The Ilorin Innovation Hub of the Kwara State government is set to splash about N30 million on 10 young technology innovators at the end of a three-day innovation challenge and hackathon pitch sessions.

Speaking at the event in Ilorin on Wednesday, one of the facilitators of the programme and Managing Director of Co-creation Hub, Nissi Madu, provided details on the event, tagged, Ilorin Innovation Challenge and Hackathon. The initiative focused on supporting startups and innovators in Ilorin and its environs by empowering them with access to funding and mentorship to build solutions addressing pressing local problems.

Madu revealed that the programme started about three months ago with a roadshow. Key participation statistics included:

1,384 individuals participating through campus and hub engagements.

Over 500 applications submitted before the August 18, 2025, deadline.

The young innovators presented solutions spanning myriad areas of focus, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), fashion, education technology, green and sustainable energy, logistics solutions, and real estate, among others.

"In total, 10 of the youth techies will be supported with funds. Out of 17 teams for the hackathon and 10 teams for the innovation challenge, seven of them will be selected from the hackathon and three from the innovation challenge, the end of it all.

"The fund would help to turn their ideas to actual prototype and start they'll start to build their startups.

"It's N2 million each for hackathon and N5 million each for start-ups for them to be able to put the fund into key areas of their businesses and grow. It's aimed to address critical challenges and needs within the region and Nigeria as a whole in the areas they propose to address the problem.

Also speaking, the managing director, the Ilorin Innovation Hub, Temi Kolawole, said that the Innovation Challenge & Hackathon 2025 is a programme designed to discover and accelerate the most tech-enabled solutions addressing challenges in our communities.

Kolawole also said that the initiative is aimed at identifying and nurturing high-potential entrepreneurs and early-stage startups, "tackling regionally relevant challenges through technology".

He said the programme aimed to strengthen the innovation ecosystem and foster an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, connecting startups with ecosystem actors and resources.

"Part of the aim is to promote economic growth and job creation, develop sustainable, locally relevant business models contributing to economic diversification in Kwara State," he said.