Innovators in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States can win a $5,000 grant for an idea that improves life in their community. Applications for the Northeast Community Innovation Challenge close on 27 November 2026, 18 days from now.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) runs the challenge with funding from the Government of Japan. It partners with the Abdul Samad Rabiu International Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID). Five solutions will each receive $5,000, which is $25,000 in total by our sums. Winners also get intensive training and mentorship, plus a Design and Prototyping Bootcamp at the UNIMAID centre. Individuals and teams can apply, and women innovators are strongly encouraged to apply.
The call asks for ideas in four areas.
| Area | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and livestock. | Farming and animal production. |
| Construction and shelter. | Building and housing. |
| Health services. | Care and health delivery. |
| Education and skills development. | Learning and job skills. |
The one-line descriptions are ours. The call lists the four areas but does not define them, so read the full guidance on the application page before you choose.
Here is what the call sets out.
| Detail | What the call says |
|---|---|
| Who can apply. | Individuals and teams with innovative ideas. |
| Where. | Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States. |
| Who is encouraged. | Women innovators. |
| Support. | Intensive training and mentorship. |
| Grant. | $5,000 for each of five selected solutions. |
| Bootcamp. | Design and Prototyping Bootcamp at the Abdul Samad Rabiu centre, UNIMAID. |
| Aim. | Develop ideas and contribute to community recovery. |
| Deadline. | 27 November 2026. |
To apply, use the link on the call flyer, https://shorturl.at/HOzh5. The call does not say how many entries it expects, how winners will be chosen, when the bootcamp will run or how the grant will be paid. It also does not say if the winner must already have a working prototype. The wording about developing “ideas” suggests that an early-stage idea can qualify. Check the application page for these details.
Why this region, and why now? Japan has backed UNDP recovery work in the northeast for years. A 2022 announcement put $4.3 million behind stabilisation and early recovery, with farming skills, youth training and business start-up grants. A 2025 UNDP story describes work in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe. Families got seeds, tools and training. Village savings groups were set up. A women’s centre in Yobe has reached over 2,000 women and youth. This challenge adds an open call for new ideas to that kind of support. It also puts a university centre at the heart of the process. The Abdul Samad Rabiu Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UNIMAID is a ₦1 billion facility that Vice President Kashim Shettima inaugurated, according to MSME Africa.
With only five grants, your application has to stand out. Start with a real problem you see in your own community, and say who it hurts and how often. Explain your solution in plain words. Then show what $5,000 would buy, such as materials for a first batch, tools for a pilot or a few months of testing. Say how you will know it works, for example how many farmers, patients, families or learners will benefit. If you work in a team, show who does what. Judges can only back what they can picture.
Why it matters: Small grants like this reach people that big programmes often miss. A young builder in Maiduguri, a nurse in Yola or a farmer’s cooperative in Damaturu may have a good idea and no money to test it. A $5,000 award, with a bootcamp and mentors, can turn that idea into a working pilot. For the northeast, the focus on agriculture, shelter, health and skills matches the daily needs of communities rebuilding after years of conflict. The call also signals what funders now want: ideas rooted in local problems, built by local people, with a plan for impact.
What to watch next: who the five winners are, and which of the four areas they come from. Watch whether the organisers publish the number of applicants and the judging criteria. Watch how many women innovators are selected, since the call encourages them. Watch whether the bootcamp leads to follow-on funding or a second round. And watch whether other states in the northeast get a similar call.
Sources: UNDP and the Government of Japan, Northeast Community Innovation Challenge call flyer and announcement; UNDP Nigeria on Japan’s $4.3 million for stabilisation and early recovery; UNDP Nigeria on empowering communities affected by conflict in the northeast; MSME Africa Online on the Abdul Samad Rabiu Centre at UNIMAID.
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