Pioneer in Technology Innovation: Honoring Innovation in Africa

Some of the most meaningful innovations in Nigeria today aren’t happening in public, they’re unfolding quietly in the systems that keep businesses running. In procurement dashboards, inventory logs, and backend vendor platforms, a new generation of builders is redefining how growth happens. That’s the kind of work the National Entrepreneurship Honors (NEH) celebrates with its Pioneer in Technology Innovation Award, and this year’s class is proof that deep innovation starts in structure, not spectacle.

The award honors entrepreneurs each year whose work has reimagined the role of technology in enterprise development. It’s not about surface disruption; it’s about solving hard problems in a way that businesses can trust, adopt, and scale. These are creators who don’t just launch tools, they build engines that power resilience, efficiency, and reach.

Selected through a multi-stage review by economists, enterprise operators, and capital partners, this year’s recipient stood out for designing frameworks that bring functionality to areas most ignored by digital transformation. The winning innovation wasn’t flashy, but it worked. And that’s what mattered. It created structure where there was confusion, infrastructure where there were gaps, and it positioned itself not as a feature, but as a foundation for growth.

The Pioneer in Technology Innovation Award has championed this kind of business-first innovation, tools and systems that show up where businesses are struggling most. The award is a nod to entrepreneurs who understand that the real test of technology isn’t its novelty, but its ability to build trust, support workflows, and endure over time.

Previous Recipients of the Award Include:

• Stella Eshett (2024)
• Idris Balogun (2023)
• Zainab Umeh (2022)
• Clement Arinze (2021)
• Fatima Bello (2020)
• Lanre Otiko (2019)
• Ngozi Akande (2018)

With each passing year, the NEH continues to shift the conversation around innovation, from one obsessed with disruption to one that values design, execution, and business sense. Because when systems work, entire industries follow.