The STEMite Zone Fair, a premier platform for students of African descent to innovate and showcase their talents, has taken a major step forward with its latest collaboration with Genius Illumina National Festival of School Science (NAFES).

The event, which brought together top students from across Nigeria, aimed to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, while also encouraging young minds to develop innovative solutions to address the country’s pressing challenges. Over 140 students from across Nigeria participated in the Innovation Challenge, with 17 projects selected for the final.

The winners of the competition will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona, where they will represent Nigeria and compete with students from around the world.

In addition to the Innovation Challenge, the event also featured a general Science Fair, where over 35 schools participated with 150 projects from junior and senior secondary students on display.

Winners of the general Science Fair were rewarded with cash prizes ranging between N100,000 and N250,000. They will be part of the STEMite Zone Fellowship Programme, which equips students with entrepreneurship and leadership skills.

Founder of STEMite Zone, Ibukun Elebute, emphasised the importance of investing in the younger generation, stating, “We strongly believe that Nigeria and Africa should be the most innovative places in the world. And the reason is that we have so many problems, and it’s an opportunity to solve them through innovation.”

Elebute further explained that the Zone Fair is a platform that enables students to innovate and showcase their talents, with a focus on West Africa and Nigeria.

“We’re building and raising the next generation of innovators, “ she said. “We’re using science fairs as a platform, as an opportunity, as a vehicle to do that.”

She added that the event was designed to shape the mindsets of Africans to think of problems as opportunities for innovation and to build solutions. “We believe that this mindset needs to be shaped early, and which is why we are very intentional about investing at the grassroots level, you know, through science fair projects, competitions, focused mostly on high school students,” Elebute added.

On his part, the Executive Director of Genius Illumina, Prof. Jerry Orhue, highlighted the importance of STEM education in driving national development, stating, “Countries that have gotten it right over the years were those who were quick enough to invest in STEM.

Orhue urged the government to provide funding and resources to support such events, stating, “A nation that downplays science and technology can never develop.”

Founder of African Impact Initiative, a sponsor of the event, Efosa Obano, praised the organisers and participants, saying, “I’m very impressed by the turnout and the engagement from staff and students. Nigeria’s youth are ready to engage and build solutions. We’re keen to give back and support initiatives like this, and we hope to see more government and corporate support for STEM education.”

The top five winners of the innovation challenge include Onyenwe Somtochukwu MaryClaret of Government Science and Technical College, Area 3, Garki, Abuja; Oluwatoni Oso of Eton College, Berkshire, United Kingdom; Opoku Victoria and Okpara Joshua of Kosofe Senior College, Ketu, Lagos; Farida Ahmadu Bello and Ummul-ayman Salihu Bala of Great Heights Academy, Abuja; as well as PraiseGod Angel Abraham of Government Science and Technical College, Area 3, Garki, Abuja. Government Science and Technical College, Area 3, Garki, Abuja, emerged as the overall winning school at the competition.