501
By Tracy Moses
Bildup AI has rolled out a nationwide artificial intelligence competition featuring N15 million in rewards, full scholarships, and an opportunity for Nigerian youths to develop real-life AI innovations capable of transforming the country.
The programme, tagged the National AI Career Readiness Challenge, is targeted at secondary school students, school leavers, and first-year undergraduates across Nigeria. The organisation described it as a “generational intervention” aimed at reshaping youth skills and preparing them for the future of work.
Speaking during the launch, the Chief Executive Officer of Bildup AI, Chibuike Aguene, said the initiative was developed in response to the widening gap between classroom learning and the digital skills required in today’s world, a gap that continues to render millions of young Nigerians unemployable.
“Our young people are being schooled for a world that has already disappeared,” he said. “They are cramming information while the global community is designing algorithms. They are chasing certificates while the world is searching for competencies.”
Aguene cautioned that global technological advancement is accelerating faster than Nigeria’s educational system can adjust, stressing that AI is already reshaping sectors from agriculture to healthcare.
“Are they aware that AI is now diagnosing illnesses faster than doctors in some rural areas? Or that farmers in India and Kenya are using AI tools to predict rainfall and drastically increase yields? The world isn’t slowing down for anyone,” he remarked.
He referenced findings from the World Bank, UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Economic Forum, all of which emphasize the urgent need for African nations to equip young people with digital and problem-solving skills essential for the future.
According to Aguene, Africa is not only struggling with unemployment but also facing a “collapse in the talent pipeline,” as companies increasingly encounter difficulties recruiting workers with the digital competencies needed to drive innovation.
He explained that Bildup AI has created a platform designed to help young people “discover their strengths, build capacity along their chosen career paths, and acquire skills 70% faster and at a fraction of traditional training costs.”
Aguene noted that the National AI Career Readiness Challenge is not merely a competition but a nationwide movement to expand AI literacy and democratize access to digital opportunities.
“Every applicant will receive a full scholarship, which includes access to our career advisory system, a two-month interactive learning programme requiring only two hours of study per day, one-on-one guidance from AI mentors and academic advisors, and practical project development in sectors like health, education, agriculture, finance, technology, and energy,” he said.
“Participants will also compete for N15 million in prizes, including laptops, internships, and a N6 million AI laboratory for the overall winning school.”
He described the initiative as both a technological drive and a social equalizer.
“This is bigger than employment,” he added. “It is about giving every Nigerian youth, no matter their background, an equal chance to participate in the future. It is about fixing the disconnect between our education system and the realities of the modern world. It is about transforming youth unemployment from a national crisis into a national advantage by raising a generation that is AI-aware, skilled, and ready to innovate.”
Aguene painted a vivid picture of what young Nigerians could achieve with the right resources: “Picture a 17-year-old girl in Bauchi creating an AI system for early malaria detection, or a 19-year-old in Enugu building a chatbot that gives farmers daily market prices. Imagine a student in Kano designing a flood prediction model, or an 18-year-old in Ibadan developing an AI-based sign language translator for people with hearing impairments. This isn’t fantasy; it’s the vision we are beginning to actualize.”
He urged parents, educators, public officials, and community influencers to unite in preparing Nigerian youths for the fast-changing global landscape, describing the challenge as “a defining moment for the nation.”
Aguene warned that failure to act now would risk condemning another generation to uncertainty and joblessness. Addressing young Nigerians directly, he said: “You are not too young to innovate. You are not too young to build. This is your chance.”
Applications for the fully funded programme remain open until January 20, and Bildup AI advises interested participants to register early.