Nigeria’s Universal Service Provision Fund has begun accepting entries for a nationwide ICT challenge that will award ₦10 million to teams proposing solutions for underserved communities.
Projects may address agriculture, education, health care, clean and affordable energy, or financial inclusion. Submissions can range from an early idea to a prototype, minimum viable product or working system.
Each team must include two to five people. All members must be at least 18 and either Nigerian citizens or legal residents living in Nigeria. The rules do not require teams to have registered a business.
The first-place award is ₦5 million, followed by ₦3 million for second place and ₦2 million for third. The six national finalists will also take part in a four-week program combining incubation with venture support.
The challenge rules provide for as many as 37 teams representing states and the Federal Capital Territory, with 13 additional places for other high-scoring entries. Fifty teams are listed for regional demo days, after which six finalists will reach a national event. The challenge page does not give a date for that event.
The competition follows a separate 2024 USPF study of gaps in telecom access. Its 2024 study counted 87 clusters with little or no telecommunications service and estimated their combined population at 23.37 million. Earlier editions recorded 207 clusters and about 36.8 million people in 2013, 114 clusters and 31.16 million in 2019, and 97 clusters and 27.91 million in 2022.
The challenge is open nationwide, and its rules do not designate the prize money for infrastructure in the 87 study clusters. They also do not name who would pay to deploy solutions after the competition.
Applications opened Nov. 2 and close Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, at 5:59 p.m. ET (10:59 p.m. UTC).
