NAIC Challenge Scholarship 2026 in Nigeria

Overview

The NAIC Challenge is a national programme implemented by NCAIR and the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. The initiative seeks to deepen the adoption and scale of Nigeria’s sovereign AI, N-ATLAS, by inviting Nigerian developers, teams, and startups to create deployable applications across developer tooling, voice-first access, and sectoral fine-tuning.

Benefits

Technical onboarding and clinics provided for all applicants.
Shortlisted teams receive N-ATLAS API credentials and compute credits.
Shortlisted teams gain technical mentorship and acceleration support.
Winners may secure research-lab partnerships, publication and model-card support, inclusion in national AI registries, incubation support, and investor introductions.

Eligibility

Individual applicants must be Nigerian citizens aged 18 or older.
Company applicants must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Diaspora teams are allowed provided at least 50% of members reside in Nigeria.
Non-Nigerian citizens or entities are not eligible to apply.
Submissions must be original, in English, and not previously awarded in other competitions.
Each team may submit to only one problem statement.
Submissions must feature a functioning technical artefact integrated with N-ATLAS; concept-only proposals, mock-ups, or theoretical research papers are ineligible.

How to Apply

Applicants must prepare a working technical solution integrated with N-ATLAS, such as a repository, deployed application, published model, live API, or dataset. Required materials include integration and technical documentation (architecture, setup, and usage), real-world validation evidence (user testing, real data, or benchmarks), a 3 to 5-minute video demonstration, and a team profile. Track-specific documents like a CAC certificate or an institutional endorsement letter must also be provided. Submissions are completed online through the official portal.

Deadline

The application deadline is 12 October 2026.

Overview

Benefits

Technical onboarding and clinics provided for all applicants.

Shortlisted teams receive N-ATLAS API credentials and compute credits.

Shortlisted teams gain technical mentorship and acceleration support.

Winners may secure research-lab partnerships, publication and model-card support, inclusion in national AI registries, incubation support, and investor introductions.

Eligibility

Individual applicants must be Nigerian citizens aged 18 or older.

Company applicants must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

Diaspora teams are allowed provided at least 50% of members reside in Nigeria.

Non-Nigerian citizens or entities are not eligible to apply.

Submissions must be original, in English, and not previously awarded in other competitions.

Each team may submit to only one problem statement.

Submissions must feature a functioning technical artefact integrated with N-ATLAS; concept-only proposals, mock-ups, or theoretical research papers are ineligible.

How to Apply