The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure has called on young Nigerian innovators to develop homegrown technology solutions capable of addressing challenges within their communities and to confidently defend the solutions they create.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Khalil Halilu, made the call as 60 young innovators commenced live pitch sessions as part of the FutureMakers Week programme.
According to Halilu, the participants had progressed from developing prototypes during a four-day hackathon to presenting their innovations before the public, marking the next stage of the programme.
He described the pitching sessions as a critical phase of the initiative, saying they would give the young innovators an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to defend practical solutions developed in response to problems affecting their communities.
The 60 participants emerged from a virtual regional hackathon conducted from August 17 to 20, with innovators selected from each of Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.
Live pitching commenced on Monday and is scheduled to run until Thursday, August 27. The sessions are being streamed across NASENI’s YouTube, X, Instagram and Facebook platforms.
As part of the competition, NASENI will recognise innovators from the six geopolitical zones, with the first-, second- and third-place winners receiving N1.5 million, N1 million and N500,000 respectively.
The six zonal winners will subsequently advance to the NASENI Invention Fest, where they will compete for the overall grand prize of N5 million.
In addition to the cash award, the overall winner will receive a fully funded international study tour as well as scholarships to two leading universities in Nigeria.
Halilu said the FutureMakers initiative was designed to provide young Nigerians with a platform to showcase practical, locally developed responses to challenges confronting their communities.
Speaking on the range of ideas emerging from the programme, the Hub Manager of NASENI Innovation Hub, Busola Perex-Folayan, said the innovations were focused on addressing different community needs.
Among the solutions are an artificial intelligence-powered learning platform developed by innovators from the South-West, an emergency alert device from the North-East and a North-Central platform aimed at improving access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations.
Beyond the financial rewards, NASENI said participants would have access to its SparkLab prototyping facility, technical training and personalised mentorship to support the further development and refinement of their innovations.
The FutureMakers programme is being implemented by NASENI in partnership with MIVA Open University and the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.
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