MTN Nigeria is increasing its financial commitment to youth-led environmental innovation, raising the prize pool for the 2026 Nigeria PachiPanda Challenge to N10 million as it seeks to attract up to 3,500 applications for scalable solutions to climate and environmental challenges.
The third edition of the competition, themed “Nature Meets Innovation: Unlocking Africa’s Green Economy,” is being positioned as more than a sustainability initiative, with organisers seeking to move promising environmental ideas from competition pitches towards commercially viable ventures.
The overall winner will receive N5 million, while the first and second runners-up will receive N3 million and N2 million respectively, representing a significant increase from the N6 million prize pool in previous editions.
The programme has also expanded its institutional partnership base to include the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria and Deloitte Nigeria, alongside MTN Nigeria.
Tobe Okigbo, chief corporate services and sustainability officer at MTN Nigeria, said environmental responsibility and economic development needed to advance together, particularly for businesses with deep links to the communities in which they operate.
The 2026 competition is targeting Nigerians aged between 18 and 35, with applications expected to reach between 2,500 and 3,500.
Participants can submit solutions across four areas including; climate change, urban resilience, community conservation and pollution.
The programme’s structure this year places greater emphasis on developing the commercial potential of the ideas that emerge.
The Top 100 will be announced on September 18, followed by the Top 25 on October 2 and Top 10 finalists on October 9.
The finalists will then enter a four-day boot camp…
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