The Innovate Africa Foundation (IAF) has awarded full scholarships to more than 450 emerging product managers and builders as part of efforts to strengthen Africa’s product innovation ecosystem.
The scholarships were announced at the Inspire Africa Conference, held on October 14 and 15 in Lagos, which attracted more than 600 innovators, enterprise leaders and other stakeholders in the technology and business sectors.
In a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Wednesday, the foundation said the initiative was aimed at equipping emerging product professionals with the skills, mentorship and industry connections needed to develop innovative solutions to Africa’s economic and business challenges.
According to IAF, “the conference provided a platform for product managers, founders and enterprise leaders to learn from experienced professionals, exchange ideas and explore practical approaches to building successful products.”
The foundation noted that its scholarship programme enabled emerging talent to learn alongside industry veterans, access expert-led coaching and connect with opportunities in high-growth markets.
The conference featured keynote presentations by Olu Akanmu, an executive in residence at Lagos Business School; Petra Willie, a product leadership coach; and Charity Ibhadon, Global Product Director at WPP.
It also attracted representatives of the Mastercard Foundation, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, and Lagos Business School, among other institutions.
A major highlight was the closed-door Chief Product Officer (CPO) and C-suite summit, led by Christian Idiodi, a partner at Silicon Valley Product Group.
The summit brought together senior executives from organisations including Nedbank, Absa, Access Bank, Stanbic IBTC, MTN and Paga to discuss how businesses could improve performance through effective product strategy.
The sessions focused on shifting from feature-driven development to measurable business outcomes, improving capital efficiency and ensuring that investments in research and development deliver tangible value.
The conference also featured practical workshops for product managers, with experts including Roger Norton, Petra Willie, Annu Augustine, Abiola Laseinde and Nkem Nweke sharing approaches to product strategy, customer-focused innovation and business growth.
More than 100 startup founders participated in sessions on scaling businesses, achieving product-market fit and navigating economic challenges.
Other speakers included Chidi Afulezi, Managing Principal at redKola; Akachukwu Okafor, Chief Technology Officer of Shuttlers; Joycee Awosika, founder of ORÍKÌ; and Ayo Alaba, founder of GoPaddi.
A practical Canva workshop also demonstrated how artificial intelligence tools could help product teams develop prototypes, test assumptions and validate ideas before committing resources to full-scale development.
The foundation said the workshop highlighted cost-effective approaches to product development by enabling businesses to experiment with ideas and test their viability before writing code.
Technology companies Paga and Interswitch have supported the conference since 2023, reflecting continued private-sector participation in efforts to develop Africa’s product innovation ecosystem.
The foundation described the conference as more than a conventional technology gathering, emphasising its focus on practical skills, workforce development, venture building and sustainable business growth.
Building on the outcome of the 2026 edition, IAF announced plans to take the Inspire Africa Conference to four major African technology hubs in 2027: Lagos, Cape Town, Nairobi and Casablanca.
The foundation said the next edition would provide opportunities for technology companies to reach new users, corporate organisations to strengthen their product development capabilities, and donors to support scholarship programmes and talent development across the continent.