The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has officially launched FutureMakers, a flagship national innovation programme designed to discover, develop, and empower Nigerian children between the ages of five and 16 with the skills and confidence to create solutions for real-world challenges.

The launch event, held at the NASENI Innovation Hub in Idu Industrial Area, Abuja, brought together top government officials, innovation leaders, education stakeholders, partners, and media representatives.

The programme marks a significant step in Nigeria’s long-term commitment to building a new generation of creators, inventors, and problem-solvers. Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, while launching the programme emphasized the importance of catching children young and investing in their creative potential.

He said: “If we want a future of world-class innovators, we must start shaping them early. “Nations that lead in innovation began by investing in young people, and today NASENI is taking that bold step through FutureMakers. Early exposure creates lifelong innovators. This is how nations rise.”

Halilu said FutureMakers is not an isolated project, but part of a longterm national strategy. NASENI, he said, is building a steady pipeline of young creators who will shape Nigeria’s innovation destiny for the next 30 to 50 years.

The Head of the NASENI Innovation Hub and Programme Manager, Oluwabusola (Beckley) Perez-Folayan, described the programme as a transformational platform that will redefine how Nigerian children engage with creativity and innovation.

She said: “FutureMakers is designed to identify, nurture, and empower young innovators from ages 5 to 16, helping them transform their ideas into prototypes built for the future.

“Our mission is to groom the next generation of innovative leaders who will develop groundbreaking, commercially viable solutions and strengthen Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.”