When BAT International announced the winner of the Data Innovation Excellence Award 2023, one name stood out: Ibukunoluwa Mary Adegbite. At just three years into her career as a data scientist, she had already built a body of work that bridged research, industry, and social impact. What set her apart was her groundbreaking contribution to “ANPR: A Novel Technique in Crime Reduction”, a study demonstrating how Automatic Number Plate Recognition could transform Nigeria’s fight against kidnapping and organized crime.
Her win is more than a personal triumph. It is a reflection of the changing role of data in Africa, not just as a business tool, but as a weapon against crime, a catalyst for growth in small enterprises, and a foundation for societal advancement.
Who She Is
Ibukunoluwa M. Adegbite’s journey into data science was unconventional. She did not begin with a computer science degree but with a B.Sc. in Banking and Finance from the University of Abuja, graduating in 2019. For many, that path might have led into banking or accounting. But Ibukunoluwa saw something different: the potential of numbers not just to balance books, but to change lives.
By 2022, she had retrained herself through intensive certifications, including Python bootcamps and machine learning courses. Within a short time, she had moved from learning code in online classrooms to building real-world data products. She was not just adapting to technology she was using it to reshape industries.
Her profile today reflects a rare balance: she is a data scientist, entrepreneur, and advocate for digital inclusion. Her portfolio includes technical projects in startups, peer-reviewed research in applied AI, and media recognition for her advocacy on data literacy.
Her professional philosophy is simple but powerful: data should serve people. Whether in tackling security issues, helping businesses grow, or creating platforms for cultural identity, she has consistently applied her skills to solve pressing problems.
The Work That Won Her the Award
The centerpiece of Ibukunoluwa’s award recognition is her co-authored research paper, “ANPR: A Novel Technique in Crime Reduction”, published in 2023.
At its core, the study tackled one of Nigeria’s most persistent security threats: kidnapping for ransom. Statistics show that kidnappings in Nigeria often involve vehicles, motorcycles, buses, or cars used to transport victims away from the scene. Traditional policing has struggled to intercept these crimes in real time. This is where Ibukunoluwa’s contribution comes in.
Her team explored Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) as a solution. ANPR is a computer vision system capable of detecting and recognizing vehicle license plates through cameras and algorithms. The novelty of their work was in applying Pytesseract, a powerful optical character recognition (OCR) tool, specifically to Nigerian license plates. These plates have unique color codes and regional identifiers, and earlier research had overlooked these local peculiarities.
By testing the system on Nigerian license plates, Ibukunoluwa and her co-authors achieved striking results:
- 100 percent accuracy in plate localization
- 90 percent accuracy in character extraction
Their system successfully recognized license plates from images of stationary vehicles, proving that even in constrained environments, ANPR could provide reliable identification. While their prototype was not yet tested on moving vehicles, the implications were immediate. Law enforcement agencies could integrate ANPR into databases of vehicles of interest, enabling real-time alerts when suspicious vehicles were spotted.
Her paper went beyond the technical. It framed the solution within Nigeria’s broader social context. As she argued, combating kidnapping requires not just force but intelligence data-driven intelligence. By demonstrating how technology could be localized for Nigeria’s realities, she delivered both scientific novelty and societal relevance.
“We looked at crime not just as a law enforcement problem but as a data problem. If vehicles are central to kidnappings, then recognizing and tracking them should be part of the solution.”
– Ibukunoluwa M. Adegbite
Innovation Beyond Crime Reduction
While ANPR became her most publicized work, it was not her only contribution at Zacra Learning Limited, Ibukunoluwa built a personalized content recommendation engine. Readers of the platform saw articles and resources tailored to their interests, increasing engagement metrics by more than 30 percent. She also developed analytics dashboards that gave editors a clearer picture of audience behavior. The result was a smarter media platform and proof of how machine learning could enhance knowledge-sharing.
Currently, she has moved into the fintech space with FountainPay, where she designed real-time data pipelines and interactive dashboards. These tools visualized transaction flows, revenue, and regional performance. Her analyses helped the company identify high-conversion regions, directly shaping its expansion into two new markets. Once again, her impact was measurable: data turned into growth.
