Three students from Nnamdi Azikiwe University have walked away with the grand prize at the 2026 Heirs Insurance Hackathon, Nigeria's first university-level competition dedicated to reimagining insurance through artificial intelligence. Team Omnivoice, comprising Unah Chinweotuto, John Justice, and John Trust, claimed the ₦5 million top prize at the grand finale held at Heirs Towers in Lagos on 20 May 2026.

Team Alafia from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria secured second place and a ₦3 million prize, while Team Von Mises from Lagos State University came third, taking home ₦1 million. The three-podium finish spread across universities in the South-East, North-West, and South-West, reflecting the genuinely national reach of the competition's first edition.

What the Hackathon Asked Students to Solve

Themed "The Future of Insurance: Streamlining Insurance with AI," the competition challenged university students across Nigeria to develop practical, technology-driven solutions to real problems in the insurance sector. Entries were evaluated by industry professionals on a combination of technical depth, commercial viability, and practical applicability to Nigeria's insurance landscape.

The maiden edition attracted a significant number of entries from higher institutions across the country, with teams presenting AI-powered tools covering everything from claims automation and fraud detection to customer onboarding and policy accessibility for underserved communities.

Why This Matters

Nigeria's insurance penetration rate remains below 1% of GDP, one of the lowest figures for a country of its economic size anywhere in the world. The barriers are well documented: low awareness, distrust of claims processes, inaccessible distribution channels, and products that have historically been designed for formally employed urban consumers rather than the broader Nigerian population.

A hackathon that asks university students to apply AI to those specific problems is not just a talent development exercise. It is a pipeline for the kind of fresh, ground-up thinking that an industry with deeply entrenched structural challenges genuinely needs. The students competing are also the consumers and potential policyholders of the next decade, making their perspective on what insurance should look like particularly valuable.



The Broader Context

The hackathon was delivered in partnership with Redtech, the digital payment solutions arm of Heirs Holdings, and sits alongside Heirs Insurance's recent launch of Prince AI, the company's multi-language generative AI assistant that became Nigeria's first of its kind in the insurance sector earlier this month.

Peace O. Philips, Chief Digital Officer of Heirs Insurance Group, described the competition as exceeding expectations. "This maiden hackathon has clearly demonstrated the immense potential of Nigerian youth to solve real insurance challenges using artificial intelligence and digital innovation," he said.

Heirs Insurance Group operates across Nigeria through three entities covering general insurance, life assurance, and brokerage services, and is part of Heirs Holdings, the pan-African investment company with investments across 24 countries and four continents