African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa have seen the importance of building the next generation of leaders and changemakers across the continent.
The continent, as a result of global competitiveness, no doubt has intensified its approach to providing platforms for outstanding young entrepreneurs to hone their skills.
Young Innovators Accelerator (YIA) is one of such forward-thinking initiatives geared towards driving impact across the continent.
The 2025 cohort of the YIA Accelerator event, held recently, spearheaded by TEDxLagos in collaboration with Kijana, was a resounding success as it amplified the voices and ventures of 19 outstanding young entrepreneurs across five African countries.
Speaking about the success of the programme, Mercy Akamo, convener of TEDxLagos and executive director of YIA, said the programme is a mission-driven platform dedicated to building Africa’s next generation of leaders and changemakers by equipping youth with the skills, mentorship, and networks needed to solve real problems at scale.
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Following weeks of immersive mentorship and innovation, three standout ventures were recognised for their exceptional impact and potential: Most Innovative Business: Chimezie Martins, Darwin Foods, addressing food insecurity through sustainable farming solutions.
Most Impactful Business/Idea: Opeyemi Muyiwa-Dada, Florence AI democratising STEM education in schools through an AI-powered learning system. Most Viable Idea: Aderonke Salami, Clean Unity connecting communities to local cleaners via a gig-based platform.
Akamo said the ventures recognised are not just good ideas, but scalable solutions grounded in real problems, and the goal of the organisation is to empower young people who are not waiting for permission to lead.
Accelerated by Kijana is a platform committed to youth-led innovation. YIA serves as a launchpad for bold thinkers across the continent. Participants were trained in pitching, prototyping, storytelling, and impact measurement, with knowledge drawn from fields such as fintech, climate finance, AI, software engineering, digital strategy, and creative entrepreneurship.
“Together, TEDxLagos and Kijana will continue to nurture a thriving ecosystem where young Africans are not just participants in the future they are designing it”. Akamo said
The high point of the programme was where participants were mentored by global leaders and experts across diverse sectors, which included: Daniel Cerventus, TEDxKL, NextUpAsia; Mercy Akamo, TEDxLagos, Kijana; Gabriella Uwadiegwu, Archangel Fund, Wetech; Florentina Niradewi, Learning Capital.
Others were Femi Taiwo, INITS; Seyi Akamo, TUROG Technologies; Rose Umane, Meta; Chiaka Unegbu, SabiTeach; and Lani Aisida, Netflix’s Ololade, African Stories Untold.
