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IncentivesEvent 3 Judging & Awards

Event 3 Judging & Awards — The Refinery

Purpose: Mid-way review prizes for teams showing strong progress and stakeholder engagement.

Event Date: Dec 09, 2025

🎯 Event Overview

The Refinery is a mid-way review event where teams present their progress, demonstrate prototypes, and show how they’ve incorporated feedback from stakeholders.

This is your chance to:

  • 🎬 Showcase progress to judges and community
  • 💬 Get feedback to improve before the finale
  • 🏆 Win prizes for strong mid-way work
  • 🤝 Connect with mentors and potential partners

🏆 Prizes

Main Prize: Best Refined Prototype

Winner receives:

  • 💰 ₦30,000 cash OR ₦35,000 voucher
  • 🎓 3-hour mentor session with industry expert
  • 📢 Feature spot at Grand Finale
  • 🔧 Equipment grant (₦15,000) for final development

Category Awards

Best Stakeholder Engagement (₦15,000)

  • Most diverse and deep stakeholder involvement
  • Evidence of incorporating feedback

Most Improved (₦10,000)

  • Biggest positive change since kickoff
  • Clear evidence of iteration based on learning

People’s Choice (₦10,000)

  • Community favorite (voted by attendees)
  • Most compelling presentation

📋 Presentation Requirements

All teams must present for 7 minutes covering:

Required Content

  1. Problem recap (1 min)

    • Who, what, where, why it matters
    • Key evidence from field research

  2. Prototype demonstration (3 min)

    • Live demo of current prototype
    • How it addresses the root cause
    • What’s working and what’s not

  3. Stakeholder feedback (2 min)

    • Who you’ve engaged with
    • What feedback you received
    • How you incorporated it

  4. Next steps (1 min)

    • What you’ll do before finale
    • What support you need
    • Realistic timeline

Followed by: 3-minute Q&A with judges

📊 Judging Criteria

1. Quality of Stakeholder Engagement (25%)

What judges look for:

  • Diversity of stakeholders (users, officials, partners, etc.)
  • Depth of engagement (not just one conversation)
  • Evidence of ongoing relationship
  • Stakeholders’ genuine involvement (not just consulted)

Good example:

“Engaged 11 stakeholders: vendors (users), market manager (authority), former collector (failed solution), recycling cooperative (partner), customers (indirect users). Had 3 follow-up meetings with market manager. Cooperative committed to buying sorted plastic. Vendors formed WhatsApp group to coordinate.”

Poor example:

“Talked to some vendors once.”

2. Incorporation of Feedback (25%)

What judges look for:

  • Specific changes made based on feedback
  • Evidence of iteration (before/after)
  • Honest about what didn’t work
  • Clear learning from user testing

Good example:

“Initial idea: smartphone app. Feedback: vendors have basic phones. Changed to: SMS-based system. Tested with 15 vendors. 13/15 successfully sent payment via SMS. Learned: need clearer signage for instructions.”

Poor example:

“People liked our idea, so we kept it the same.”

3. Clarity of Problem (15%)

What judges look for:

  • Clear articulation of who, what, where, why
  • Root cause identified
  • Evidence-backed claims
  • Specific numbers and details

4. Prototype Relevance (15%)

What judges look for:

  • Addresses root cause (not symptoms)
  • Appropriate for context
  • Builds on existing practices
  • Locally maintainable

5. Evidence of Testing (15%)

What judges look for:

  • Real user testing (not friends/family)
  • Documented results (quotes, photos, numbers)
  • Multiple test iterations
  • Honest about failures

6. Potential to Scale (5%)

What judges look for:

  • Realistic next steps
  • Path to sustainability
  • Evidence of demand
  • Resource requirements identified

✅ Submission Checklist

Before The Refinery, ensure you have:

Documentation (Due Dec 08)

  • Updated team discovery log
  • Prototype photos/videos
  • Stakeholder engagement evidence
  • Testing results documented
  • Presentation slides (optional but recommended)

Presentation Prep

  • 7-minute presentation prepared
  • Prototype demo ready (test it!)
  • Backup plan if tech fails
  • All team members know their parts
  • Arrived 15 minutes early

💡 Tips for Strong Presentations

Do’s

✅ Start with a story:

  • “Meet Amina, a vendor who loses ₦5,000 every rainy season…”
  • Makes the problem real and relatable

✅ Show, don’t just tell:

  • Live demo of prototype
  • Photos of real users testing it
  • Quotes from stakeholders

✅ Be honest about challenges:

  • “We thought X would work, but users said Y”
  • Shows learning and iteration
  • Judges value honesty

✅ Make it visual:

  • Photos of field research
  • Before/after comparisons
  • Simple diagrams

Don’ts

❌ Don’t:

  • Read from slides word-for-word
  • Show code or technical details (unless asked)
  • Make promises you can’t keep
  • Go over time (you’ll be cut off)
  • Blame others for setbacks

📅 Event Schedule (Dec 09)

TimeActivity
2:00 PMDoors open, setup
2:30 PMWelcome and overview
2:45 PMTeam presentations (7 min each + 3 min Q&A)
5:00 PMBreak and networking
5:30 PMJudges deliberation
6:00 PMAwards ceremony
6:30 PMNetworking and mentorship matching

🔗 Related Resources

Ready to present? Update your Team Discovery Log and prepare your demo!

Need presentation help? Check the Storytelling Guide.

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