Innovate for Africa
Awardees: Margaret Wang (HGSE), Quadri Oguntade (MIT-Sloan), and Frank Ouattara (External)
Summary: Innovate for Africa (IFA) is a nonprofit organization that provides graduating STEAM students in Nigeria 1-month training on entrepreneurial and labour-demanded skills as well as support throughout a subsequent 11-month placement at an innovation driven start-up. Our mission is to decrease unemployment and bolster economic development through our robust educational and network-building experience that will not only build employable graduates, but foster entrepreneurship leadership so that more jobs will be created. Thus, our vision is to contribute to an innovation ecosystem in Nigeria by instilling a sense of hope, agency, and empowerment in the Nigerian youth.