OPay has shortlisted 48 teams to advance to the next phase of its National Innovation Challenge after attracting more than 2,200 applications from over 11,000 undergraduate students across Nigeria, underscoring growing interest in technology-driven innovation among the country’s youth.
The competition forms part of the fintech company’s expanded ₦1.2 billion, 10-year scholarship programme, an initiative designed to strengthen digital skills development and support higher education across Nigeria. The programme also includes the OPay Futures career initiative, which focuses on improving students’ employability through training, mentorship and industry exposure.
Applications for the innovation challenge opened on May 25 and closed on July 3, drawing submissions from students across universities, polytechnics and other tertiary institutions. According to OPay, entries were assessed using criteria including originality, relevance, quality of execution and the potential societal impact of each proposed solution.
The 48 successful teams are evenly split between 24 teams from OPay’s partner tertiary institutions and 24 teams from non-partner institutions, reflecting the company’s effort to broaden participation beyond its existing academic partnerships. Each team comprises five students from the same institution, encouraging collaborative problem-solving and multidisciplinary thinking.
The shortlisted teams will now participate in a six-week virtual mentorship programme led by professionals from OPay, Google and Nigeria’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, a federal government initiative aimed at building a globally competitive digital workforce. The mentorship phase is expected to refine participants’ ideas, strengthen business models and enhance technical execution before the next round of judging.
At the end of the programme, the competition will be narrowed to 10 finalist teams, which will compete for a share of the ₦18 million prize pool. Beyond the cash rewards, participants who achieve at least 70% in the programme’s webinar assessment will qualify for a three-month internship with OPay and selected partner organisations, providing practical industry experience that could improve future employment prospects.
Commenting on the response, Itoro Udo, OPay’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager, said the strong participation demonstrated the depth of innovation among Nigerian students.
“The response has been truly inspiring. Seeing over 11,000 students come together to develop practical solutions reinforces our belief that Nigeria has an incredible pool of young talent ready to shape the future through innovation.”
The initiative reflects increasing investment by private-sector technology companies in developing Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem. As competition for digital talent intensifies across Africa, programmes that combine scholarships, mentorship and workplace experience are becoming an important pipeline for nurturing entrepreneurs, software developers and technology professionals capable of supporting the country’s growing digital economy.
