Students from Sunflower School, Kano State, have gained Junior Achievement Nigeria’s (JAN) 2026 National Company of the Year Competition with a synthetic intelligence-powered platform designed to assist farmers make higher agricultural choices.
The workforce, Agrolens Technologies, comprising Fadillah Abdulsalam, Ruqayya Jallo, Hayfa Mukhtar and Maryam Butu, gained a US$250 money prize and an all-expenses-paid journey to Cape Town, South Africa, the place it is going to symbolize Nigeria on the African Company of the Year Competition.
Their innovation, AgroLens AI, is a free cellular platform that mixes crop illness and pest detection, therapy suggestions, real-time market costs, connections to patrons and data on agricultural financing.
AgroLens AI helps English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Nigerian Pidgin. Its voice-enabled options are designed to make agricultural data extra accessible to farmers with restricted literacy or those that discover talking simpler than typing.
The workforce’s victory was introduced on the national competitors and a youth entrepreneurship convening held in Lagos on Wednesday, 21 October, underneath the theme, “Augmenting Innovation: Equipping Nigeria’s Youth for Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods in a Changing Economy.”
New Era Company of Community Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja, positioned second, profitable US$150, whereas Nexora International School Lagos got here third with US$100. New Era additionally obtained an extra US$100 after profitable the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award.
Preparing students for the world of labor
The competitors is a part of JAN’s School-to-Work Educational Transition for Long-Term Youth Fulfilment (SET4LYF) programme, which equips women with sensible expertise to pursue additional schooling, entrepreneurship and employment.
Through actions together with Ideathons, JA DEEP, and the JA Company Programme, contributors achieve expertise growing enterprise concepts, fixing sensible issues, and presenting services and products.
A report revealed by THISDAY highlighted the programme’s broader attain, saying SET4LYF reached greater than 98,000 women in its first two years. The initiative seeks to bridge the hole between classroom studying and alternatives past college.
Speaking on the occasion, Olaolu Akogun, appearing govt director of Junior Achievement Nigeria, mentioned younger individuals wanted sensible expertise to adapt to an financial system more and more formed by know-how.
“The young people we are equipping today cannot afford to be prepared only for the opportunities that existed yesterday. Technology is changing how we work, trade and create value. Our responsibility is to ensure that young Nigerians, especially girls, have the skills, confidence and practical experience to participate in and shape that changing economy,” Mr Akogun mentioned.
He highlighted JAN’s partnerships with the National Youth Service Corps, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities and state governments. He referred to as for sustained collaboration to develop entry to entrepreneurship schooling.
Aliyu Abdullahi, assistant director of schooling and youth improvement on the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, delivered the keynote deal with on behalf of the minister.
He referred to as for an schooling system that prioritises sensible competence and problem-solving alongside tutorial {qualifications}.
“Degrees alone are not enough. We must move young people from being consumers of digital technology to becoming creators, problem-solvers and innovators. Training must lead to opportunity, and opportunity must lead to livelihoods,” Mr Abdullahi mentioned.
He advocated stronger collaboration amongst authorities, educators, and companies to combine entrepreneurship, apprenticeships, internships, and sensible expertise into studying.
He additionally careworn the significance of connecting youth improvement programmes to market entry and rising alternatives within the digital financial system.
READ ALSO: From Garden to Market: How women’s vegetable farming is transforming household livelihoods in Kaduna
Other awards and alternatives
Beyond the primary competitors, Agrolens Technologies obtained the Product Innovation and Operational Excellence Award, introduced by Food Concepts.
UOFAM Group of Companies from Unique Secondary School, Akure, gained the Public Choice Award and US$50. Meanwhile, EcoFlame Innovation obtained the Excellence in Project Management and Execution Award from the Project Management Institute Nigeria.
Ezekiel Sekegh was named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year, whereas Isaac Egbe of Sunflower School obtained the Best Facilitator Award.
In a separate alternative, 15 women from taking part colleges had been chosen for a completely sponsored management coaching camp in Ghana scheduled for March 2027. Delta Air Lines is sponsoring the programme, which recognises management, teamwork, dedication and excellence.
Edwin Idoko, JAN’s Kano State programme officer, credited the state’s schooling authorities, volunteers and discipline officers with supporting the students’ achievement. He mentioned the victory marked Kano State’s third consecutive 12 months of success on the national competitors.
The occasion additionally featured a panel dialogue on bridging foundational studying with entrepreneurship and market entry. Participants examined how mentoring, undertaking administration, incapacity inclusion and private-sector partnerships might assist younger individuals flip classroom studying into viable companies.
The 2026 competitors was supported by FirstBank Nigeria, the Project Management Institute Nigeria, Food Concepts and Nigerian Bottling Company.
Agrolens Technologies will now take its agricultural innovation to the continental competitors in Cape Town, the place it is going to symbolize Nigeria towards student-led enterprises from different African international locations.
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