Education
African Applicants Jostle for $3m Zayed Sustainability Prize
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Organisers have called on Africans to apply to win the $3 million set aside for the Zayed Sustainability Prize.
Applicants are encouraged to submit their entry at http://entry.ZayedSustainabilityPrize.com for consideration with a submission deadline of August 9, 2018.
With a total prize fund of $3 million, the Prize awards winners across five distinct categories that include: Health, Food, Energy, Water and Global High Schools.
Having evolved from the Zayed Future Energy Prize, this annual award recognises achievements that are driving impact, innovation, and inspiration in areas across health, food, energy and water sectors with expanding possibilities for a sustainable future.
The interconnected pillars of health, food, energy and water represent the basic needs essential to human survival where innovations will yield progress in sustainable development. The evolution from the Zayed Future Energy Prize into the Zayed Sustainability Prize addresses the inter-related nature of the world’s global resource systems that determines progress of social, economic and environmental improvements.
The annual Prize provides a platform for recognising the next generation of sustainability innovators and leaders across the world. The Prize network and fund allow organisations and enterprises with existing innovations or high schools with project ideas in the defined sectors to amplify their work, expanding the reach and impact of the innovations.
The target for the Zayed Sustainability Prize is to attract applications from all countries across Africa opening up new opportunities for innovators in organisations, enterprises and high schools to amplify their impact and reach. The Prize awards unique, pioneering innovations that have the potential to affect a positive impact on humanity by helping entities scale up their efforts and yield greater success.
Dr. Lamya Fawwaz, Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, said: “The categories of the Zayed Sustainability Prize have been carefully selected to reflect the most pressing sustainability challenges and offer the greatest socio-economic impact on the lives of people around the world. The Prize will also look to inspire today’s youth to be forward-thinkers and cultivate within them a vested interest in becoming agents of change for sustainable development – after all, youth of today are leaders of tomorrow.”
“Africa represents the fastest growing region for entrepreneurship in the world. With award-winning projects, our winners from the continent and globally have had positive and sustainable impact on its people. Over the last decade, we have witnessed a growing interest from participants across the African continent and we expect the momentum to continue growing this year. We hope to facilitate collaborations between our ever-growing network of innovators to build stronger, more sustainable innovations and projects that will propel the continent forward,” Dr. Lamya added.
The Zayed Sustainability Prize has a three-stage evaluation process, beginning with the due diligence that is conducted by a reputed international research and analysis consultancy. Following this, the shortlisted entries will undergo evaluations by a Selection Committee to determine the finalists. From these finalists, a Jury will select the winners in all five categories, including the winning schools from six world regions.
The deliberations on who wins the Zayed Sustainability Prize are set against three core criteria where entrants must demonstrate Impact: Significant and tangible outcomes on the quality of people’s lives; Innovation: Distinctive characteristics to change the “status quo” and potential to catalyse opportunities that will have a disruptive positive impact and transformative change; and Inspiration: The potential to scale up project outcomes in the next decade and the ability to inspire others
In the past decade, the Prize focused on closing the energy gap and ensuring energy security. Africa is an important continent as it is where access to energy has significantly improved the quality of life of its people. The evolution to the Zayed Sustainability Prize and its alignment to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals allows the Prize and its winners to affect an even greater impact on humanity by increasing the influx of resources in Health, Food, Energy and Water into the region.
Winners of the Zayed Sustainability Prize will be announced at the awards ceremony during the opening of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week on January 14, 2019.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has granted another extension for its Student Loan Application Portal to accommodate institutions that requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session.
According to the statement signed by NELFUND’s Director of Strategic Communications, Ms Oseyemi Oluwatuyi, on Thursday, the extension applies only to institutions that submitted formal requests, allowing eligible students extra time to complete their applications.
“The Nigerian Education Loan Fund has approved an extension of its Student Loan Application Portal for institutions that have formally requested additional time for the 2025/2026 academic session,” the statement read.
Business Post reports that at the beginning of March, NELFUND announced an extension to the deadline by a week for its student loan application portal following a notable rise in nationwide interest driven by ongoing awareness campaigns.
Speaking on the development, NELFUND Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, reiterated the Fund’s commitment to ensuring that eligible students at participating institutions can access the student loan programme.
“NELFUND remains committed to ensuring that eligible students across participating institutions have the opportunity to access the student loan programme,” he said.
The Fund urges students in affected institutions to take advantage of the extension and submit their applications through the official portal.
It also emphasised its dedication to transparency, accountability, and providing sustainable financing solutions to remove financial barriers to higher education in Nigeria.
