Sahara Group has awarded a total of $36,000 under its Making A Difference Grant initiative to three academics of the University of Lagos, reinforcing its push for sustainable development and human capital growth in Africa. The beneficiaries are Prof. Sunday Adebisi, Dr Victor Odumuyiwa and Prof. Abdul-Hameed Sulaimon, selected in the second edition of the grant which focuses on youth unemployment, digital inclusion and institutional governance.
According to a statement by Sahara Group’s Head of Corporate Communications, Bethel Obioma, each awardee received $12,000 to scale projects that have shown measurable impact and strong potential for replication. She said the initiative was designed to support practical academic solutions capable of driving economic growth.
“The MAD grant represents our sustained commitment to identifying and amplifying sustainable solutions that drive economic growth and development. This second edition allows us to deepen our support for academic innovators whose work has demonstrated clear potential for systemic impact,” Obioma said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, described the initiative as a catalyst for innovation within the institution. She noted that the programme reflects the value of collaboration between academia and the private sector in addressing real development challenges.
“The Sahara Group MAD Grant has been a catalytic force for innovation at UNILAG. It is a testament to the power of strategic partnership in advancing our university’s mission to develop leaders and solutions for the nation and beyond,” Ogunsola said.
One of the beneficiaries, Adebisi, said his grant would be used to expand the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Certification programme. He explained that the programme had already supported more than 20,000 students to launch businesses aligned with their academic disciplines.
“The $12,000 MAD Grant provides critical resources to accelerate our mission of turning every student into a job creator,” he said.
Odumuyiwa said his funding would strengthen digital skills training and mentorship at the NITDA IT Hub, where over 20,000 people have been trained in areas including artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
“Strategic funding like the MAD Grant is essential for sustaining the momentum of our digital transformation efforts,” he noted.
Sulaimon said his project focuses on re-engineering faculty administration systems to improve efficiency, academic performance and resource mobilisation within the Faculty of Management Sciences.
“The MAD Grant provides crucial validation and practical support for our governance improvement efforts,” he stated.
Also speaking, Sahara Group’s Director of Governance and Sustainability, Ejiro Gray, said the projects were selected based on scalability and measurable outcomes.
“Each $12,000 award represents an investment in sustainable systems, whether creating entrepreneurs, developing digital talent or strengthening institutional frameworks,” Gray said.
Sahara Group disclosed that following the success of the projects at UNILAG, it plans to expand the MAD Grant initiative to other universities across Africa, targeting entrepreneurship, digital transformation and governance reform as drivers of sustainable development. The expansion will build regional capacity.
