About
Becoming who you were made to be.
ATTP, A Talented Tribe with Purpose, asks young Africans who they are and what they were made to do, then builds the structures that help them find out.
Where this came from
From one microphone to a tribe.
I was home in Ikorodu, Lagos during the festive season of 2020 when the conviction took hold. One of the worst things that can happen to a young person, I kept thinking, is to arrive at a moment that defines their life without the wisdom to navigate it well. I recorded the first episode on Christmas Day 2020, in Bariga, Lagos. Eight people listened. Neither they nor I knew it was the beginning of something.
Five years on, the work has reached listeners across more than 64 countries. The podcast grew into a platform: the Teen Innovators Challenge, where young Nigerians compete on real briefs; the Teen Innovators Accelerator, where those who go furthest develop their ideas over weeks with mentors and facilitators; the Launchpad, where any young African can take on a real brief with real stakes; and ATTP Conversations, a live recording series moving city to city across Nigeria.
The name changed because the work outgrew it. All Things Teen Podcast was a description of what it was in 2020. A Talented Tribe with Purpose is a declaration of what it is becoming. The age range widened to 13 to 35, because the questions we exist to answer do not stop at 19. The programmes have always been free. Not as a promotional decision, but as a foundational one: where you come from should not be the reason you cannot be part of this.
Three pillars
One movement. Three ways in.
Advocacy
ATTP Conversations: honest long-form conversations with young Africans on identity, purpose, faith, and ambition. 57 episodes. Listeners in 64 countries.
Listen→Innovation
The Teen Innovators Challenge, the Accelerator, and Launchpad: real briefs, real mentors, a live Grand Finale where the best ideas are judged and recognised publicly, and a permanent record of what young Nigerians and Africans have built.
Open Launchpad→Leadership
The Fellowship and the TIA Leadership Track exist for young people who are ready to lead something, not just build something. Structured cohorts, embedded practitioners, and a progression model built around accountability and public outcomes.
Explore the Fellowship→Our mission
EORLD.
Five words held together by a single intent.
E
Encounter
Encounter God: root every pursuit in something larger than the pursuit itself.
O
Optimise
Optimise youth: close the gap between potential and the tools to realise it.
R
Realise
Realise potential: make the latent visible, the visible tested, the tested shipped.
L
Live
Live transformed: measure the work by who the young person becomes, not just what they build.
D
Develop
Develop leadership: raise the next set who will raise the set after them.
What we work towards
Eight things we are actually trying to do.
01
Structured programmes
We run programmes in innovation, leadership, civic engagement, and personal development for young Nigerians and Africans between 13 and 35.
02
Real-world challenges
We design sector-based innovation challenges that build critical thinking, entrepreneurial skill, and the capacity to create solutions for African communities.
03
Accessible platforms
We build platforms, including podcasts, public forums, and recorded conversations, where young people can engage with ideas and develop informed perspectives on the issues shaping their generation.
04
Mentorship and connection
We connect young Nigerians with mentors and professionals across business, technology, design, media, governance, healthcare, and education, creating structured pathways for knowledge transfer.
05
Removing barriers
We reduce the barriers that keep young people from underserved communities out of innovation, digital literacy, and leadership, through scholarships, subsidised access, and community outreach.
06
Civic engagement
We bring young people into conversation with institutions of governance, local authorities, and public figures, to build civic awareness and community leadership at the grassroots.
07
Strategic partnerships
We build relationships with corporate organisations, government bodies, academic institutions, and international NGOs to co-fund and co-deliver programmes that advance the Foundation's mission.
08
Celebration and recognition
We celebrate young innovators, changemakers, and leaders through awards, competitions, galas, and public recognition, raising the aspirational bar for the generation coming behind them.
What we value
Six things we stand on.
Agency
We talk to young people as people with full agency. Not children to be managed. Not customers to be entertained.
Specificity
One brief, one mentor, one tool that actually works. Generality is the enemy of action.
Honesty
If something is not working, we say so. To students, to partners, to ourselves.
Faith and ambition
They are not opposites. The work and the why belong together.
Access
Where you come from should not be the reason you cannot be part of this. The programmes have always been free. That is not a promotional decision. It is a foundational one.
Perseverance
The work is long. We do not celebrate starting. We celebrate finishing.
Founded by
Akintunde Idowu.
Host of ATTP Conversations, convener of the Teen Innovators Challenge and Accelerator, and the first phone call for most of the people who come through the programmes. Based in Lagos, reaching more than 64 countries.