Nigeria’s effort to build a stronger technology and innovation economy is increasingly turning towards identifying talent early and giving promising ideas the support needed to develop beyond the excitement of a competition.
That is the thinking behind FutureMakers Week, an initiative of the NASENI Innovation Hub that brought together 60 young technology developers, aged five to 16, from Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Rather than limiting the exercise to pitching ideas, the programme gave participants an opportunity to develop prototypes and present their solutions to judges and industry leaders. A virtual hackathon held from August 17 to 20 was followed by live-streamed pitch sessions from August 24 to 27.
The projects emerging from the programme address practical challenges in areas including education, agriculture and safety. They include an AI-powered learning platform, an emergency alert system and a smart hydroponic kit.
Six participants have emerged as zonal champions and will advance to the forthcoming NASENI Invention Fest. They are Ruqayya Safwa Faruq of the North West, Joshua Agboola of the South West, Mary Oluwabusayomi Umahonlen of the North Central, Precious Akabude-Odozi of the South South, Emmanuel Paul of the North East and Ogbonna-Nwota Gold of the South East.
At the national finale, the six finalists will compete for a N5 million grand prize, a fully funded international study tour and scholarships to two Nigerian universities.
For NASENI Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, however, the competition is only one part of a larger objective. The agency wants FutureMakers to serve as a sustained pipeline for discovering and developing young innovators across the country.
“Sixty innovators, six zones, six challenges — what we witnessed during FutureMakers Week is proof that this programme is deliberately national in reach and local in problem definition,” Halilu said.
The agency is also extending its support beyond the competition. All 60 participants will retain access to SparkLab, mentorship, training and scholarship pathways, providing avenues for continued learning and development.
Hub Manager of the NASENI Innovation Hub, Busola Beckley Perez-Folayan, said the programme had shown that young Nigerians could develop practical solutions to real-world problems even while working from home.
FutureMakers Week forms part of NASENI’s effort to strengthen Nigeria’s science, engineering and technology ecosystem by identifying promising innovators early and creating clearer pathways for their ideas to progress from prototypes to funding, further development and eventual commercialisation.
The approach recognises that a promising idea requires more than an opportunity to be showcased. It needs the right technical guidance, skills, resources and networks to mature into a solution capable of creating lasting value.
With the six zonal champions now heading towards the national finale, NASENI’s bigger test will be whether the support established through FutureMakers can help these young innovators sustain that journey long after the competition ends.
The date for the NASENI Invention Fest will be announced in due course.
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