Conveners of STEM Africa Fest, Titi Adewusi and Jadesola Adedeji, have restated their commitment to raising Africa’s next generation of problem-solvers, saying practical science education must be moved from the margins to the centre of Nigeria’s learning system.
The call was made recently during the 6.0 edition of the annual science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fair for children ages 5-15, held at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos.
About 3,500 children and parents from across Lagos attended the one-day event.
The Lagos edition comes weeks after the 2.0 edition held on July 4 at the Ilorin Innovation Hub, Kwara State, underscoring the organisers’ push to take hands-on STEM learning beyond Lagos and into more Nigerian states.
According to the conveners, STEM Africa Fest was conceived in 2021 during the COVID-19 lockdown to bridge the gap between classroom theory and practical experience.
What began as a virtual pilot with over 1,000 participants globally has grown in six years into a continental movement that has reached over 25,000 children across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Zambia, Rwanda and Kenya, promoting experiential learning through science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics, STEAM.
Speaking in a press interview, Adewusi said this year’s theme, “Building Future Innovators”, was deliberately chosen to reflect the urgent need for Africa to produce its own innovators and creators.
“Children are learning the theories and we wanted to bring the real thing, hands-on,” she said. “If you’re teaching a child about 3D printing, we want them to actually experience it. If you’re teaching a child about building robots or AI, we wanted them to experience it.”
Adedeji said the idea for the festival emerged from conversations on how to make science more engaging for African children. She noted that the first physical edition attracted over 6,000 attendees, and that demand has since outpaced the founders’ capacity.
She identified funding, stakeholder mobilisation and geographic expansion as key challenges. To address this, the organisation has adopted a partnership model that allows collaborators in other states and countries to replicate the programme using a standardised framework. That model, she explained, made it possible to stage the Ilorin 2.0 edition and the Lagos 6.0 edition within the same month.
Both conveners stressed that government support must go beyond financial grants. “We need curriculum development, teacher training and institutional backing for STEM-focused initiatives,” Adedeji said. “STEM is not an extracurricular. It must sit at the centre of how we teach.”
Adewusi disclosed the need for STEM curriculum to be rolled out . And she expressed readiness to work with the ministry, government and schools to scale adoption in line with SDG 4 on Quality Education.
Representing Access Holdings Plc, Programme Manager for Sustainability, Ikechukwu Iheagwam, said the company’s continued sponsorship reflects its commitment to education and technology. He added that exposure to artificial intelligence and robotics at an early age will better prepare children for future jobs, and urged more private sector involvement to complement government efforts.
Speaking on the impact of the event, a student, Jason Lawal of Court Hill College, Opebi, said he took part in a Rubix’s Cube challenge and an AI masterclass where students created short AI-generated animations. Fatima Namama of Greater Ecstasy High School, Iyana-Ipaja, said attending the festival over the years deepened her interest in laboratory science and called for wider integration of STEM in schools.
Organisers noted that the festival’s legacy now extends beyond attendance figures. Some past participants have returned as exhibitors in coding and robotics, a sign, they said, that the initiative is already nurturing the next generation of African innovators.
With two editions already held this July, Adewusi and Adedeji said the goal is to institutionalise STEM Africa Fest as a yearly national platform that prepares Nigerian children not just to pass exams, but to build solutions.
Some of the Sponsors/ Partners for the 6.0 edition include Argentil Capital, Access Bank, Maltina, First Bank, Lebara STEM METS and 9ijakids. Others are: Iwosan, Barium Tech, VDL Technologies, The Place, Fanice and MARS Program.
Read also: Meet the 3MTT graduate with no tech background, now building a hospital routing system
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