{
  "id": 1400681,
  "title": "NASENI Kicks-off FutureMakers Hackathon for 60 Young Innovators- Winners to receive ₦1.5m, ₦1m and ₦500,000 zone prizes",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/17/naseni-kicks-off-futuremakers-hackathon-for-60-young-innovators",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-17T02:31:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/08/17/naseni-kicks-off-futuremakers-hackathon-for-60-young-innovators-winners-to-receive-%e2%82%a61-5m-%e2%82%a61m-and-%e2%82%a6500000-zone-prizes/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is launching the FutureMakers Virtual Hackathon and Pitch Sessions, inviting 60 young innovators from Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. The five-day hackathon, from August 17-21, 2026, will challenge participants to develop solutions to specific issues in their respective zones, supported by technical facilitators and mentors. Winners from each zone will receive ₦1.5m, ₦1m, and ₦500,000 prizes, with the top six advancing to pitch their innovations at the NASENI Invention Fest, where they could win a ₦5 million grand prize, an international study tour, and scholarships. NASENI's Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, emphasized the program's national reach and local focus, while Hub Manager, Busola Beckley Perez-Folayan, highlighted the long-term benefits for winners, including access to SparkLab, mentorship, training, and scholarship pathways.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}