Re-build Nigeria Challenge 2026

About the Challenge

REBUILD NIGERIA: REIMAGINING THE SYSTEMS THAT SHAPE OUR FUTURE

Nigeria has one of the largest youth populations in Africa, presenting an enormous opportunity to shape the country's future. As the saying goes, youths are the leaders of tomorrow, but what happens when the systems they are expected to inherit are not working? From education and healthcare to agriculture, energy, employment and technology, several sectors in Nigeria face deep-rooted structural challenges. The question is: How can young Nigerians move beyond identifying these problems to reimagining, designing and proposing practical policy solutions that will rebuild these sectors for a better Nigeria over the next decade?

The Challenge is Open to Undergraduates, Graduates, and recent Graduates of Nigerian descent, both home and abroad.

Challenge Process

Choose one sector in Nigeria that you believe needs fundamental reform. Design a new system for that sector.

SECTORS:

Education
Healthcare
Energy and Power
Finance and Economy
Defence and Security

FRAMEWORK:

THE PROBLEM: What is broken? Identify the most important structural problems in your chosen sector. Support your analysis with evidence, statistics and real-life experiences.
THE VISION: What should it look like? Describe your ideal Nigerian sector 10 years from now. What outcomes should citizens experience?
THE DESIGN: How would you build it?Design the new system. What institutions, structures, processes, infrastructure and delivery mechanisms would it need?
THE FINANCING: How would it be funded? Where would the money come from? How would resources be allocated? What role should the government, the private sector and citizens play?
THE POLICY: What needs to change?Identify the laws, policies, regulations and institutional reforms needed to make your proposed system work.
THE IMPLEMENTATION: How do we get there?Provide a realistic roadmap. What happens in the first year, the next five years and eventually the long term? How will success be measured?

What You Stand to Gain

⚠️Winners outside Nigeria will be awarded the dollar equivalent of the naira prizes⚠️

Ist Place - NGN1,000,000
2nd Place - NGN500,00
3rd Place - NGN300,000

Other opportunities include:

Opportunity to present your final pitch at the ConnectED Diaspora “Building, Breaking & Believing” event;
Access to powerful DOWA × ConnectED Diaspora × NiDCOM networks and partners;
Guaranteed spot in the 2026 in-person Summer Internship with a Innovative Organization

Submission Requirements

Applicants MUST submit:
1. Public Voting: Bring Your Policy Proposal to Life

Submit one creative still visual or a video of up to 3 minutes showing your chosen sector, its current challenge(s), and your policy recommendation(s). Use imagery, illustration, animation, storytelling, or a demonstration to help the public picture your solution and the change it could create.

Note: A logo, slogan, text-only slide, or recording of someone simply reading the proposal is not sufficient.Words may support your submission, but your visuals should bring the idea to life.

⚠: Only the top ten submissions will be featured on our social media accounts and selected through a public voting for the next stage of the competition.

2. Policy Recommendation Paper

The second component should be a short policy paper of approximately 1,500 words (3 pages max); Times New Roman; Font size 12; 1.5 spacing

It should include:

Executive summary
Background and problem analysis.
Evidence supporting the diagnosis.
Proposed institutional and structural reforms.
Specific policy recommendations.
Financing and implementation strategy.
Performance indicators.

⚠: All briefs will be screened according to the challenge guidelines and reviewed by an independent panel of judges.

Submission Process

Fill in the google form and attach your still visual or video and policy recommendation paper.

Only the top 10 participants will receive an email from us with instructions to upload their still visuals or videos on Instagram and LinkedIn and send collaboration invites to all designated accounts using the details provided in the email.

⚠: All submissions must be made on or before 11:59pm on November 27th. Any submission past deadline will not be accepted