and connect with stakeholders.

NEVO’s win underscores a growing interest in edtech solutions tailored to diverse learner needs, while Microbiz and Fincoach show demand for accessible fintech tools that serve MSMEs and financially underserved populations.