OPay Selects 48 Teams for Nigeria Innovation Challenge

In Short

• OPay has selected 48 student teams to move forward in its National Innovation Challenge in Nigeria.
• The challenge drew over 2,200 team applications from more than 11,000 undergraduate students.
• Selected teams will join a six-week virtual training and mentorship track and compete for a ₦18 million prize pool.

What Happened

OPay, the Nigerian fintech, has announced the top 48 teams advancing to the next stage of the OPay National Innovation Challenge. The company said the challenge received applications from students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The competition sits under the expanded OPay Scholars Programme. OPay says the programme includes a ₦1.2 billion, 10-year scholarship initiative and a separate track called OPay Futures. Together, the company is positioning the programme around education support, digital skills development, and youth empowerment.

Applications for the innovation challenge opened on May 25 and closed on July 3. OPay said it received more than 2,200 team submissions from over 11,000 undergraduates.

OPay said its first-round screening focused on originality, solution quality, relevance to real-world problems, and potential impact. The 48 finalists are split evenly, 24 teams from OPay partner institutions and 24 teams from non-partner institutions. Each team has five students from the same school.

The finalists will now join a six-week virtual learning and mentorship programme. OPay said sessions will include webinar-style training with professionals from OPay, Google, and Nigeria’s Federal Government 3MTT programme. 3MTT is a government-backed digital skills initiative that trains people in tech roles.

Why It Matters

For Nigeria’s fintech and startup ecosystem, structured student competitions can be an early pipeline for product talent and new ventures. A prize pool and mentorship also reduce the cost of experimenting with ideas, especially for students who may not have access to incubators.

The inclusion of non-partner schools is also notable. It signals an attempt to spread opportunity beyond a limited set of campuses, which can help surface talent from less represented regions.

For OPay, the programme is a brand and talent strategy. It helps the company stay visible among young developers and potential hires, while aligning with national digital skills goals.