Paystack has been announced as the Primary Sponsor of the Kids Innovation Challenge (KIC), a pan-Nigeria hackathon hosted by The Destiny Trust, a frontline non-profit focused on children’s education, wellbeing, and STEAM empowerment. The pan-Nigeria hackathon engages children from underrepresented backgrounds to design and showcase tech solutions to problems that affect their own lives and communities.
In a statement co-signed by Onyinye Okwundu and Teju Adeyinka, Co-leads for Technology and Skills Development at The Destiny Trust, the organisation said: “The Paystack partnership expands our mission to identify, nurture and celebrate Africa’s incredible next-gen tech talents, even from underrepresented groups. As an ecosystem leader, Paystack’s investment in developing young innovators demonstrates a new level of social responsibility and the industry’s commitment to building talents for the digital economy. We are proud to work together in shaping the continent’s future by bridging digital equity gaps, empowering the youngest generation with valuable technical skills, and introducing them early to the ethical use of technology to keep our digital space safe.
The 2025 Challenge focuses on tackling Nigeria’s out-of-school children crisis, improving access to healthcare, and addressing youth employment. Since opening applications in May, the hackathon has drawn entries from all 36 states, including projects leveraging artificial intelligence and robotics in education and health. The grand finale will hold in Lagos on Saturday, September 20, 2025, where 10 finalist young innovators will demo their solutions before leading tech experts, investors, and venture builders. Beyond the competition, participants will also be placed on a mentoring pathway to refine their solutions.
Founded in 2012, The Destiny Trust has empowered thousands of disadvantaged children and young people with education that integrates in-demand technology and arts skills. Through its Kids Innovation Africa initiative, the Trust goes beyond basic digital literacy to equip children as creators, not just consumers, of technology.
The Challenge will conclude The Destiny Trust’s tech bootcamps for children aged 10–17, held across Borno, Anambra, Taraba, Oyo, and Lagos States. Since August, more than 500 children have gone through the immersive training in technology and arts, building skills that position them for the future.
About The Destiny Trust
The Destiny Trust educates, empowers, and cares for street children and other young people within vulnerable groups, with education as the centrepiece of its work. The organisation provides integrated care and support to children and families, offering safe and stable shelters for housing-insecure children to complete school and learn skills without disruption. This holistic intervention makes education sustainable for children who might otherwise be held back by socio-economic challenges such as homelessness, poverty, neglect, abuse, or exposure to crime and other risks.
The Trust takes children off the streets, offering shelter, food, healthcare, and free schools for out-of-school children, while providing critical support to those in urgent need of care.
The organisation’s flagship empowerment programme, Kids Innovation Africa, is a STEAM initiative that equips children with in-demand technology and arts skills through school-based training, afterschool programmes, bootcamps, and online learning. The World Economic Forum spotlighted the Trust’s Kids Innovation Africa initiative in a video feature during its 2023 Sustainable Development Meetings, noting that children’s winning innovations at the year’s tech showcase could help address challenges such as food shortages and highlighting the programme’s role in bridging Africa’s digital skills gap (See: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/world-economic-forum_sdim23-activity-7108117419092504580-nodF?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android).
With a reach of over 20,000 children since 2012, The Destiny Trust continues to celebrate stories of lives that have been truly transformed and is positioned for exponential impact through its expansive education projects leveraging technology.
