The Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, will represent Nigeria at the Enactus World Cup in Brazil after emerging as the leading institutions at the 2026 Enactus Nigeria National Competition in Lagos.
The two universities secured the national honours with innovations designed to address some of Nigeria’s pressing challenges, including energy access, construction safety, agricultural pests and food wastage.
FUTO emerged as the standout institution at the competition, winning two major categories with its biofuel innovation and ALTAR construction-safety robot.
Its biofuel project won the Enactus Early-Stage Final, while ALTAR, a robot designed to detect structural and construction failures, emerged victorious in the Julius Berger Innovation Challenge.
ABU, meanwhile, won the Enactus Advanced-Stage Competition Final with NeemPest, an IAR-certified multi-modal biopesticide designed to eliminate Tuta absoluta, a destructive tomato pest, within 48 hours.
The university also earned recognition for its TomPa project, which seeks to reduce tomato wastage by processing surplus tomatoes into powder and puree.
The winning projects were selected after innovations from 33 other universities were presented at the national final, organised around the theme, “Re-Imagining Transformation.”
The victorious Nigerian teams will now compete against winning teams from 35 countries at the Enactus World Cup scheduled to hold in Brazil later this year.
Students Turn Ideas Into Solutions
The judging panel, made up of professionals, experts and business leaders, assessed the projects based on their relevance, originality, scalability, profitability and sustainability.
Speaking at the event, the Country Director of Enactus Nigeria, Michael Ajayi, said the competition demonstrated the ability of university students to apply their academic knowledge to practical challenges facing their communities.
Ajayi said, “They reflect the ingenuity, resilience and determination of a generation committed to building a better Nigeria.”
He said the national competition represented the culmination of 12 months of work by students from 33 tertiary institutions.
According to him, participating teams spent the year identifying social and environmental challenges and developing business-oriented solutions capable of addressing them.
Ajayi said Enactus was committed to nurturing a new generation of entrepreneurs, innovators, ethical leaders and changemakers who could contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s development.
“In the process of inspiring change, we transform the minds of participating students and prepare them for future success, whether as entrepreneurs or individuals,” he said.
He added, “If properly inspired, motivated and supported, Nigerian youths can be extremely productive, highly innovative and globally competitive.”
US Consulate Commends Initiative
The Deputy Public Affairs Officer of the US Consulate General, Nigeria, Casey Bonfield, also commended Enactus for providing students with opportunities to move beyond classroom theories and apply their knowledge to real-world challenges.
Bonfield said the practical exposure would help prepare the students for competition in the global marketplace.
She stressed the importance of investing in people as a foundation for sustainable development, saying, “building a future starts with building people.”
Julius Berger Backs Construction Innovation
The Risk and Sustainability Officer of Julius Berger Plc, Shakira Mustapha, said collaboration between industry, educational institutions and other stakeholders would be crucial to shaping Nigeria’s future.
She said Julius Berger’s partnership with Enactus Nigeria was designed to promote youth innovation and sustainable development, particularly by encouraging students to develop solutions relevant to the construction and built-environment sectors.
According to Mustapha, the construction industry requires practical innovations capable of improving safety, efficiency and environmental sustainability.
She added that achieving lasting transformation in the sector would depend on new ideas that are not only technologically relevant but also practical and environmentally responsible.
From Campus Innovation to Global Competition
The success of FUTO and ABU at the national competition highlights the growing role of Nigerian university students in developing commercially viable responses to social and environmental challenges.
FUTO’s biofuel innovation offers a response to energy challenges, while its ALTAR robot focuses on improving safety in the construction sector.
ABU’s NeemPest targets agricultural productivity by tackling one of the major pests affecting tomato production, while TomPa addresses post-harvest losses by extending the usefulness and shelf life of surplus tomatoes.
The two universities will now take these innovations to the global stage in Brazil, where they will compete with teams from 35 other countries.
Their participation will provide an opportunity not only to showcase Nigerian ingenuity internationally but also to demonstrate how university-based innovation can be transformed into practical solutions with potential social, environmental and commercial impact.