By Elizabeth Osayande

Teach For Nigeria has concluded its 2025 Incubation Hub Pitch Competition, showcasing 12 pioneering alumni with innovative solutions to address Nigeria’s pressing education challenges.

The competition, held in Lagos, brought together key stakeholders, industry leaders, and partners to witness the unveiling of these groundbreaking projects.
In her opening remarks, Chief Executive Officer of Teach For Nigeria, Molade Adeniyi, highlighted the significance of the Incubation Hub as a driver of systemic change:
“The Incubation Hub was launched as part of Teach For Nigeria’s commitment to empowering our alumni to lead change beyond the Fellowship. Its purpose is to support the growth and scale of early-stage social innovations that address systemic challenges in education. Earlier this year, we welcomed 30 outstanding early-stage social entrepreneurs, carefully selected from a competitive pool of 87 applicants. Over the last three months, participants have received enterprise development training, mentorship, and strategic support to refine their ideas into scalable and sustainable solutions.”
She further emphasised the Hub’s long-term impact, noting that since its launch in 2020, the programme has supported over 60 education-focused projects, disbursed more than ₦10 million in seed funding, and impacted over 2,500 educators and 15,000 children across Nigeria.
The 2025 cohort featured 12 initiatives across five focus areas – EdTech and Digital Learning, Gender Equality/Inclusive Education, Climate Change and Environment, Teacher and School Development, and Data-Driven Education and Policy.
The grand finale featured pitches from the 12 innovators to a distinguished panel of judges: Tracy Akpofure – Operations Manager, Oando Foundation, Daniel Emenahor – Head of Higher Education, British Council, Solomon O. Ayodele – Head, Product & Technology Innovation, WEMA Bank, represented by Azeez Abdulyekeen, and Mrs Josephine Ewitat – COO, Alpha Michelle Appraisals Limited. These judges provided strategic feedback and selected the winners.
The 2025 Pitch Competition crowned Adetomiwa Awofeso, founder of Scholaride Initiative, as the winner for his innovative solution addressing literacy and numeracy gaps in Makoko through community learning hubs and the Teaching at the Right Level methodology. Olayinka Adeosun of STEAM Dock emerged as first runner-up, while Emmanuel Epueme of CareerLab clinched the second runner-up position.
Delivering a goodwill message, Chairman of Lagos State Teaching Service Commission, Mrs Victoria Mopelola Peregrino, praised TFN’s efforts:
“Teach For Nigeria Fellows make a difference wherever we post them. They identify the challenges impeding students’ learning outcomes and find ways to make the best out of these challenges. You are doing a very good job and building the next generation of leaders.”
Teach For Nigeria expressed gratitude to its partners – Oando Foundation, Enterprise Development Centre, and Wema Bank – for their sponsorship and mentorship support, which were instrumental to the programme’s success.
The Incubation Hub will continue to run annually, serving as a platform to empower TFN alumni to grow their enterprises, unlock new opportunities, and advance education equity in Nigeria.