…heads to Cape Town finals
A team from Sunflower School, Kano State, has emerged winner of Junior Achievement Nigeria’s (JAN) 2026 National Company of the Year Competition and will represent Nigeria at the African Company of the Year competition in Cape Town, South Africa.
Agrolens Technologies, comprising Fadillah Abdulsalam, Ruqayya Jallo, Hayfa Mukhtar and Maryam Butu, won with AgroLens AI, a free, artificial intelligence-powered mobile platform designed to help farmers make more informed decisions.
The platform integrates crop disease and pest detection, treatment recommendations, live market price information, connections to buyers and links to agricultural financing in one place.
Designed with accessibility in mind, it supports English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Pidgin, with voice-enabled features for users with limited literacy or those who prefer speaking to typing.
In his welcome address at the National Company of the Year Competition and National Stakeholder Convening in Abuja, Olaolu Akogun, acting executive director of JAN, said the imperative is to prepare young people for a changing economy.
“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, and 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.”
Their victory was announced on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, in Abuja at the event themed ‘Augmenting Innovation: Equipping Nigeria’s Youth for Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods in a Changing Economy.’
The team secured a $250 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town. New Era Company of Community Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja, placed second with $150, while Nexora of International School Lagos placed third with $100.
New Era also won the Best Corporate Social Responsibility Award with an additional $100.
Beyond the top three, Agrolens Technologies also won the Product Innovation and Operational Excellence Award presented by Food Concepts.
UOFAM Group of Company from Unique Secondary School, Akure, won the Public Choice Award with $50, while EcoFlame Innovation won the Excellence in Project Management & Execution Award from PMI Nigeria.
Ezekiel Yende Sekegh was named Outstanding Volunteer of the Year and Isaac Chika Egbe of Sunflower School received the Best Facilitator Award.
The competition is a key component of JAN’s School-to-Work Educational Transition for Long-Term Youth Fulfilment (SET4LYF) program, which equips girls with practical skills, knowledge and experience to transition from school to further education, entrepreneurship and employment.
Through Ideathons, JA DEEP and the JA Company Program, participants develop digital capabilities and gain hands-on experience building businesses.
Delivering the keynote address, Aliyu Abdullahi, assistant director, education youth development at the Ministry of Youth and Social Development and a JAN alumnus, called for a shift from qualifications to competence.
“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.”
The victory marks Kano State’s third consecutive win at the national competition, according to Edwin Idoko, Kano State program officer for JAN.
He credited collaboration among education authorities, volunteers and field officers.
In addition, 15 girls from competing schools were selected for a fully sponsored leadership training camp in Ghana in March 2027, sponsored by Delta Air Lines.
The 2026 competition was supported by FirstBank Nigeria, PMI Nigeria, Food Concepts (Chicken Republic) and Nigerian Bottling Company.
Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is a journalist with over five years’ reporting experience. She writes on industry, agriculture, commodities, climate change, and environmental issues. She is fellow of Thomson Reuters Foundation and Bloomberg Media Initiative for Africa.
