AGROLENS Technologies of Sunflower School, Kano State, has emerged winner of Junior Achievement Nigeria’s (JAN) 2026 National Company of the Year (NCOY) Competition, securing a $250 prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town, South Africa, to represent Nigeria at the African Company of the Year (ACOY) competition.
The winning team, comprising Fadillah Abdulsalam, Ruqayya Jallo, Hayfa Mukhtar and Maryam Butu, developed AgroLens AI, a free artificial intelligence-powered mobile platform designed to help farmers make informed agricultural decisions.
The platform integrates crop disease and pest detection, treatment recommendations, real-time market price information, connections to buyers and access to agricultural financing in one place.
Designed to improve accessibility, AgroLens AI supports English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Pidgin. It also features voice-enabled functions to make agricultural information more accessible to users with limited literacy or those who prefer speaking to typing.
By combining crop health support, market information and financing connections, the team aims to address multiple challenges faced by farmers without requiring them to navigate separate services.
The victory was announced at the National Company of the Year Competition and National Stakeholder Convening, held on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The event was themed “Augmenting Innovation: Equipping Nigeria’s Youth for Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods in a Changing Economy.”
The gathering brought together stakeholders from government, the private sector, education and the development community to explore how entrepreneurship education, digital capabilities and cross-sector partnerships can create sustainable opportunities for young Nigerians.
New Era Company of Community Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja, emerged second, receiving $150, while Nexora of International School Lagos placed third, earning $100. New Era Company also won the Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award, receiving an additional $100.
The competition is a key component of Junior Achievement Nigeria’s School-to-Work Educational Transition for Long-Term Youth Fulfilment (SET4LYF) programme, which equips girls with practical skills, knowledge and experience to transition from school to further education, entrepreneurship and employment.
Through initiatives such as Ideathons, JA DEEP and the JA Company Programme, participants develop digital capabilities, identify solutions to real-world challenges and gain hands-on experience in creating and presenting business ideas.
In his welcome address, the Acting Executive Director of Junior Achievement Nigeria, Mr Olaolu Akogun, emphasised the importance of preparing young people, particularly girls, to navigate a changing economic landscape through practical learning and meaningful partnerships.
“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,” Akogun said.
He highlighted progress made through collaborations with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) and state governments, noting that sustained partnerships are essential to expanding access to entrepreneurship education.
Akogun also urged stakeholders to translate discussions from the convening into practical recommendations that government agencies, businesses, schools and development partners could implement.
The keynote address was delivered by Mr Aliyu Abdullahi, Assistant Director of Education Youth Development at the Ministry of Youth and Social Development, who represented the Minister of Youth and Social Development.
Abdullahi, a JAN alumnus, called for a shift from an education system focused primarily on academic qualifications to one that equips young people with practical competence, problem-solving skills and pathways to economic participation.
He advocated stronger collaboration among government, educators and industry to integrate entrepreneurship, apprenticeships, internships and practical skills into learning.
He also stressed the importance of connecting youth development initiatives to market access and emerging opportunities in the digital economy, noting that training must translate into
About The Author
