Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has congratulated Al’amin Muhammed Idris, the Chief Executive Officer of Interface Africa, for emerging as the overall winner of the 2025 NextGen Innovation Challenge held in London.
Al’amin, an indigene of Kaduna State, beat thousands of innovators from around the world to clinch the top prize at the global event organised by the National Board for Technology Incubation in partnership with UKALD Management Consultancy.
The PUNCH online reported that the competition attracted more than 3,000 participants across Nigeria, with only 105 innovators making it to the grand finale in London.
Interface Africa, Al’amin’s brainchild, is a clean-energy platform that connects solar providers, financiers, and end-users to expand access to affordable renewable power across the continent.
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Through its flagship initiatives — GreenPay and NasPoints (a network of trained field agents) — the platform has powered thousands of homes, supported small businesses, and helped reduce carbon emissions in several African countries.
The innovation also attracted a £1.5 million investment from the UK-based firm, Pure Climate Solutions, to help scale its operations across Africa.
Governor Uba Sani, while speaking on the feat in Kaduna on Wednesday, described Al’amin’s feat as “a monumental achievement and a source of pride for Kaduna State and Nigeria,” stressing that the success reflects the potential of young people from the state to compete globally.
“This victory reaffirms the creative strength and global potential of Kaduna’s youth. We are building an innovation-driven economy that rewards ideas, nurtures talent, and delivers opportunities for our people,” the governor said.
“From classrooms to global stages, Kaduna’s young people are shaping Africa’s innovation future,” he added.
Sani noted that his administration has prioritised investment in science, technology, and innovation as tools for inclusive growth and youth empowerment.
He listed some of the state’s ongoing initiatives, including the establishment of the Kaduna Innovation and Technology Council, the Smart Schools and Digital Learning Programmes, as well as the launch of three Vocational and Skills Development Institutes in Rigachikun, Soba, and Samaru Kataf.
According to the governor, the state has also rolled out Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarships to support outstanding students and strengthen Kaduna’s innovation ecosystem.
“These programmes are deliberate policy actions designed to prepare our young people for a technology-driven future,” Sani said.
Sani also lauded another Kaduna-born innovator, Shamsuddeen Jibril, whose locally developed AgroDrone Crop Doctor — designed for crop spraying and monitoring — impressed judges at the same event.
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The innovation earned partnership agreements with Teesside University in the United Kingdom and UKALD Management Consultancy.
Sani said the multiple recognitions recorded by Kaduna innovators at the London event were not coincidental but the outcome of consistent investment in education, technology, and youth capacity development.
The Director-General of the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority, Prof. Usman Abubakar Zaria, who led the delegation to the competition, hailed the achievements as “a testament to the visionary leadership of Governor Uba Sani.”
According to Zaria, the state’s strong showing at the international event reflected years of deliberate reforms and targeted funding in education and innovation.
“The presence of Kaduna innovators on a global stage is not by accident. It is the result of sustained investment in human capital by this administration,” he said.
He explained that the governor’s timely approval and sponsorship of Kaduna’s participation in the global challenge enabled the state’s innovators to showcase their work before international investors and institutions.
“Governor Uba Sani has consistently demonstrated his commitment to empowering young people and fostering innovation. What we witnessed in London is the outcome of policies that translate vision into tangible results,” Professor Zaria added.
The NextGen Innovation Challenge, according to organisers, aims to identify and support breakthrough ideas addressing Africa’s development challenges in areas such as clean energy, agriculture, fintech, and social impact.
Al’amin’s Interface Africa emerged as the overall winner after a rigorous evaluation process that considered scalability, social impact, sustainability, and innovation depth.
In his remarks after receiving the award, Al’amin dedicated the win to young innovators in Kaduna and across Nigeria, pledging to use the platform’s recent funding to “accelerate clean energy adoption and bridge Africa’s power gap.”
“This award belongs to every young African who believes that technology can solve our toughest challenges. I am deeply grateful to Governor Uba Sani for creating an environment where innovation thrives,” he said.
With Kaduna’s growing footprint in global innovation circles, observers say the state is fast becoming one of Nigeria’s leading hubs for tech-driven development — a trajectory the Sani administration appears determined to sustain.
