OPay has announced the 48 teams selected to advance to the next stage of its National Innovation Challenge following a nationwide competition that attracted more than 11,000 undergraduate students from tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
The National Innovation Challenge is one of three flagship initiatives under the expanded OPay Scholars Programme, alongside the ₦1.2 billion, 10-year scholarship scheme and OPay Futures, all designed to promote education, innovation, digital skills development and youth empowerment.
Applications for the innovation challenge opened on 25 May and closed on 3 July 2026, attracting over 2,200 team entries from students representing institutions across the country.
Following a rigorous assessment based on originality, relevance, quality and potential impact, 48 teams were selected—24 from OPay’s partner institutions and 24 from non-partner institutions. Each team comprises five students from the same tertiary institution.
The successful teams will participate in a six-week virtual mentorship and learning programme, where they will receive training from professionals at OPay, Google, and the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme.
At the end of the mentorship programme, the teams will be narrowed down to 10 finalists, who will compete for a share of the ₦18 million prize pool.
In addition to the competition, students from the 48 selected teams who score 70 per cent or above in the webinar assessment will qualify for a three-month internship with OPay and its partner organisations under the OPay Futures initiative.
The internships are designed to provide participants with practical industry experience, exposure to real business challenges and career development opportunities within Nigeria’s digital economy.
Speaking on the initiative, OPay’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Itoro Udo, described the response as evidence of the creativity and innovative potential of Nigerian youths.
> “Seeing over 11,000 students come together to develop practical solutions to real challenges reinforces our belief that Nigeria has an incredible pool of young talent ready to shape the future through innovation.
> “Through the OPay Scholars Programme, we are investing beyond scholarships by creating opportunities for learning, mentorship, collaboration and innovation,” she said.
She added that OPay’s partnership with Google and the Federal Government’s 3MTT programme would help equip young Nigerians with the skills, confidence and exposure needed to develop impactful solutions.
The company said the expanded OPay Scholars Programme is designed to support students through financial assistance, innovation challenges, mentorship, industry experience and employment opportunities, with the aim of nurturing the next generation of technology professionals and entrepreneurs.
Among the selected teams are Learnnr (University of Lagos), Healing Hands (University of Ibadan), ResearchFlow (Olabisi Onabanjo University), Koboko (University of Nigeria, Nsukka), Solarpeer 360 (Federal University of Technology, Minna), CampusCheck (Federal University Oye-Ekiti) and CuraMind (University of Port Harcourt), among others.
OPay said the initiative reflects its long-term commitment to supporting innovation, education and Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Source: Daily Post Nigeria
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