Iyinoluwa Aboyeji mentors next generation of entrepreneurs, tech innovators

Young entrepreneurs and aspiring innovators at Teesas Summer School received mentorship from Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the co-founder of Flutterwave, and Andela, who inspired them to think boldly, solve real-world problems and leverage technology to create lasting impact.

The 2026 Teesasa Summer School featured Artificial Intelligence (AI) in business ideas developed for children as Aboyeji, a renowned Nigerian entrepreneur and investor spent the day mentoring participants and challenging them to refine their innovations ahead of the Startup Spark 2.0 business pitch competition in August.

The serial techpreneur was at the summer school to mentor participants ahead of the Startup Spark 2.0 competition, where children will present refined versions of their business ideas before a panel of judges.

Recall that earlier this month, Teesas Education announced that Aboyeji would serve as one of the competition’s judges alongside Osayi Izedonmwen, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, and Modupe Adeyinka-Oni, the founder of Standard Bearers School.

Osayi Izedonmwen, the founder and chief executive officer of Teesas Education, speaking during the hands-on skill training, said the quality of ideas demonstrated by the children reflected the programme’s objective of nurturing problem-solvers and innovators.

“Our vision for Teesas Startup Spark is to nurture children who don’t dream, but build. The creativity demonstrated here today proves that we are on the right path,” Izedonmwen said.

Working in teams, the children showcased ideas spanning education technology, automotive technology, healthcare and fashion, with nearly every group incorporating artificial intelligence or mobile applications into proposed solutions to real-world problems.

Ugobuze Kaitochukwu, an 11-year-old student, and his teammates had one of the standout presentations, who are developing an education technology application for underserved communities that works with and without internet connectivity.

“In areas where children have little to no access to education, our service will bridge that gap digitally. Once you get on the app, you have a personalised AI that generates courses for you in real time so you can learn at your own pace, and it runs locally so no internet connection is required,” Kaitochukwu said.

Another team, led by 10-year-old Aloba Oluwatoni-Joel, presented plans for a self-driving, solar-powered vehicle equipped with adaptive technology and smart sensors.

Aboyeji, after listening to the presentation, said, “It’s an interesting idea, but I am curious to see what you will present on demo day.”

Sixteen-year-old Destiny Agbodu and her team proposed a 24-hour café featuring a futuristic customer experience where robots welcome diners while customers place their orders through interactive digital screens before meals are prepared and served by staff.

Following the mentorship session, the teams will refine their concepts and submit video presentations. Three teams from the first cohort will advance to compete against the top three teams from the second cohort during the Startup Spark 2.0 finale in August.