Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
20
Project title
Edu-Empower
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Edu-Empower equips financially disadvantaged secondary-school students and recent high school graduates with mentorship, academic preparation, leadership skills and access to scholarships and other opportunities, helping them stay in education, pursue university and become capable of creating opportunities for others.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Pilot-Stage (We’ve tried an activity or two)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
I once saw education as a way out of poverty. I did not yet understand that education could also become a way to change what was possible for other people. That changed during my gap year when I joined KELIC Education Foundation and was mentored by Mr. Obed. Through weekly leadership mentorship, he challenged us to stop seeing ourselves only as beneficiaries and start solving problems. I led a project that increased environmental awareness among secondary-school students, and I learned how to find scholarships, tell my story and position myself for opportunities. For the first time, I saw myself as someone who could create change. As an undergraduate, I began sharing what I had learned. Students would ask me, “How did you know about this?” and I met classmates struggling to finance their education without knowing scholarships existed. I started mentoring them and helping them access opportunities. More than 20 students have secured scholarships through my support, while my wider opportunity-sharing and mentoring efforts have reached about 700 university students. Then I realised I was meeting the problem too late. Students were reaching university without the information, confidence and preparation they needed. I wanted to move upstream, to help young people become opportunity-ready before lack of access became a barrier to their education. That led to Edu-Empower
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
In my community, many young people have the ability and ambition to continue their education, but not the information, mentorship, networks or preparation needed to access opportunities. This creates an opportunity gap: two students with similar potential can have very different futures simply because one knows where to look and has someone to guide them. I experienced this gap myself. Until I received mentorship, I did not know how scholarships, fellowships and leadership opportunities could change my educational journey. As an undergraduate, I saw the same pattern around me. Students struggled to pay fees while unaware of scholarships, or knew opportunities existed but did not know how to prepare a strong application. The gap is even more concerning at secondary-school level. Many opportunities are advertised online, while disadvantaged students may have limited smartphone or internet access and few adults who can guide them. By the time they reach university, the disadvantage has already accumulated. This matters to me because I have experienced both sides of the problem. A mentor gave me access to information that changed my trajectory. I want to make that access less dependent on luck, so that a young person’s future is not limited by whether they happen to meet the right person.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Edu-Empower will build an opportunity-readiness pathway for financially disadvantaged secondary-school students and recent secondary-school graduates. We will work with schools and community partners to identify students who are academically capable but at risk of being excluded from further education because of financial constraints, limited guidance or lack of access to information. For students without smartphones, teachers and school contacts will help us share information and maintain follow-up. Students will join a mentorship community where university students support them with academic habits, goal-setting, leadership, personal development and the transition to university. We will run practical sessions on finding opportunities, storytelling, essay writing, applications and interviews. Rather than simply sending scholarship links, we will help students become “opportunity-ready”: able to recognise suitable opportunities, prepare for them and pursue them independently. We will curate legitimate scholarships, competitions, fellowships and educational opportunities and match them to students based on eligibility. Recent graduates will receive guidance on university admission and financing, while students still in school will receive academic and personal-development support. We will also introduce practical, in-demand skills that can strengthen financial independence. The model is designed to multiply. Students will be encouraged to share what they learn with peers and, as they grow, become mentors and ambassadors themselves. Our first-year target is at least 200 students across more than 10 schools.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Edu-Empower grows from work I have already been doing with university students. Through my mentoring and opportunity-sharing efforts, I have reached about 700 university students. More than 20 students have secured scholarships through my support, alongside fellowships, capacity-building opportunities and improved academic outcomes. One story continues to shape my commitment. A university fresher I supported secured three scholarships within about a year of connecting with me; two of them cover his educational costs through graduation. His parents no longer have to carry the full burden of funding his education. Another mentee improved her academic performance from about 60% to 80%. The deeper impact is a change in what students believe is possible. Students who once asked how I found opportunities are beginning to see themselves as people who can find and pursue them too. Edu-Empower is now moving upstream to secondary school. In the first year, I aim to reach at least 200 students across more than 10 schools. We will track students reached, mentorship participation, applications submitted, opportunities secured, academic progress and students who go on to support others. Success will not only mean more students receiving opportunities; it will mean more young people becoming capable of creating opportunities for themselves and others.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
Edu-Empower does not treat the opportunity gap as simply a lack of information. A student can receive a scholarship link and still be unable to benefit because they do not know how to assess eligibility, tell their story, write an application, prepare for an interview or build the academic and leadership profile required. Our approach is therefore built around “opportunity readiness”: combining access with preparation, mentorship and follow-through. We will also reach students who are often missed by online opportunity programmes. Instead of waiting for disadvantaged students to find us online, we will work through schools and teachers to identify them, share information and maintain follow-up. This creates an offline-to-online bridge: schools help us reach students, while our digital community provides continued access to mentors and opportunities. Our second innovation is the multiplier effect. University students will mentor younger students, but the goal is not permanent dependence. Students will be encouraged to teach peers, share opportunities and eventually become mentors themselves. This turns a programme of beneficiaries into a growing network of young people who can support one another. Edu-Empower also connects stages that are often treated separately: academic preparation, leadership and personal development, opportunity access, university transition and practical skills for financial independence. We will pilot this model, learn from students and teachers, measure what actually helps students progress, and adapt before expanding. The goal is a model that can be carried by schools, mentors and young people, not one that depends entirely on its founder.
How many people are on your team?
7
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Edu-Empower currently has three people, including me as the lead. One team member is the Opportunity Curator while the other is the Grants and Partnership Coordinator. I plan to recruit four more young people: a Project Coordinator for programmes and school partnerships; Community Manager for engagement; Research Lead; and Social Media Manager. We will share decisions, divide responsibilities, and create opportunities for student ambassadors to lead initiatives and contribute ideas.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next three months, I will turn Edu-Empower from an initiative largely driven by my personal mentoring into a structured, youth-led programme. First, I will develop the programme framework: student selection, mentorship curriculum, opportunity verification, safeguarding, follow-up and outcome measures. I will recruit the founding team and establish our community platform. Next, we will approach schools and community partners to identify our first cohort. We will pilot the programme, gather feedback from students and teachers, and improve the model before expanding. Over the following year, we aim to work with more than 10 schools and reach at least 200 students. We will strengthen our mentor network, student ambassadors, verified opportunity pipeline and academic/application support. We will seek partnerships and grants where they address identified barriers, including educational materials and access needs. We will document outcomes such as opportunities applied for and secured, academic progress, transition into higher education and students who begin mentoring others. This evidence will help us improve the model and attract partners. Long term, I want Edu-Empower to become a replicable school-to-opportunity model that helps reduce the number of young people whose education is cut short because they did not know what was possible or how to access it.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
My engagement has grown through LinkedIn, referrals and testimonials from students I have supported. I have shared scholarship and opportunity information, mentored students and helped them turn information into action. Edu-Empower will make that peer-to-peer approach more intentional. Online, we will share verified opportunities, practical application guidance and student stories that show what becomes possible when young people gain access and preparation. We will use social media not only to publicise the project, but to teach. Offline, our school partnerships will help us reach students who may never encounter us online. Teachers and school contacts will help identify students, while student ambassadors will share what they learn with classmates. A student who learns how to find and pursue an opportunity should be able to help another student do the same. We will also recruit university mentors and volunteers who share our commitment to educational opportunity. As the project grows, ambassadors in participating schools and communities will extend our reach while bringing local needs and ideas back to the team. The goal is not simply to build a large audience. It is to build a community in which young people move from receiving information to sharing knowledge, supporting one another and becoming changemakers.
