NASENI launches tech initiative to groom young innovators

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) on Thursday launched FutureMakers, a nationwide initiative to identify, nurture and empower young Nigerian innovators aged five to 16, marking a major push to secure the country’s long-term innovation future. Speaking at the launch in Abuja, NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the programme […]

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) on Thursday launched FutureMakers, a nationwide initiative to identify, nurture and empower young Nigerian innovators aged five to 16, marking a major push to secure the country’s long-term innovation future.

Speaking at the launch in Abuja, NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the programme aligned with global best practices where leading innovation economies invested early in young talent.

He cited the United States’ FIRST Robotics, India’s Atal Innovation Mission and the United Kingdom’s TeenTech as examples of how early exposure shaped lifelong innovators.

“If we want a future of world-class innovators, we must start shaping them early. Today, Nigeria joins that league through FutureMakers. This is our commitment to ensuring our children are not left behind in the global innovation race,” Halilu said.

Halilu explained that FutureMakers was a strategic extension of NASENI’s broader mandate of industrial transformation through creation, collaboration and commercialisation.

The programme, he said, was designed to build technical confidence early, develop problem-solvers, groom future STEM leaders and feed talent into NASENI’s incubation and acceleration pipeline.

Through NASENI institutes across the six geopolitical zones, children selected for the programme will receive training in design thinking, engineering basics, creativity and the use of technology. They will also participate in mentorship schemes, access prototyping tools and compete in hackathons and pitch days.

“We are creating a cycle where a child’s curiosity today becomes Nigeria’s breakthrough tomorrow,” Halilu added.

Rachael Oluwabusola Perez-Folayan, Head of the NASENI Innovation Hub, said that applications were open to Nigerian children aged five to 16, including skilled young artisans.

She said 60 children, 10 from each geopolitical zone, would be selected for the inaugural three-month cohort starting December, 2025, and that successful applicants would receive technical and leadership training, financial support and access to innovation resources.

“Top performers will be awarded prizes of up to N5m, scholarships and an exclusive study tour abroad with the EVC,” she added.

The programme aims to cultivate homegrown solutions to national challenges by equipping children with problem-solving, technical and business skills. Evaluations will focus on clarity of ideas, creativity, societal impact, feasibility and scalability.

Halilu urged parents to encourage creativity, teachers to make innovation a daily experience and the private sector to fund challenges, sponsor regions and support prototypes.

Halilu described the initiative as a seed that would grow into Nigeria’s innovation destiny, adding: “This is from policy to action. This is how nations rise.”