Parallel to these roles, she launched Bukaspot, a culturally intelligent food-tech platform. The idea was simple but powerful: combine data-driven personalization with Nigeria’s culinary identity. The platform allowed diaspora users to order Nigerian meals with recommendations based on taste preferences and order history. While seemingly unrelated to crime prevention or fintech, Bukaspot reflected the same principle that underpinned all her work: technology must be rooted in human needs.
Recognition up to 2023
Her efforts did not go unnoticed. The Guardian Nigeria profiled her in an article titled “Beyond the Hype: Why Data Literacy is the Future of Africa’s Digital Transformation.” The piece highlighted her advocacy for teaching data literacy to Nigeria’s SMEs, where she argued that businesses could only compete globally if they learned to use data as an everyday decision-making tool.
She also presented parts of her ANPR findings at academic discussions, where peers noted her ability to translate dense algorithms into practical narratives. By the time the BAT Awards committee began its deliberations, her name was already circulating in conversations about young African innovators making tangible impact.
Why BAT Chose Her
For the BAT International Innovation Awards, the criteria for the Data Innovation Excellence Award are clear: originality, technical rigor, and societal impact.
Ibukunoluwa checked all three boxes.
- Originality: Her ANPR research applied existing algorithms in a novel way to Nigeria’s unique context, filling a gap in prior studies.
- Technical Rigor: Achieving 95 percent overall success rates in plate recognition tests demonstrated not just experimentation but engineering discipline.
- Societal Impact: Her framing of crime as a data problem turned the conversation toward prevention, not just reaction.
But there was something more intangible too: intentionality. She is not chasing technology for its own sake. Whether in fintech, education, or security, her projects are always grounded in how people will benefit.
For the judges, this mindset represented the future of African innovation: solutions that are both advanced and accessible, visionary yet practical.
About the Award
The BAT International Innovation Awards were established to recognize Africans making exceptional contributions to science, technology, and creative industries. Among its categories, the Data Innovation Excellence Award is one of the most competitive.
The award honors individuals who have used data science, analytics, or artificial intelligence to solve problems in ways that create measurable value for society. Previous winners have advanced breakthroughs in healthcare analytics, financial inclusion, and environmental data modeling.
Winners are nominated through an open, merit-based process, evaluated by industry experts across Africa and the diaspora. Each nominee is assessed based on:
- Technical merit
- Real-world impact
- Contribution to digital inclusion
- Ethical leadership in innovation
- Commitment to mentorship and ecosystem building
For 2023, the award went to Ibukunoluwa M. Adegbite in recognition of her work on ANPR and her broader contributions to data-driven growth in Nigeria. Her win highlights how young African innovators are not just following global trends but setting them.
“Innovation is not about building something complicated. It’s about solving the problems that matter most with the tools we already have.”
– BAT Awards Judge’s Citation for Ibukunoluwa
The Broader Significance
Her recognition speaks to more than her individual journey. It reflects the emergence of a new wave of African technologists who view data not as abstract but as essential infrastructure. Just as electricity and roads drive economies, data drives smarter decisions, safer communities, and stronger institutions.
Her win also challenges traditional narratives about career paths. With a background in Banking and Finance, she is proof that one can transition into tech without formal computer science training. What matters is curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to learn.
This is crucial for Nigeria and Africa at large, where thousands of young graduates each year struggle with employment mismatches. Ibukunoluwa’s story says: you can pivot, you can retrain, and you can lead.
Conclusion
Though the award celebrates her achievements, Ibukunoluwa’s story is still unfolding. Her future projects are in view for 2024, with continued work on AI applications, machine learning training programs, and community-driven platforms. If her track record is any indication, the years ahead will see her making even greater strides.
What stands out is not just her technical ability but her sense of purpose. Whether she is refining crime prevention systems, improving SME decision-making, or creating cultural tech platforms, she carries one consistent message: data should serve society.
