Talk about Nigeria’s tech story usually centers on startup growth and young founders. This time, the spotlight belongs to the women who build. Seven of the 15 finalists in the InnovateNaija Challenge were women, and one of them walked away with the grand prize. The competition is led by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), with AfriLabs and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
Hardware that solves real problems
At the national pitch event on October 6, 2026, all 15 finalists presented physical prototypes to industry experts, global investors and policymakers. The ₦100 million grand prize went to Adaeze Ruth Akpagbula of Abia State, co-founder of Farm Speak, for PenKeep, a smart climate control system for poultry. It also suits aquaculture, greenhouses and smart irrigation. She named funding, infrastructure and electricity as the big hurdles for hardware makers in Nigeria, and says the prize will help her scale production and reach more farmers.
The other six finalists
Their projects cover a lot of ground:
- Kemisola Bolarinwa (Ekiti): the Smart Bra Cup Diagnostic Device, aimed at breast health
- Elizabeth Chioma Chiketarauba (Imo): Torquenova, an electric vehicle and power generator that charges by solar or mains
- Rita Idehai (Edo): an automated reverse vending machine for waste management
- Chinyere Esther Onwumelu (Nasarawa): a gas-level monitoring and community metering system
- Khadija Adamu Dandada (Kano): the Shepall App for everyday needs
- Miriam Ashiemar Agbo (Benue): the Anatsor Integrated Poultry Management System
Healthcare, agriculture, energy and the environment all show up. Think of it as a toolbox where every tool came from a different state.
Why platforms like this matter
These finalists are engineers, inventors and developers, and what ties them together is that they built the solutions themselves. For a Nigeria tech story that includes women, seeing them win on a national stage is a reminder that the contribution is already happening. If you like following such moments, startup events are a natural place to meet innovators like these.
More than prize money
Besides the ₦100 million grand prize, runners-up received ₦30 million and ₦20 million grants. All 15 finalists also gained long-term access to advanced manufacturing tools and infrastructure across NASENI’s technology institutes, which matters a lot for hardware builders. And for a student with an idea, the message is simple: you don’t have to wait for someone else to build the future. Stories like this one also show up regularly in technology news updates, and they’re worth keeping an eye on.
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