KEY POINTS
• Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Kingsley Udeh urged young Nigerians to develop practical solutions to national challenges.
• He identified AI, robotics, biotechnology, renewable energy, digital finance and precision agriculture as areas offering opportunities for innovation.
• The Impact Youth Development Initiative said its programme combines business training with access to loans, grants, employment and other empowerment opportunities.
MAIN STORY
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr Kingsley Udeh, has called on Nigerian youths to move from consuming technology developed elsewhere to creating solutions, businesses and technologies that can generate jobs and economic value.
Udeh made the call on Saturday at the 2026 Impact Youth Development Initiative Business Innovation Summit in Enugu, where he urged young entrepreneurs to focus on solving practical problems and scaling viable enterprises.
The summit, held at the International Conference Centre, had the theme, “Innovate, Build and Scale Up”.
The minister, who was represented by Dr Nneka Nwagugu, Head of the Agro and Agro Allied Division at the Projects Development Initiative, Enugu, said Nigeria’s youthful population could become a major economic asset if young people had access to appropriate skills, resources, opportunities and an enabling environment.
He said rapid developments in artificial intelligence, digital technology, robotics and biotechnology were opening new areas for young Nigerians, alongside opportunities in renewable energy, digital finance and precision agriculture.
Udeh said innovation should not be understood only in terms of computers and artificial intelligence, but also as the application of ideas, knowledge and technology to everyday challenges.
He identified healthcare, education, housing, waste management, manufacturing and financial inclusion among areas where young Nigerians could develop practical solutions.
“Every young person represents potential, but potential is only the beginning.
“The pathway should be that potential becomes capability; capability becomes innovation that translates to enterprise.
“Enterprise must then be channelled to creating employment and wealth. This pathway, if diligently pursued, will ultimately produce impact,” he said.
The minister encouraged young entrepreneurs to approach business from the problems they could solve rather than simply looking for businesses to start.
He advised them to begin on a small scale, build prototypes, test their ideas, learn from failures and improve their products and services continuously.
Udeh also said youth development and innovation needed to advance together if Nigeria was to make effective use of its human capital.
He urged young people to become creators, developers, owners and exporters of technology instead of remaining users of technologies produced outside the country.
Founder of IYD, Mr Ejike Nnaji, said the initiative was established to provide women, youths, students and entrepreneurs with both knowledge and practical opportunities to develop their businesses and careers.
He said the summit was designed to expose participants to emerging business trends and equip them with skills needed to operate in an increasingly digital economy.
Nnaji said the programme was organised in collaboration with Mastercard, Jobberman, Electric Motor Ltd. and Master Energy Group.
He said its practical focus distinguished it from conventional business summits, adding that some participants would receive financial and other forms of empowerment while others would be connected to loans, grants, training and employment opportunities.
Guest speaker and Founder of Master Energy Group, Mr Uche Ogah, urged young Nigerians to treat economic and technological changes as opportunities to establish new businesses.
Ogah, a former Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, encouraged youths to become “seed bearers” of new businesses and institutions rather than depend solely on existing organisations for employment.
He said economic and technological changes were altering the traditional pathway of education, employment, home ownership and retirement.
Ogah therefore urged young Nigerians to develop entrepreneurial and technological capabilities that would enable them to create value in the emerging economy.
A Jobberman representative, Dr Victoria Chukwu, said the organisation was focused on preparing young Nigerians for employment and connecting job seekers with suitable employers.
Chukwu said Jobberman had trained more than 700 youths, while at least 100 participants, particularly females, were registered for training linked to the summit.
THE ISSUES
- The minister’s message places problem solving at the centre of entrepreneurship, encouraging young people to identify specific needs and develop solutions rather than simply pursue business ownership.
- Emerging technologies are creating opportunities across sectors beyond traditional technology businesses. Areas such as renewable energy, digital finance, precision agriculture and biotechnology can also provide avenues for enterprise development.
- Turning innovation into economic impact requires more than ideas. The pathway outlined at the summit involves developing skills, testing solutions, building enterprises and using those businesses to create employment and wealth.
- Access to practical support remains part of the programme’s approach. Participants are being connected to potential financing, training, employment and other forms of empowerment alongside the business education provided.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“Young Nigerians should develop entrepreneurial and technological skills capable of helping them create value in the emerging economy.”
- Uche Ogah, Founder, Master Energy Group
“The summit is aimed at exposing participants to new trends in business and equipping them with skills to survive and grow in an increasingly digital economy.”
- Ejike Nnaji, Founder, IYD
“The training focuses on basic employability skills, including interpersonal skills and other competencies required for young people to work effectively with others and meet employers’ expectations.”
- Victoria Chukwu, Jobberman representative
WHAT’S NEXT
The IYD programme will continue with training and practical empowerment for participating youths, women, students and entrepreneurs.
Participants are also expected to access opportunities linked to loans, grants, training and employment through the initiative and its partners.
BOTTOM LINE
The summit focused on moving young Nigerians from ideas and skills to commercially viable solutions that can create jobs and economic value. The organisers are combining training with practical support to help participants navigate the changing business and technology environment.
