Enactus Nigeria has partnered with key industry stakeholders to accelerate the commercialisation of homegrown engineering solutions aimed at addressing Nigeria’s development challenges through the Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO).
The initiative brings together the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Renaissance Africa Energy Company, and First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company (First E&P) to nurture young engineering talents and transform innovative ideas into practical, commercially viable solutions for national development.
The Olympiad was conceived to bridge the gap between engineering education and industry by equipping students with the resources and mentorship needed to convert innovative projects into sustainable businesses.
Speaking at the maiden edition of the competition in Lagos, the Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, Michael Ajayi, said the Olympiad attracted 375 applications from 984 students across 80 tertiary institutions nationwide. Following a rigorous selection process, 30 teams advanced to the regional stage, while 12 institutions qualified for the grand finale.
At the end of the competition, Modibbo Adama University, Yola, emerged overall winner, securing the ₦50 million grand prize and a fully equipped engineering building for its faculty.
The university won with Ubuntu Sapphire, a community-powered rapid alert system that uses low-cost devices to instantly connect households with neighbours and emergency responders during crises.
The University of Ibadan finished as the first runner-up, receiving ₦30 million and engineering equipment valued at ₦75 million for its faculty. Its innovation, Aurora Birth, is a health technology suite designed to reduce neonatal deaths caused by birth asphyxia in low-resource settings.
The University of Jos claimed third place with FarmAnchor, a solar-powered, AI-enabled device that helps smallholder farmers detect crop pests, diseases, and soil nutrient deficiencies through multispectral imaging and edge-based machine learning. The team received ₦20 million, while its faculty was awarded engineering equipment worth ₦50 million.
Ajayi said Enactus Nigeria remains committed to working with forward-thinking organisations to co-create and implement projects that address pressing community challenges through innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and data-driven solutions.
“We have remained steadfast in our mission to empower young people to use entrepreneurial action to solve the world’s greatest challenges, starting with those in their immediate communities,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Khalil Suleiman Halilu, the agency’s Deputy Director of the Engineering Infrastructure Department, Dr. Emmanuel Ajani, stressed the importance of innovation in driving national development.
According to him, countries that dominate the global economy are not necessarily those blessed with abundant natural resources but those that consistently invest in innovation, commercialise research, and build technology-driven industries.