Increase Divine-Wisdom has been crowned the grand prize winner of the 2024 AFROTECH™ AI Hackathon. And he went great lengths to secure the “W.”
Increase Divine-Wisdom traveled all the way from Nigeria to attend AFROTECH™ Conference, held in Houston, TX, where the winner was named.
AFROTECH™ hosted innovators on Day 2 who collaborated on solutions for community impact, leaving with the tools to drive change in their industries and communities.
Increase Divine-Wisdom took first place with his user-friendly health management app “designed for people dealing with chronic conditions.” The winner, who himself has chronic inflammatory response syndrome, shared that with the app, individuals are able to track symptoms, mood, and recovery tasks.
Increase Divine-Wisdom has expertise in DevOps, CI/CD, machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and mobile development. According to his LinkedIn profile, he oversees projects from concept to delivery, utilizing the necessary tools to create scalable products.
“At Blavity, we’re deeply committed to creating opportunities for Black professionals to excel in tech. This commitment isn’t just theoretical for me — it’s something I live and breathe every day,” Jeff Nelson, co-founder and chief operating officer of Blavity Inc., shared in his support of the AI Hackathon, per AFROTECH™.
With over a decade of leadership at Blavity, Nelson played a key role in the company’s tech and software development, formerly overseeing development, data analytics, and technical infrastructure. As the 2024 conference headed to Houston, TX, he launched the Hackathon to further empower Black professionals in tech, noting the importance of Black professionals keeping up and staying active with technological advancements.
“My technical roots remind me of the power of being able to build something from scratch, and that’s the spirit I want to bring to the AFROTECH™ AI Hackathon,” Nelson said ahead of the conference. “This event is about more than just coding; it’s about empowering our community to use technology to solve real-world problems that affect us all.”
Hosted on DevPost, the Hackathon fostered collaboration and creative problem-solving within the tech community, underscoring AFROTECH™’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment for engineers, developers, and tech builders of all backgrounds.
It challenged participants to develop or enhance software applications by building GPT models on the backend of OpenAI or Google Gemini technologies. Contestants had to create or update applications that leveraged GPT models, addressing health and medical, sustainability, cyber security and risk, or skills-based workforce development skills.
The event — designed for diverse developers, coders, hackers, and technologists — created a space for mid-career professionals with varied technical backgrounds to engage in hands-on innovation and contribute to AI technology’s future.
As the first-place winner, Increase Divine-Wisdom received a $7,500 cash prize, up to $5,000 in team travel reimbursement for the conference, a complimentary all-access ticket, a post-event editorial feature, and a free AFROTECH™ Insider Membership. Second- and third-place winners also received cash prizes and AFROTECH™ perks.
