Two Nigerian girls, both just 10 years old, have stunned the global tech world by winning the 2025 Technovation Global Summit beginner division, outshining competitors from Japan, Canada, Spain, and Peru.
The pair, Akachukwu Blessed Nwachukwu and Ifunanya Gabriella Okoye, hail from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and represented Appsolute, a team mentored by Code Ambassadors Academy. Their win is being hailed not only as a personal triumph but as a broader statement on Africa’s growing place in the global technology ecosystem.
Their winning innovation, Stay Woke, is an AI-powered mobile application designed to combat one of the deadliest issues on the road: driver fatigue and distraction.
The app uses facial recognition and voice interaction to monitor drivers in real time, detecting signs of drowsiness or lack of attention. When triggered, it delivers instant alerts, aiming to reduce accidents and save lives.
By targeting an everyday problem with accessible technology, the girls showed that innovation is not about age or geography, but about identifying urgent needs and designing practical solutions.
Nigeria on the global tech map
The Technovation Global Summit brings together thousands of girls worldwide, challenging them to build tech-based solutions for pressing societal problems. In 2025, more than 33,000 girls from 117 countries participated, with over 3,200 projects submitted.
That two Nigerian pre-teens rose to the top is a significant development. It signals the potential of Africa’s young innovators and challenges long-held assumptions that breakthroughs in AI and tech can only come from Silicon Valley, Tokyo, or Berlin.
For Nigeria, the victory reflects the payoff of grassroots coding initiatives and mentoring programs like Code Ambassadors Academy, which are working to democratize access to STEM education.
Why it Matters
While the achievement is being widely celebrated, it also raises critical questions. Will these girls receive sustained support to grow their ideas into scalable solutions, or will this remain another one-off story in Nigeria’s history of wasted potential?
Too often, young African innovators are recognized abroad, only to face limited funding, poor infrastructure, and weak policy backing at home. The danger is that talent like Nwachukwu and Okoye may be celebrated locally but supported internationally—pushing them to leave rather than build within Africa.
The global recognition of Stay Woke is more than just a win in a competition—it is a reminder of what Africa’s young innovators can achieve when given the tools, mentorship, and opportunities.
It also underscores the urgency of addressing systemic barriers to youth innovation: from poor internet access to lack of investment in early STEM education.
If nurtured, this victory could become the seed for broader transformation in Nigeria’s digital economy. If ignored, it risks being another headline quickly forgotten.
Talking Points
Yes, two Nigerian 10-year-olds just beat Japan, Canada, and Spain at their own tech game. But the real headline should be: Why do kids have to win global prizes before we take innovation in Nigeria seriously? Their success shows talent is not the issue—our system is.
If two girls from Port Harcourt can build an AI safety app at age 10, imagine what could happen if governments invested in coding programs, labs, and infrastructure nationwide. Yet we spend more on politics and less on innovation. The digital economy we dream of is already in the hands of kids—we just don’t realize it.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: global recognition often becomes the first step to relocation. If these girls get offers abroad with real backing, would you blame their parents for encouraging them to leave? Nigeria has a history of producing geniuses who go on to shine elsewhere. If we don’t fix our ecosystem, “Stay Woke” may end up a U.S. or European startup instead of a Nigerian product.
