Young Africa Innovates Unveils Nationwide Programme For Youths

The Young Africa Innovates Programme has launched a series of State Innovation Showcases across Nigeria, aiming to elevate youth-led solutions that address pressing local challenges.

The programme, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will stage public showcases in seven states from December 4 to December 18 in Lagos, Anambra, Kaduna, Kwara, Ekiti, Akwa Ibom, and Borno.

The events are designed to connect young innovators with investors, government actors, private sector partners, academia and civil society.

The programme began with more than 9,000 applications from youth-led teams and selected 1,348 participants for intensive boot camps focused on idea refinement, business modelling, and design for impact. From that group, 205 innovators advanced into a Stage Gating phase – an incubation period that supported testing, validation and scaling of prototypes.

Over the course of four months, participants benefited from residency workshops, one-on-one mentorship, and peer learning. They developed minimum viable products, sharpened business strategies, forged partnerships and improved market access.

UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Ms Elsie G. Attafuah, in a statement, said innovation isn’t just about technology; it’s about solving real problems that affect real people.

“The State Showcase is a celebration of young people doing exactly that: building climate solutions, inclusive fintech tools, waste-to-wealth platforms, agro-logistics systems and more. The journey has built the confidence of our innovators and connected them to critical partners.”

The initiative emphasises inclusion: more than 70 per cent of selected innovators are women, and 14 per cent are persons with disabilities — reflecting an explicit effort to support innovators from underserved communities.

Projects advancing to the showcases include solar cooperatives, digital escrow platforms, climate-smart agriculture tools, localised banking solutions for underserved communities, and productive-use appliances for micro and small enterprises.

Ms Attafuah added that, “What is especially inspiring is our joint focus with the Mastercard Foundation on supporting atypical innovators—young people from underserved communities, including women and persons with disabilities. We are connecting these innovators to Nigeria’s broader ecosystem so they can grow, scale and lead lasting change.”

The Young Africa Innovates Programme is part of the UNDP and the Mastercard Foundation’s joint effort to create dignified and sustainable employment opportunities for young people and nurture a more inclusive innovation ecosystem across Africa.

As Nigeria positions itself toward a knowledge-driven economy, the organisers say the State Innovation Showcases will serve both as a platform for immediate opportunity and as an engine to scale locally rooted solutions with national and regional impact.