Sixty young innovators begin FutureMakers by NASENI Hackathon

SIXTY young innovators selected from Nigeria’s 6 geopolitical zones have entered the virtual hackathon stage of the FutureMakers by NASENI innovation programme.

The 4-day hackathon, which began on Monday, August 17, will run until Thursday, August 20, 2026, as participants develop prototypes and refine technology-driven solutions to challenges affecting their respective regions.

The programme is organised by the NASENI Innovation Hub, the innovation and startup-support arm of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).

Participants from each geopolitical zone are working on different challenge areas. Innovators from the North-West are addressing gender-related barriers to innovation and creative thinking, while those from the North-Central are focusing on food security amid regional insurgency.

In the North-East, participants are tackling conflict and security challenges, while the South-West cohort is developing solutions to the high cost of education, particularly for average Nigerian families.

The South-South participants are focusing on weak links between academia and industry, while innovators from the South-East are addressing the growing involvement of children in trading at the expense of schooling.

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The innovators are being supported by technical facilitators and mentors throughout the virtual hackathon as they develop their proposed solutions.

All 60 participants will advance to the next stage, the FutureMakers Week, where they will pitch on a national platform, and it will be streamed live on YouTube and Facebook from August 24 to 26.

At the pitch sessions, the innovators will present their solutions before a panel of judges and industry leaders.

The top three innovators in each geopolitical zone will receive N1.5 million, N1 million and N500,000 respectively.

The six zonal winners will subsequently compete at the NASENI Invention Fest for a N5 million grand prize, a fully funded international study tour and scholarships to two leading Nigerian universities.

Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the programme was designed to support Nigeria’s transition from a consumer economy to a producer economy.

“These sixty innovators represent what is possible when young Nigerians are equipped with the right infrastructure, mentorship and platform to solve the problems closest to them,” Halilu said.

The Hub Manager of NASENI Innovation Hub, Busola Beckley Perez-Folayan, said the regional approach was intended to ensure that participants developed solutions based on challenges within their communities.

According to NASENI, the FutureMakers campaign has generated more than 2.6 million impressions and attracted over 20 media placements.

Beyond prize money, successful innovators will have access to NASENI’s SparkLab prototyping facility, technical training and personalised mentorship.

 Some will also have the opportunity to participate in the Futuremakers by NASENI Innovation Immersion Tour with the NASENI EVC/CEO.

The programme is being delivered in collaboration with academic and ecosystem partners, including MIVA Open University and the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.

NASENI said FutureMakers is intended to serve as a talent pipeline for early-stage Nigerian innovators, providing access to funding, mentorship, training and engineering and prototyping infrastructure to support the development of their ideas into commercially viable solutions.