Industry experts have revealed key resources and support systems Nigerian young innovators need to thrive and compete at the global business space.
Abu Andrew, founder at Young Innovation of Nigeria (YIN), in his keynote address at the 2025 BusinessDay Young Innovators Forum, said Nigerian young innovators need skills and must be ready to solve societal problems.
“Your skills must match the innovation speed. Results follow skills and not grammar
“Hence, when your dream is valid, your skill is important,” he said.
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Andrew emphasised that the theme of the forum, ‘From Hustle to Enterprise,’ resonates very much with him, as a person and with a lot of young people in the business space.
“The theme resonates with those of us who wake up every day believing that their ideas can become solutions, their dreams can become opportunities, and their hopes can become the driving force behind them,” he stated
“What separates us from the enterprise – the physical features, the infrastructure, the reality of our city, our whole ecosystem, and the rest of it – must be built with processes, with standards, and with guidelines,” he said.
Frank Aigbogun, publisher of BusinessDay Media Limited, in his address of welcome, emphasised that Nigeria has one of the world’s most extraordinary demographic opportunities, as 70% of the population remain under 35.
He said the purpose of the forum, and the reason BusinessDay is investing deeply in it, is simple: to help the next generation move from hustle to enterprise, from possibility gto structure, and from idea to institutions.
“Nigeria can’t compete globally without the economic energy, disruptive imagination and entrepreneurial daring of the young people,” he said.
Aigbogun disclosed that the firm is not celebrating hustling but the ingenuity, resilience and creative problem-solving it represents.
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Ikechukwu Madubuike, Fullstack Software Developer, SME Work Inc, noted that one crucial gap in the country’s young entrepreneurs is the skill divide. According to him, many young business owners spend a lot of their capital on tech and other infrastructure without investing in personnel skill development.
“Many SMEs lack the human capital to leverage the opportunities inherent in the tech era.
“They invest in infrastructure, while neglecting human skill development that will drive the business,” he noted.
Young innovators were encouraged to embrace collaborations to scale the challenging business ecosystem in Nigeria, especially as it concerns funding.
Okereke Emmanuel, managing director at Ehizua Hub, said upcoming businesses should partner with other firms, especially those that have systems in place.
Mobolaji Ogunlende, Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, applauded BusinessDay for putting together the forum.
Ogunlende said the theme of the forum could not be more relevant, urgent and reflective of the Nigerian story.
“It speaks to the cultural DNA of our people, their creativity, relentlessness, and capacity to turn obstacles into opportunities and refuse to fold their arms even in the face of adversity.
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“It not only captures the resilience that defines our teeming population of young people in Lagos, but also the transition that must define our future,” he said.
The commissioner emphasised that for too long, Nigeria’s national energy has been trapped in hustle mode, survival, improvisation, and daily struggle.
“Yet, the nations that we meet today are those who have made the shift, coming from our opportunity to structure innovation from talent to systems, from raw potential to enterprise,” he stressed.
