Country of Residence
Nigeria
Age
18
Project title
Itayo Foundation
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Itayo Foundation empowers African students to discover their identities, explore their interests, recognise their strengths and develop their potential beyond academic achievement through practical learning, mentorship, leadership development and access to opportunities.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/itayo-foundation/
Project Category
My project is an existing project that I started
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?
The idea for Itayo Foundation grew out of a conversation I had with members of StudyBloom, a student community I founded in 2025. During one of our discussions, I asked members to introduce themselves without describing themselves as students. I wanted them to think about who they were beyond their academic identities. Some struggled to respond, and that moment stayed with me. It also made me reflect on my own experience in secondary school. For much of that period, my focus was on meeting academic expectations and performing well in my studies. I rarely explored extracurricular activities or gave myself the opportunity to discover interests outside the classroom because academic achievement was my priority. These experiences made me question how often students are encouraged to focus on grades without receiving equal opportunities to explore their interests, recognise their abilities and develop other aspects of themselves. I believe academic excellence is important, but it should not be the only measure of a student’s potential. This reflection inspired me to establish Itayo Foundation in October 2026, to create opportunities for African students to discover their identities, explore their interests, develop their abilities and recognise the possibilities beyond academic achievement.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Across many communities, students grow up in educational environments where academic performance receives the greatest attention. Grades, examination results and class rankings often become the main indicators of a student’s ability and future prospects. While academic excellence is important, this narrow emphasis can leave other interests, talents and abilities unexplored. Students who may have potential in leadership, technology, public speaking, creativity, entrepreneurship or other fields do not always have access to the exposure, guidance and practical opportunities needed to discover and develop those abilities. This matters because a student’s potential extends beyond what they achieve in the classroom. When opportunities for self-discovery and personal development are limited, students may struggle to identify their strengths, make informed decisions about their interests or recognise the different paths available to them. I care about this problem because I experienced some of these limitations during my own secondary school years, and my conversations with students through StudyBloom further encouraged me to reflect on it. I believe African students deserve an educational experience that recognises their academic achievements while also creating room for them to discover, develop and pursue their wider potential.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
Itayo Foundation addresses this problem by creating opportunities for African students to discover their identities, explore their interests, recognise their strengths and develop their potential beyond academic achievement. Our approach begins with awareness. Through school engagements and interactive sessions, we encourage students to understand that their abilities and future possibilities extend beyond their grades. We then create opportunities for discovery and exploration through participatory workshops, group activities, discussions and practical learning experiences that allow students to identify interests, explore different fields and recognise their strengths. Beyond discovery, Itayo aims to support students in developing these abilities through mentorship, leadership development and practical learning opportunities. We also intend to build partnerships with professionals, institutions and organisations that can connect students to relevant training, resources and opportunities in areas such as technology, creativity, public speaking and leadership. Our approach is designed to go beyond simply telling students that they have potential. We want to help them explore that potential and take practical steps towards developing it. Our first school engagement took place in October 2026, reaching 83 secondary school students through an enlightenment session, interactive discussions and questions and answers. This initial engagement is the starting point for developing more structured and sustained programmes. Through this approach, Itayo Foundation seeks to make self-discovery, personal development and access to opportunities a more deliberate part of the student experience.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
Since its establishment in October 2026, Itayo Foundation has taken its first steps towards creating opportunities for students to explore their potential beyond academic achievement. On October 28, 2026, we conducted our first school engagement, reaching 83 secondary school students. The session featured an enlightenment talk, interactive discussions and a question-and-answer segment designed to encourage students to reflect on their identities, interests, abilities and possibilities beyond the classroom.This engagement gave us an opportunity to introduce our message directly to students, engage them in conversations about personal development and gather feedback that will inform our future activities. It also marked an important step in moving Itayo from an idea into practical community engagement. As an early-stage initiative, our impact is still developing. Over the next 12 months, we aim to reach more students through structured school engagements, practical workshops, mentorship and leadership development opportunities.We hope to help students develop a stronger understanding of themselves, explore interests they may not have previously considered and gain access to opportunities that support their growth. In the long term, we want to contribute to an educational culture where students are recognised and supported for their diverse abilities, not only their academics.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes Itayo Foundation different is its approach to student development. While many existing initiatives focus on academic support, mentorship, skills training or leadership development as separate activities, Itayo brings self-discovery, exploration and personal development together as connected stages of one approach. We believe that before students can make meaningful use of opportunities, they need the chance to understand themselves, recognise their strengths and explore the interests they may want to pursue. Not every student already knows what they are good at or what they want to become. Some simply have not had enough exposure to different fields and experiences to find out. Itayo therefore places discovery at the beginning of its approach. Rather than assuming that students already know their interests, we create interactive experiences that encourage them to reflect, ask questions, collaborate, explore different possibilities and recognise abilities they may have overlooked. We then seek to support their development through practical workshops, mentorship, leadership opportunities and partnerships that connect them to relevant resources and training. Another important part of our approach is that we do not define student potential through a single field or ability. We recognise that students have different interests and may develop in areas such as technology, creativity, communication, leadership and other fields. Our aim is not simply to introduce students to opportunities, but to help them discover what interests them, take steps towards developing their abilities and find ways to use those abilities meaningfully.
How many people are on your team?
20
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
Itayo Foundation has 20 team members involved across four teams: Graphics Design, Media, Outreach, and Documentation and Administration. Each team has a lead who coordinates tasks and members. As Founder and Executive Director, I provide overall direction, delegate responsibilities, coordinate teams and ensure our work aligns with the foundation’s mission. We work collaboratively, with members contributing their skills towards a shared goal.
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 12 months, Itayo Foundation aims to strengthen its programmes, expand its school engagements and build partnerships that will support the long-term development of African students. Our immediate next step is to conduct another school workshop, using interactive group activities and practical exercises to help students explore their interests, recognise their strengths and develop their confidence. We also plan to establish more consistent engagements with secondary schools, reaching students in additional communities and learning from their feedback to improve our approach. Another priority is to develop structured activities around our key areas of identity, leadership, opportunity and purpose. These will include practical workshops, mentorship sessions and opportunities for students to explore different fields beyond academics. We intend to build partnerships with educators, professionals and organisations that can provide expertise, mentorship, resources and access to relevant opportunities for students. Internally, we will strengthen our team, improve our programme documentation and develop a more organised approach to monitoring our activities and measuring student participation and progress. Our goal is to move beyond individual engagements towards a more consistent model that can reach more students and support their development over time.
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.
We encourage others to join Itayo Foundation by raising awareness about the importance of developing students beyond academic achievement. Through school engagements and interactive discussions, we encourage students to reflect on their identities, interests and abilities. We also use social media to share educational content, showcase our activities and reach more people. We invite young people to volunteer, contribute their skills and participate in our initiatives. Our team supports this work through media, graphics design, outreach and administration. We also seek to engage parents, teachers, schools and professionals who can help promote the importance of recognising different forms of student potential. Through partnerships and shared efforts, we hope to create more opportunities for students to discover their interests, develop their abilities and pursue their potential beyond the classroom.
