The Telecommunications and Technology Sustainability Working Group (TTSWG) has expanded its Innovation Makers Challenge to five sectors as it seeks to help more Nigerian innovators develop ideas into viable businesses and market-ready solutions.
The initiative now covers health, agriculture, education, climate change and technology, expanding from the two sectors covered during its inaugural edition.
The expansion was announced at the second Innovation Makers Challenge Conference and Innovation Exhibition held on September 24, 2026, at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event brought together policymakers, technology and telecommunications executives, investors, financial institutions, development partners and young innovators.
The conference also featured a pitch competition involving five female-led early-stage businesses, with the top three receiving a combined N9.5 million in seed funding to support their ventures.
Agrovesto, an AgriTech operating system focused on making agriculture more bankable and sustainable, won the top prize of N6 million.
Blue Sands STEM Labs, a virtual laboratory education technology platform, received N2 million as first runner-up, while QiqiFarms, an agricultural technology business that connects farmers to markets, received N1 million as second runner-up. The other finalists were Elcornel Business Enterprises Limited, a climate-focused AgriTech venture, and Anatsor Limited, a technology-based poultry management software provider.
The funding gives the early-stage businesses capital to strengthen their operations and develop solutions across agriculture, education, climate and technology, while the wider Innovation Makers Challenge is designed to connect innovators with investors and industry stakeholders.
Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Services Officer at IHS Nigeria, Dapo Otunla, said the initiative was created to address the gap between infrastructure and the ability of innovators to turn ideas into viable solutions.
He said access to connectivity and infrastructure would have greater economic value when young entrepreneurs had the knowledge and opportunities to use them to develop solutions, build businesses and create employment.
Otunla also identified education as an important driver of entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, noting that entrepreneurs equipped with the right knowledge could build stronger businesses, scale their operations and create jobs.
Lead Consultant at the TTSWG Secretariat, Bankole Oloruntoba, said the expansion reflected the working group’s broader approach to sustainability across the technology and telecommunications ecosystem.
He explained that the inaugural Innovation Makers Challenge focused mainly on two sectors, while the latest edition had expanded to health, agriculture, education, climate change and technology.
Oloruntoba said technology alone could not deliver sustainability across the sector, stressing the importance of collaboration and bringing together different components of the innovation ecosystem.
He added that the programme was intended to create a platform where young innovators could connect with investors and industry stakeholders while developing solutions to economic and social challenges.
The conference featured product exhibitions, panel discussions, a fireside chat and networking sessions aimed at connecting emerging businesses with investors and industry leaders.
Beyond the pitch competition, the organisers said the programme would continue to support innovators through funding, partnerships, incubation and access to wider markets.
The approach is intended to help early-stage businesses move beyond developing ideas to strengthening their business models, attracting investment and bringing solutions to market.
For the participating female-led startups, the seed funding also provides an opportunity to invest in product development and business operations as they seek to scale solutions addressing challenges in agriculture, education, climate and technology.
TTSWG said the expanded challenge would continue to encourage a new generation of innovators while building stronger connections between entrepreneurs, investors, industry players and other stakeholders in Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.