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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to placing innovation at the centre of national development, pledging to fund and support youth-led solutions through its newly announced InnovateNaija programme.
Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed this on Thursday at Day Two of GITEX Nigeria 2025 in Lagos, stressing that the initiative is designed to provide young Nigerians with the platform and resources to transform ideas into impactful businesses.
“Innovation has become central in the way we build our technology in Nigeria. Most of our talented young people have ideas, but the big challenge is where to go and demonstrate that those ideas can solve problems. This challenge will provide them the chance to move from ideation to solutions that can be commercialised and exported,” Inuwa said.
He explained that the programme will offer a framework to incubate, shape, and expand innovations, helping participants transition from invention to innovation. “Inventions are about creating something new, but innovation will help you commercialize it, to take your invention to a stage where other people come and pay for it,” he added.
Backed by the presidency and launched in partnership with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and pan-African innovation network AfriLabs, InnovateNaija is structured as a three-month challenge to run across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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According to NASENI, the first phase will see one innovator selected from each state and the FCT through public voting. Each of the 37 champions will receive cash incentives to develop their ideas, after which the top 15 will proceed to the grand finale at the NASENI Invention Fest in Abuja in February 2026. The eventual winner will take home N100 million from a total prize pool of N250 million.
Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, described InnovateNaija as “more than a competition,” noting that it reflects government’s intent to provide young Nigerians with the opportunity to scale real solutions to national problems.
“This is the government saying we believe in the youth and their innovations, and we’ve heard their call. Different people have been asking the government for support. What kind of innovation are we looking for? A very simple answer: any and all,” Halilu said. He pointed out that the focus would be on solutions that address daily challenges Nigerians face and can be scaled across Africa.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, emphasised that the initiative marks a shift from the long-standing perception of government as merely a job distributor.
“A lot of people, even young people, believe that the Ministry of Youth is just to go and look for government jobs and give them out, like civil service jobs. What we are doing now, through partnerships and collaborations, is looking for every opportunity to give the young people of this country an advantage to become employers rather than employees,” he said.
He explained that the Nigerian Youth Academy, a digital learning platform being developed with NITDA, would equip young people with skills to take advantage of emerging opportunities. “What they need in Kano is different from what they need in Ondo or Asaba. Across geopolitical zones, we can drive things when we have good ideas that we know the young people of this country have,” Olawande noted.
Senior Ecosystem Engagement Manager at AfriLabs, Jennifer Okeke-Odudu, highlighted the organisation’s role in co-running the challenge with NASENI to ensure the best ideas are nurtured into impact-driven businesses. “We are excited to launch this today because we are hoping Nigerian youth will come out in force. We also need state governments to back these young people because they will be representing their states.”
