By Juliet Umeh
In a country where thousands of brilliant students are forced to abandon Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, STEM, careers due to financial hardship, the Tosin Eniolorunda STEM Foundation has launched the Future Builders Fund.
The initiative is a strategic intervention designed to bridge Nigeria’s innovation gap by empowering young problem-solvers.
The programme, founded by Tosin Eniolorunda, Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint, targets the root causes of Nigeria’s dwindling STEM pipeline — limited access to quality education, lack of mentorship, and inadequate innovation infrastructure.
Through the Future Builders Fund, the Foundation will offer full scholarships, accommodation, laptops, and monthly stipends to exceptional but underprivileged undergraduates across seven federal universities. Beyond financial aid, the initiative embeds mentorship, innovation workshops, and leadership training to transform beneficiaries into solution-oriented thinkers capable of driving national development.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to become the best version of themselves,” said Eniolorunda. “The Future Builders Fund is not just about paying tuition — it’s about nurturing the next generation of innovators who will solve Nigeria’s toughest problems through technology.”
For its pilot phase, 14 students — two each from the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), University of Nigeria Nsukka, University of Calabar, University of Abuja, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, University of Maiduguri, and the University of Lagos — will benefit from the program.
Applicants will be assessed on academic merit, purpose clarity, and financial need, followed by a standardized test measuring problem-solving, creativity, and analytical thinking. Successful candidates will receive annual renewals based on performance and leadership growth.
The initiative expands on the Foundation’s prior interventions in Nigeria’s STEM landscape. In 2024, it donated a CAD/CAM laboratory worth over N100 million to OAU and invested N50 million in youth innovation projects such as the Nigenius Inter-School Robotics Competition and the UNILAG Management Students Entrepreneurship Challenge.
According to Eniolorunda, the Future Builders Fund represents a five-year vision to create a sustainable pipeline of young Nigerians who can move the country from dependency on foreign technology to homegrown innovation.
“Nigeria’s biggest challenge isn’t a lack of talent — it’s the lack of opportunity,” Eniolorunda noted. “We’re solving that by combining education, mentorship, and real-world exposure to build future-ready innovators.”
Applications for the Future Builders Fund are now open and will close on October 16, 2025.
