OPay selects 10 teams for N18m national innovation challenge

OPay has announced the 10 teams advancing to the boot-camp stage of its National Innovation Challenge, an initiative run with Google and the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent programme. The challenge forms part of the expanded OPay Scholars Programme and is intended to help young Nigerians develop practical skills and solutions to real-world problems. OPay said more than 11,000 students, organised into 2,200 teams, applied for the competition.

Following the initial selection, 48 teams took part in a six-week employability webinar. The programme was designed to build workplace-related skills, strengthen participants’ knowledge and prepare them for the next stage. Ten teams emerged from the webinar stage and will now attend an intensive boot camp.

There, mentors and industry professionals will help the finalists develop, test and refine their solutions ahead of the final stage. OPay’s CSR Manager, Itoro Udoh, said the initiative was focused on creating practical routes for young Nigerians to turn ideas and skills into opportunities. The challenge has a total prize pool of N18m and is intended to provide participants with experience and access to professionals in the technology and innovation ecosystem.

Students who performed exceptionally well during the webinar will also be considered for the OPay Futures pipeline. That pathway may provide access to potential three-month internships with OPay and partner organisations. The finalist teams are Lyrclip from Miva Open University, ResearchFlow from Olabisi Onabanjo University, CampusCheck from the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, and Veripay, representing MOAUM and Benue State University.

Other finalists are CoursePass from Lagos State University of Science and Technology, Teamcobuild from Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Verified Hands from Ahmadu Bello University. The remaining teams are SkoolConnectNG from Yaba College of Technology, Thrifty from Ahmadu Bello University and Team Paye from Adeleke University. OPay said the challenge reflected its focus on education, skills development, innovation and employability among young Nigerians.