Abia-born scholar and Tech enthusiast, Ndubuisi Ekekwe, is named among the virtual judges for the Southeast Venture Capital Program (SEVCP) to be held on May 25th.
Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe is a globally recognized Nigerian engineer, inventor, and tech entrepreneur with elite academic and industrial credentials.
Academic Pedigree
Ekekwe holds two doctoral degrees and four master’s degrees. He graduated as the top student in his Electrical Engineering class at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
He later earned a PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering from Johns Hopkins University, specializing in Microelectronics and Medical Robotics. His other postgraduate credentials include an MTech from FUTA. An MS from Tuskegee University and an MBA from the University of Calabar.
Professional & Technical Milestone
Ekekwe is a prominent figure in the U.S. semiconductor industry. He worked with Analog Devices, where he helped design the accelerometer microchip used in early generations of the iPhone.
He holds a U.S. patent for a robotic system utilized in minimally invasive medical robots. The assignee rights, which were acquired by the U.S. government.
The Tekedia Ecosystem
Ekekwe is the founder of Tekedia Institute (directing its popular Mini-MBA), the agtech pioneer Zenvus, and Fasmicro Group. He has held professorships at Carnegie Mellon University and Babcock University, served on the U.S. National Science Foundation committee, and is recognized as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a TED Fellow
The SEVCP is a venture capital competition aimed at injecting over N70 billion into eastern Nigerian’s Tech ecosystem. The competition received over 1000 applications in its first stage. This was reduced to 209 applications after the first phase of screening.
The 209 startups were grilled further with metrics like traction, product market fit, and quality of problem solved. The 209 startups were reduced to 50 startups, which will compete in the competition’s final stage next week.