Established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, NELFUND was enacted into law by President Bola Tinubu in April 2024.
The initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses.
Beneficiaries are required to repay the loans after completing their education and securing employment, aiming to increase access to higher education for students from low-income backgrounds.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has inaugurated a Curriculum Review Committee aimed at strengthening taxation education in Nigerian academic institutions and improving the country’s tax administration system.
According to a statement, the committee was inaugurated on February 24, at the NRS Academy in Durumi as part of the agency’s broader efforts to modernise tax education and align academic training with the evolving demands of contemporary tax administration.
Speaking during the inauguration, the Director of the NRS Academy, Mr Adeolu Akinyemi, said the review exercise would involve collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) to develop a more structured and relevant curriculum for the academy.
He emphasised that the initiative seeks to ensure that taxation programmes taught in Nigerian institutions reflect current developments in tax policy and practice, while also equipping students with the practical knowledge required in today’s tax administration environment.
The committee has been tasked with examining existing taxation curricula across Nigerian institutions and proposing updates that incorporate modern tax policies, recent legislative changes, and emerging areas such as digital taxation and global tax practices.
Officials say the review is also designed to close the gap between theoretical classroom instruction and the practical realities of tax administration.
By strengthening the link between academic learning and professional practice, the revised curriculum is expected to better prepare graduates for careers in the tax sector.
The effort is further expected to enhance tax awareness among citizens, encourage voluntary tax compliance, and support the development of skilled tax professionals who can contribute to national revenue generation and economic growth.
The committee is chaired by Mrs Aisha Hamman Mahmoud, Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman of the NRS on Research and Statistics. Its membership includes representatives from the service as well as academic experts in taxation and fiscal policy, alongside professionals with experience in tax administration, policy formulation, and tax education.
The committee will work with relevant educational regulatory agencies and professional bodies to ensure that the proposed curriculum aligns with national academic standards while addressing the practical needs of Nigeria’s tax system.
The NRS stated that the initiative forms part of its ongoing commitment to expanding tax knowledge, strengthening professional capacity, and promoting responsible tax practices across the country.
The curriculum review exercise is expected to be completed within 60 days, after which the Service plans to provide further updates on the implementation of the revised programme.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The first batch of Nigerian undergraduates to enjoy fully paid scholarships for studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses across the continent has been chosen by Airtel Africa Foundation.
Business Post gathered that 70 students from universities across Nigeria were selected from thousands of applicants through an independently managed process, which took nearly six months.
It was learned that most of the undergraduates were from the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ile-Ife, the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), the University of Ilorin, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU Zaria), and the University of Nigeria (UNN).
The scholarship covers tuition, laptop computers, living expenses, and essential learning resources, a statement from Airtel Africa Foundation disclosed.
The chairman of the foundation, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, speaking at the presentation of the scholarships to the beneficiaries at the Lagos headquarters of Airtel Nigeria, emphasised the need for initiatives such as the Airtel Africa Foundation’s undergraduate tech scholarship for the future of the continent.
“True legacy is not measured by the awards we win or the volume of SIM cards we sell; it is measured by the lives we save, the people we feed, and the students we support when the line between success and failure is at its thinnest.
“At the Airtel Africa Foundation, we believe that lifting people out of poverty is the ultimate benchmark of a great company. Today, we are writing that legacy by tilting the balance in favour of the brilliant but underserved, ensuring that the fourth industrial revolution, driven by AI and Data Science, is built by African talent for the African continent,” he stated.
Mr Ogunsanya further revealed that this fellowship, executed through Airtel Nigeria, is designed to bridge the gap where funding, skills, and opportunity often fail to meet.
In addition to the N500,000 yearly budget for the fellows’ four-year or five-year courses, each fellow would be integrated into a structured support system for academic guidance and career mentorship, intended to ultimately transition students from the classroom to the global tech workforce.
Addressing the students, the chief executive of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Dinesh Balsingh, stressed that youth development is a strategic imperative for Airtel.
“At Airtel Nigeria, we view youth development as essential nation-building. When young people succeed, innovation accelerates, and social stability improves.
“By connecting these brilliant scholars to knowledge, skills, and confidence, we are fulfilling our core mission to connect people to opportunity. To our recipients: you earned your place here through merit and discipline. You are now ambassadors of excellence, and we expect your leadership to be defined by your conduct as you help shape a more inclusive digital future for Nigeria,” the Airtel Nigeria chief said.
The Nigerian cohort joins a prestigious network of Airtel Africa Foundation fellows currently studying in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, and India.
The initiative underscores a broader commitment to technology education, youth development, and Nigeria’s digital economy.
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