Deadline: October 12, 2026
Applications for the National AI Innovation Challenge 2027 are now open. The National AI Innovation Challenge is designed to deepen the technical development, adoption and practical use of Nigeria’s sovereign AI capabilities. At the centre is N-ATLAS (Nigerian Atlas for Languages and AI at Scale), Nigeria’s first open-source, multilingual large language model. Fine-tuned from Llama-3 8B, it supports Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Nigerian-accented English, with Automatic Speech Recognition for voice applications.
The challenge directs Nigerian talent towards building developer tools, voice-first applications, and sector-specific AI solutions on N-ATLAS.
Programme Objectives
- Deepen the technical development of N-ATLAS through working developer tools, fine-tuned models, datasets and ecosystem contributions.
- Accelerate adoption through deployable, real-world applications, particularly voice-first services.
- Expand use across high-impact sectors including health, agriculture, education, legal services and financial inclusion.
- Connect Nigeria’s universities, private sector and government through a structured innovation ecosystem.
- Cultivate and showcase Nigerian AI talent nationally and internationally.
Benefits
Academia & Research
- 1st Place
- NCAIR research-lab partnership
- N-ATLAS co-contributor credit
- Federal Government recognition
- Cash Prize
- 2nd Place
- NCAIR compute access
- Technical mentorship
- Publication and model-card support
- Cash Prize
- 3rd Place
- National AI researcher registry inclusion
- NITDA academic collaboration
- Cash prize
- Special Awards
- Direct integration of tooling, dataset or model into the N-ATLAS ecosystem
- Co-credit on N-ATLAS v2.
- National AI Youth Ambassador designation
- Keynote at the next national AI summit.
- Cash Prize
Innovation & Enterprise
- 1st Place
- Government procurement pathway review
- ONDI incubation
- Investor introductions
- Cash Prize
- 2nd Place
- NITDA acceleration access
- N-ATLAS API integration support from the technical team
- Cash Prize
- 3rd Place
- ONDI mentorship network
- National AI startup ecosystem directory inclusion
- Cash Prize
- Special Awards
- Direct integration of tooling, dataset or model into the N-ATLAS ecosystem
- Co-credit on N-ATLAS v2
- National AI Youth Ambassador designation
- Cash Prize
Eligibility
General Eligibility
- All team members must be Nigerian citizens or registered Nigerian entities
- Submission must be original work not previously awarded in another competition
- Each team may submit to only one problem statement
- Every submission must include a functioning technical artefact integrated with N-ATLAS
- Applications and supporting materials must be in English
Academia & Research
- Team lead enrolled in or employed by an accredited Nigerian university or research institution
- Institutional endorsement letter signed by Head of Department or equivalent
Innovation & Enterprise
- Individual applicants must be Nigerian citizens aged 18 or above
- Company applicants must be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission
- Diaspora teams must have at least 50% of members based in Nigeria
Application
Applications close 12 October 2026 at 11:59 PM (WAT). Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Click here to apply for the Academia & Research Track
- Click here to apply for the Innovation & Enterprise Track
For more information, visit National AI Innovation Challenge.
