National AI Innovation Challenge 2027 – YOA

Deadline: October 12, 2026

Applications for the National AI Innovation Challenge 2027 at the moment are open. The National AI Innovation Challenge is designed to deepen the technical improvement, adoption and sensible use of Nigeria’s sovereign AI capabilities. At the centre is N-ATLAS (Nigerian Atlas for Languages and AI at Scale), Nigeria’s first open-supply, multilingual giant language mannequin. Fine-tuned from Llama-3 8B, it helps Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Nigerian-accented English, with Automatic Speech Recognition for voice functions.

The problem directs Nigerian expertise in direction of constructing developer instruments, voice-first functions, and sector-particular AI options on N-ATLAS.

Programme Objectives

• Deepen the technical improvement of N-ATLAS by means of working developer instruments, superb-tuned fashions, datasets and ecosystem contributions.
• Accelerate adoption by means of deployable, actual-world functions, notably voice-first companies.
• Expand use throughout excessive-affect sectors together with well being, agriculture, schooling, authorized companies and monetary inclusion.
• Connect Nigeria’s universities, personal sector and authorities by means of a structured innovation ecosystem.
• Cultivate and showcase Nigerian AI expertise nationally and internationally.

Benefits

Academia & Research

• 1st Place
  • NCAIR analysis-lab partnership
  • N-ATLAS co-contributor credit score
  • Federal Government recognition
  • Cash Prize
• 2nd Place
  • NCAIR compute entry
  • Technical mentorship
  • Publication and mannequin-card assist
  • Cash Prize
• third Place
  • National AI researcher registry inclusion
  • NITDA educational collaboration
  • Cash prize
• Special Awards
  • Direct integration of tooling, dataset or mannequin into the N-ATLAS ecosystem
  • Co-credit on N-ATLAS v2.
  • National AI Youth Ambassador designation
  • Keynote on the subsequent nationwide AI summit.
  • Cash Prize

Innovation & Enterprise

• 1st Place
  • Government procurement pathway assessment
  • ONDI incubation
  • Investor introductions
  • Cash Prize
• 2nd Place
  • NITDA acceleration entry
  • N-ATLAS API integration assist from the technical group
  • Cash Prize
• third Place
  • ONDI mentorship community
  • National AI startup ecosystem listing inclusion
  • Cash Prize
• Special Awards
  • Direct integration of tooling, dataset or mannequin into the N-ATLAS ecosystem
  • Co-credit on N-ATLAS v2
  • National AI Youth Ambassador designation
  • Cash Prize

Eligibility

General Eligibility

• All group members should be Nigerian residents or registered Nigerian entities
• Submission should be authentic work not beforehand awarded in one other competitors
• Each group might undergo just one downside assertion
• Every submission should embrace a functioning technical artefact built-in with N-ATLAS
• Applications and supporting supplies should be in English

Academia & Research

• Team lead enrolled in or employed by an accredited Nigerian college or analysis establishment
• Institutional endorsement letter signed by Head of Department or equal

Innovation & Enterprise

• Individual candidates should be Nigerian residents aged 18 or above
• Company candidates should be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
• Diaspora groups should have at the least 50% of members primarily based in Nigeria

Application

Applications shut 12 October 2026 at 11:59 PM (WAT). Late submissions won’t be accepted.

For extra info, go to National AI Innovation Challenge.