The Pulse Check
Leaving the building to find the real Lagos
We started by breaking the cardinal rule of most hackathons: we didn’t write a single line of code.
Instead, our 11 teams stepped out of the air conditioned hub at Next Trend Hub, Lagos, and into the heat of the Lagos streets to execute what we call a “Broad Scan” of our reality. No assumptions. No borrowed Silicon Valley frameworks. Just raw, unfiltered truth seeking.
This wasn’t a typical “user research” exercise. This was an expedition into the invisible systems that keep 200 million Africans alive but excluded from the formal economy.
What is Ground Truth?
Ground Truth is our foundational methodology, a disciplined refusal to build solutions based on what we think problems are. It demands that we suspend all assumptions, leave our screens behind, and immerse ourselves in the actual lived experiences of the communities we aim to serve.
It’s the difference between:
- Guessing that farmers need blockchain → Discovering that farmers can’t access loans because their harvest data isn’t trusted by banks
- Assuming students are lazy → Witnessing that campus infrastructure is broken and student voices are systematically ignored
- Believing SMEs lack ambition → Learning that 40 million traders are invisible to banks because they have no formal records
Ground Truth is not comfortable. It forces us to confront the friction, the opacity, and the systemic distrust that define our regional economy. But it’s the only way to build solutions that actually work.
The Expedition: 11 Teams, One Mission
From November 15 to November 22, 2025, our teams fanned out across Lagos and beyond. They went to the places where the formal economy ends and the real economy begins.
In the Markets: Where Cash is King, But Trust is Dead
Team Catalyst stood in the bustling markets and motor parks of Lagos, documenting the daily hustle of 40 million micro merchants who contribute 58% of Nigeria’s GDP yet remain invisible to every bank in the country. They watched transactions happen in cash, recorded nowhere, leaving no trail. They spoke to young traders who’d been paying daily levies for years but had nothing to show for it, no receipt, no proof, no creditworthiness.
“I’ve been selling here for five years. I make money. But when I went to the bank for a loan, they said I don’t exist.” , Market trader, Yaba
Team CivicChain followed the revenue collectors moving through markets and transport hubs, gathering cash levies from traders, drivers, and artisans. They witnessed a system built entirely on blind trust, or more accurately, forced trust. No digital receipts. No audit trails. Just cash changing hands, with no way to verify if it reached government coffers or disappeared into private pockets.
“They collect ₦110 from me every day but I have never gotten any receipt.” , Female trader, Lokoja
Team Inclusive walked the early morning streets with waste collectors, the Mallams, who navigate Lagos’ 14,000 metric tons of daily waste. These informal workers are the city’s hidden environmental workforce, yet they face delayed payments from middlemen, financial exclusion, and zero recognition. Meanwhile, over 70% of recyclable waste ends up clogging drains, polluting waterways, and creating flood risks.
“I collect plastics every day, but the oga pays me only when he feels like it. Sometimes I wait two weeks.” , Waste collector, Lagos Island
On Campus: Broken Systems, Silenced Voices
Team Blockprint spent time on Nigerian university campuses, where students pay tuition fees yet live with broken infrastructure, collapsed ceilings, flooded hostels, unsafe electrical systems. They discovered that student complaints are fragmented, ignored, or lost in bureaucratic opacity. There’s no transparent system for documenting problems or tracking accountability.
“We reported the roof leaking three times. Nothing happened until it collapsed during exams.” , University student, Lagos
Team Cryptex (OgaTicha) uncovered an even darker invisibility: special needs students hidden at home due to stigma, lack of accessible learning materials, and a complete absence of inclusive education infrastructure. Mainstream schools are analogue and unequipped, leaving teachers overwhelmed and students with disabilities digitally and socially excluded.
“My son is smart, but the school said they can’t teach him. So he just stays home.” , Parent of a visually impaired child, Lagos
In the Fields: Data Poverty Starves Progress
Team OSWEB (AgriDatum) traveled to farms in West Africa, where they found that smallholder farmers produce food but cannot access loans, insurance, or fair trade agreements because they have no verifiable records of what they plant or harvest. The lack of simple, trusted data creates a low trust environment where financial institutions refuse to invest, even though the farms are productive.
