Foremost search engine, Google, on Friday announced that three Nigerians had made it to the top 10 finalists in its “Africa Connected” competition.
In a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, Google said the three Nigerian finalists were Eric Obuh, a social crusader; Eseoghene Odiete, a fashion designer, and Mayowa Adegbile, a philanthropist.
It said the top 10 finalists also include two Kenyans, a Senegalese, a South African, a Zimbabwean and a Ghanaian.
Five successful winners from among the finalists would now be selected by the online voting public.
According to Google, the winners would go home with $25,000 (N4,065,000) each and would also have the opportunity to work with a Google sponsor over a six-month period, to further their online businesses.
It said the competition was launched in August last year, calling entrepreneurs, creative innovators and web-lovers to share stories of how the web has transformed their lives and work.
The top 10 finalists were selected by a panel of judges from over 2,200 entries from 35 countries.
It said that the competition categories included: Education, Entertainment/Arts/Sports, Technology, Community, NGOs and Small businesses.
Affiong Osuchukwu, Google Lead for the Africa Connected initiative was quoted as saying that the competition had run for over six months and they were thrilled at the amazing number of stories collected from across Africa.
“Today, we are excited to announce the top 10 finalists who have been selected by our panel of judges.
“The diversity of their ventures – from providing clean drinking water to preserving culture – shows how the web can truly drive positive change in the lives of many people and their communities.
“We look forward to seeing who the voting public choose as the winners – the top five most inspiring success stories from across our continent,” it quoted Osuchukwu as saying.
Google said the winners would be announced on April 1, at an event in Nairobi, Kenya.
It added that anyone who would like to vote for the five winners, in whose lives the web and Google have played a pivotal role, could do so on the Africa Connected website: www.africaconnected.com.