By Ayomide Otitoju
Sahara Group has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting sustainable development and strengthening human capacity across Africa through its Making A Difference (MAD) Grant initiative.
In a statement, the energy conglomerate said the programme is designed to advance research and innovation by supporting visionary academics with funding to scale impactful projects. Following the successful pilot edition at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) in 2024, the 2025 grant cycle has selected three projects addressing youth unemployment, digital inclusion and institutional governance.
Each of the awardees will receive $12,000 to expand initiatives with demonstrated potential for systemic and measurable impact.
Sahara Group’s Head of Corporate Communications, Bethel Obioma, said the MAD Grant underscores the company’s long-term focus on solutions that stimulate economic growth and sustainable development.
“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.
Commending Sahara Group for sustaining the initiative, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, described the grant as a catalyst for innovation within the institution.
“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,” she said.
The 2025 MAD Grant awardees are Professor Sunday Adebisi, Dr Victor Odumuyiwa and Professor Abdul-Hameed Sulaimon, whose projects span entrepreneurship development, digital skills advancement and institutional reform.
Professor Adebisi will use the grant to scale the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Certification (EIBIC) programme, which has supported more than 20,000 students in identifying and launching business ventures. He said the funding would accelerate efforts to transform students into job creators.
Dr Odumuyiwa’s project focuses on expanding digital skills mentorship and technology ecosystem development at the NITDA IT Hub (NITHUB), where over 20,000 individuals have been trained in areas including artificial intelligence. He noted that targeted funding was critical to sustaining digital transformation initiatives.
Professor Sulaimon’s grant will support the expansion of a faculty administration re-engineering initiative aimed at improving operational efficiency, academic performance and resource mobilisation within the Faculty of Management Sciences.
Also speaking, Sahara Group’s Director of Governance and Sustainability, Ejiro Gray, said the projects were selected based on their scalability and measurable outcomes.
“Our selection process for this second edition focused on projects with measurable outcomes and scalability. Each $12,000 award represents an investment in sustainable systems, whether creating entrepreneurs, developing digital talent, or strengthening institutional frameworks,” Gray said.
Sahara Group added that it plans to expand the MAD Grant across Africa by partnering with more universities and institutions, with the aim of building a continent-wide network of academic hubs driving sustainable development through education and innovation.
