— Gov. Uba Sani Celebrates Feat as Pride for Nigeria 
By Ehis Agbon | London / Kaduna | October 15, 2025
Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, CON, has congratulated Al’amin Muhammed Idris, Chief Executive Officer of Interface Africa, for emerging as the Overall Winner of the 2025 NextGen Innovation Challenge held in London, United Kingdom.
The global event, organized by the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) in partnership with UKALD Management Consultancy, brought together over 3,000 participants from across Nigeria, with only 105 innovators advancing to the grand finale.
Al’amin’s winning project, Interface Africa, is a groundbreaking clean-energy platform that connects solar providers, financiers, and end-users to expand access to affordable renewable power. Through its flagship initiatives — GreenPay and a network of trained field agents known as NasPoints — the platform has powered thousands of homes, supported small businesses, and reduced carbon emissions across Africa.
The innovation also attracted a £1.5 million investment from Pure Climate Solutions, a UK-based clean energy company, to scale its reach across the continent.
Governor Uba Sani, in a congratulatory message, described the victory as “a monumental achievement and a source of pride for Kaduna State and Nigeria.”
“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,”
— Governor Uba Sani stated.
“From classrooms to global stages, Kaduna’s young people are shaping Africa’s innovation future,”
— he added.
Governor Sani also used the occasion to highlight his administration’s deliberate investments in science, technology, and innovation, listing the Kaduna Innovation and Technology Council, Smart Schools and Digital Learning Programmes, Vocational and Skills Development Institutes in Rigachikun, Soba, and Samaru Kataf, and STEM Scholarships for outstanding students as examples of ongoing policy reforms.
He further commended Shamsuddeen Jibril, another Kaduna innovator, whose locally built AgroDrone Crop Doctor—designed for crop spraying and monitoring—earned global recognition and partnership agreements with Teesside University (UK) and UKALD Management Consultancy.
Leading the Kaduna delegation, Professor Usman Abubakar Zaria, Director-General of the Kaduna State Schools Quality Assurance Authority (KSSQAA), hailed the achievements as a testament to Governor Uba Sani’s “visionary leadership and unwavering investment in education, innovation, and youth development.”
He credited the State’s strong representation at the international event to the Governor’s consistent approval and sponsorship of education and innovation-driven programmes.
Background
The NextGen Innovation Challenge is an annual global competition that celebrates young innovators developing sustainable solutions to Africa’s socio-economic and environmental challenges. It provides a platform that connects innovators with investors, policy experts, and development partners.
Kaduna State has increasingly positioned itself as a hub for innovation under Governor Uba Sani’s leadership, with significant progress in digital education, renewable energy innovation, and youth empowerment.
Al’amin Idris’s triumph not only underscores Kaduna’s emergence as a center of creativity and technology but also reaffirms Nigeria’s growing influence in global innovation and sustainability efforts.
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