The selected innovations span seven Nigerian states: Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kwara, and Lagos UNDP Nigeria/ Rejoice Emmanuel
A new cohort of young Nigerians is stepping into the spotlight of grassroots innovation.
Two hundred and ten innovators have been selected for the Stage Gating Phase of the Young Africa Innovates (YAI) Programme, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mastercard Foundation.
The announcement follows a multi-stage process that began with 1,385 participants attending bootcamps across seven states—Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kwara, and Lagos.
The bootcamps offered hands-on training, idea refinement, and opportunities for collaboration.
From this pool, 210 innovators were chosen for their creativity, resilience, and potential to deliver scalable community-driven solutions.
The selected projects reflect the diversity of Nigeria’s development needs, cutting across education, healthcare, commerce, tourism, the creative economy, and financial inclusion.
Over the next four months, participants will enter an intensive incubation programme where they will be paired with mentors, receive technical guidance, test their ideas in local markets, and engage in peer learning.
“At the Mastercard Foundation, we believe young people are the key to transforming Africa’s future,” said Rosy Fynn, Country Director, Mastercard Foundation Nigeria.
“The Young Africa Innovates Programme was designed with the understanding that innovation is not the preserve of a few. It exists everywhere from big cities to remote rural communities, and often, it is those who live closest to the problem who are best positioned to solve it.”
The Stage Gating Phase runs from August to December 2025. Participants will take part in one-on-one mentoring, collaborative workshops, and community-led peer learning circles, alongside state-level showcases.
Areas of focus include business development, product design, MVP creation, and market testing.
The aim is not just to strengthen individual ideas, but to build inclusive ecosystems of innovation within the states represented.
Transparency and local ownership were central to the selection process.
Assessments began at the bootcamp level, were followed by a technical review by UNDP, and were finally validated by State Steering Committees that included government representatives, development partners, and ecosystem actors.
“This announcement is more than a milestone; it’s a signal to the world that Nigeria’s youth are not waiting for change, they are building it,” said Elsie G. Attafuah, Resident Representative, UNDP Nigeria.
“What makes the Young Africa Innovates Programme so powerful is its commitment to reach atypical innovators, those who are often excluded from the mainstream innovation ecosystem due to geography, gender, socio-economic status, or education level. These selected innovators are crafting bold solutions, driven by lived experience and community connection.”
For the innovators, the coming months present an opportunity to deepen their impact.
For UNDP and the Mastercard Foundation, the programme is also a testing ground for models of inclusive incubation and support that could shape future approaches to youth-led innovation across Africa.
About the Young Africa Innovates Programme
The Young Africa Innovates Programme is a bold partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), designed to empower youth-led innovation and drive inclusive socio-economic development across Nigeria.
The programme aims to identify, incubate, and scale innovative solutions by young Nigerians, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds.
The Programme is rooted in the belief that real innovation comes from within communities and that every young person, regardless of background, deserves a chance to create, lead, and drive change.
About the Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world.
It works with visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.
Its Young Africa Works strategy aims to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030, while its EleV strategy will support 100,000 Indigenous youth in Canada to complete their education and transition to meaningful work aligned with their traditions, values, and aspirations.
Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the Foundation is an independent organization.
Its policies, operations, and program decisions are determined by its Board of Directors and Leadership team. For more information on the Foundation, please visit www.mastercardfdn.org.