“The bank asked for proof of my last three harvests. I have nothing. So no loan.” , Farmer, Uyo
They also observed that climate change is hitting hard (droughts and floods are unpredictable) but farmers have no access to real time guidance on irrigation or drainage. The data exists (weather forecasts, soil conditions), but it doesn’t reach the farmers who need it most.
In the Digital Shadows: Skills Without Visibility
Team TechKR interviewed skilled workers across Lagos, tailors, plumbers, hairdressers, graphic designers, welders, people with real, monetizable abilities who remain unemployed or underemployed because they’re invisible. Existing platforms focus on tech skills and ignore the informal economy. Local talent is abundant, but there’s no structured way for clients to discover, verify, or hire them.
“I can fix anything. But how do people find me? I just wait for referrals.” , Electrician, Surulere
Team Alpha (LearnBuddy) documented the brutal reality of data poverty: the cost of streaming a single educational video often exceeds a young person’s daily food budget. Most EdTech platforms demand high speed data and expensive smartphones, locking out millions who rely on basic phones and erratic power. Aspiring artisans and youth are eager to learn trades like solar installation or digital marketing, but they’re blocked by platforms built for environments that don’t exist here.
“I want to learn. But data is too costly. I can’t watch videos.” , Youth, Mushin
Inside Institutions: Trust Eroded from Within
Team Colossus (Zero) investigated Nigerian banks and fintechs, uncovering a silent crisis: insider fraud. Centralized, editable systems allow employees to quietly leak data or divert funds. Customers’ confidence erodes when they hear stories of “disappeared” savings, but fraud is hard to detect, slow to resolve, and easy to cover up.
“I keep my money in cash. I don’t trust the banks anymore.” , Small business owner, Ikeja
Team Ratify explored the crowdfunding and community fundraising landscape, where a “black box” problem paralyzes generosity. Donors hesitate because they cannot see where their money goes. Legitimate creators struggle to prove credibility against a backdrop of “audio projects”, scams where funds vanish, promises break, and trust collapses.
“I wanted to donate to a school project. But how do I know it’s real? I’ve been burned before.” , Potential donor, Lagos
At Home: Fear of Loss Without Recovery
Team K33P studied the crypto adoption challenge in Nigeria, where the promise of financial sovereignty is undermined by a critical flaw: seed phrase loss. Users who lose their recovery phrases lose their assets forever, breaking crypto’s core promise of secure, self sovereign ownership. This fear keeps millions from fully adopting decentralized finance.
“I lost my seed phrase. All my savings, gone. Now I don’t trust crypto at all.” , Crypto user, Lagos
Raw Findings: The Uncomfortable Truths
After weeks in the field, our teams returned with notebooks full of contradictions, friction, and undeniable patterns:
The Invisibility Crisis
- 40 million merchants contribute 58% of Nigeria’s GDP but are invisible to banks
- Informal waste collectors handle most of Lagos’ recyclables but have no financial records
- Skilled workers with monetizable abilities remain unemployed because they’re undiscoverable
- Special needs students are hidden at home due to lack of accessible education
The Trust Deficit
- Cash based revenue systems create zero accountability and massive leakage
- Insider fraud in banks erodes customer confidence
- Crowdfunding scams paralyze community generosity
- Unverified farm data blocks loans and insurance
The Access Barriers
- Data costs exceed daily food budgets, locking out learners
- Campus infrastructure crumbles while student complaints disappear into bureaucratic voids
- Seed phrase loss breaks the promise of crypto self sovereignty
The Economic Stagnation
- A ₦32.2 billion financing gap starves 40 million SMEs
- Predatory cooperative loans charge 50%+ interest, extracting wealth instead of building it
- 70% of Lagos waste ends up in landfills or waterways because the collection system is informal and unreliable
The Return: What We Brought Back
We didn’t return with features. We returned with a crisis of visibility, trust, and access.
We brought back stories of:
- Traders who pay but can’t prove it
- Farmers who grow but can’t borrow
- Workers who skill but can’t earn
- Students who pay fees but get broken infrastructure
- Donors who want to give but fear fraud
- Citizens who save but don’t trust banks
We brought back a single, undeniable insight:
The problem isn’t a lack of economic activity. The problem is that most of it is invisible, unverifiable, and excluded from the formal systems that could amplify it.
This wasn’t about building apps. This was about building trust infrastructure for an economy that desperately needs to see itself.
Next: The Signal in the Noise →
How we turned this raw chaos into clear insights during our virtual convergence sessions.