A team of students from Sunflower School in Kano State won Junior Achievement Nigeria’s 2026 National Company of the Year competition with an AI-powered platform designed to help farmers access agricultural information and make better decisions.
The student-led company, Agrolens Technologies, developed AgroLens AI, a free mobile platform that brings crop disease and pest detection, treatment recommendations, market price information, connections to buyers and agricultural financing resources together in one place.
The team secured a US$250 cash prize and an all-expenses-paid trip to Cape Town, South Africa, where it will represent Nigeria at the African Company of the Year competition.
The national competition results were announced on 21 October 2026 at an event organised by Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), which supports young people in developing entrepreneurial and practical business skills.
AgroLens AI aims to help farmers access information to support decisions about crop health, treatment options, and selling agricultural produce.
The platform uses AI-powered features to identify crop diseases and pests and recommend treatments. It also offers market price information and tools intended to help farmers connect with potential buyers and find agricultural financing opportunities.
By combining these services in a single mobile platform, the students aim to make agricultural information easier to access without requiring farmers to use several separate services.
The platform supports English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and Nigerian Pidgin. Its voice-enabled features are designed to make information more accessible to people with limited literacy or who prefer speaking to typing.
The team comprises Fadillah Abdulsalam, Ruqayya Jallo, Hayfa Mukhtar and Maryam Butu.
The national victory secures the team a place at the African Company of the Year competition in Cape Town, where it will represent Nigeria against other student-led businesses from across the continent.
Agrolens Technologies also received recognition for product innovation and operational excellence, according to competition reports.
New Era Company, from Community Secondary School in Asokoro, Abuja, placed second, while Nexora of International School Lagos finished third.
The competition gives students an opportunity to develop business ideas, work in teams and present products or services that respond to real-world challenges.
Junior Achievement Nigeria uses entrepreneurship education programmes to help students develop practical skills in business planning, innovation, teamwork and financial literacy.
The 2026 competition was held under the theme, “Augmenting Innovation: Equipping Nigeria’s Youth for Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods in a Changing Economy.”
The event brought together representatives from education, government, business and the development sector to discuss how young people can gain the skills and opportunities needed to participate in a changing economy.
Agrolens Technologies’ success highlights how students are exploring AI to address challenges beyond traditional technology sectors, including agriculture and market access.
Agriculture remains a key part of Nigeria’s economy, and farmers often struggle to access timely information on crop diseases, treatment options, and market conditions.
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AI-powered tools may make this information more accessible, particularly when designed for local languages and mobile use. However, the usefulness of such systems depends on factors including the accuracy of their recommendations, the quality of their data and their performance under real farming conditions.
AgroLens AI’s national award recognises the students’ innovation and business potential. Its wider impact will depend on how effectively the platform serves farmers as it develops and reaches more users.
The team will now take its project to the African competition in South Africa, bringing a student-led Nigerian agricultural technology idea to a wider continental audience.
AI Writer
Bio: Joseph Michael is an MBA graduate in Marketing from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and a passionate tech enthusiast. As a professional writer and author at AIbase.ng, he simplifies complex AI concepts, explores digital innovation, and creates practical guides for Nigerian learners and businesses. With a background in marketing and brand communication, Joseph brings clarity, insight, and real-world relevance to every article he writes.