Teens Innovation Challenge (TIC)

Teens Innovation Challenge (TIC): Where Young Ideas Become Solutions

Human beings have been gifted with creative minds. Every day, we encounter problems waiting to be solved. While some people see obstacles, others see opportunities to create solutions. As a student or young person, you have likely noticed challenges in your school or community and imagined how different things could be if someone created a solution. That curiosity, the willingness to ask, “What if?” and “Why not?”, is where innovation begins.

It is because of these questions and the need to respond to them that the Teens Innovation Challenge (TIC), an annual competition by A Talented Tribe with Purpose (ATTP), was established. It seeks to find talented young people and help them transform their ideas into practical innovations that address challenges in society.

TIC is a competition that requires no entry fee. Rather than focusing on ideas alone, it focuses on building solutions. Applicants do not just submit essays or pitch decks; they submit a working prototype, an early product, or a video walkthrough of their solution. Throughout the competition, participants are paired with mentors who guide them in refining and developing their ideas into functional solutions.

TIC is an annual open competition for young people aged 13 to 22. This year’s edition adopts a prototype-first approach. Instead of submitting pitch decks or lengthy written proposals, participants apply by sending a video walkthrough of a working prototype or early product. The idea is simple: show what you have built.

The competition unfolds in two rounds. In the first round, a panel of reviewers screens all applications and selects the top 20 participants. These shortlisted innovators attend an orientation programme, work closely with mentors, and spend the next few months refining their ideas before submitting a final version in October.

In the second round, judges evaluate the completed projects asynchronously, reviewing each solution before selecting the top 10 finalists. Those finalists then move on to one of the most exciting parts of TIC: Build Day.

On Build Day, innovation comes alive. Instead of standing before judges with presentation slides, teams spend two to three hours building their solutions live before both the judging panel and a public audience. Judges observe the process, assess each team’s problem-solving, collaboration, and technical ability, then deliberate before announcing the winners that same day.

Ideas That Made an Impact

Every edition of TIC tells the same story: a young person identifies an everyday problem, comes up with an idea to make it better, joins TIC, and is given a platform on which that innovation can come to life. In the process, they show that age is never a barrier to meaningful innovation.

The past editions of TIC are a testament to what happens when creativity is matched with opportunity, purpose, mentorship, and the right platform to build.

The best way to understand TIC is to look at the innovations it has already helped bring to life. Each project began with a problem, but through creativity, mentorship, and determination, those ideas became practical innovations.

2024 Winners

RouteIQ — Revolutionising Lagos Transportation

Victor Adewale

Traffic congestion remains one of Lagos’ biggest challenges. RouteIQ is an intelligent routing platform designed to transform how commuters navigate the city’s transport network. Using a data-driven approach, the platform aims to optimise BRT routes, improve efficiency, and reduce commute times for millions of daily passengers.

Plastic Trade — Turning Waste into Value

Ismail Royhannah

Plastic Trade reimagines waste as an economic opportunity. The platform connects waste collectors with recycling buyers, creating an incentive for communities to recover and trade plastic waste instead of discarding it. The idea promotes cleaner neighbourhoods while creating value from materials that would otherwise pollute the environment.

“Since childhood, as long as I can remember, I have seen plastic littering the roads on my way to school, and it always bothered me. More recently, with the economic hardship, I began thinking about how environmental degradation and the economic crisis could be addressed together. That is how the idea for Plastic Trade came about. At first, it was just an idea, I never imagined I would get to develop it through a competition like TIC.”

— Ismail Royhannah

Waste Management Initiative — Cleaner Lagos Communities

Akande Motunrayo

This initiative focuses on improving waste management through a community-driven approach. By identifying gaps in informal waste collection and proposing a model that rewards participation, the project encourages cleaner neighbourhoods while promoting environmental responsibility.

“What inspired me was looking at the health of many residents in Lagos State and wanting to solve some of these issues. I realised that addressing many of our waste challenges could help solve at least one of the many problems affecting Lagos.”

— Akande Motunrayo

2025 Winners

The 2025 edition continued this tradition, with participants presenting innovative solutions to challenges in water management, environmental sustainability, inclusion, and healthcare.

Automated Water Dispenser for Efficient Water Management

Team NextTech — Dawn Michaels School

Water scarcity and unreliable electricity are common challenges in many communities. Team NextTech responded by building a robotics-powered water dispenser that uses sensors and an Arduino system to release water only when needed. Designed to run on both rechargeable and direct power, the project promotes efficient water use while remaining practical in areas with unstable electricity.

ReImagine Plastics

Opemipo Akinwumi

Plastic pollution is one of the world’s growing environmental concerns. Through ReImagine Plastics, Opemipo Akinwumi transforms discarded plastic waste from streets, schools, and rivers into colourful works of art. Beyond creating beautiful pieces, the initiative trains young people in upcycling, encouraging them to see waste not as rubbish but as a resource.

Project ACCESS — Advancing Inclusion for Students with Special Needs

Phoebe Adetoye

Project ACCESS reminds us that innovation is not limited to technology. By training students to become Access Allies, the project creates a more inclusive school environment for learners with disabilities. Through practical learning tools, mobile applications, and awareness clubs, it promotes empathy, accessibility, and equal opportunities for every student.

Looking Ahead

The Teens Innovation Challenge continues to provide a platform where creativity meets purpose and where ideas are transformed into solutions. Looking at these projects, one thing becomes clear: TIC gives young people a space to showcase their talents while helping them realise that innovation is not reserved for experts or adults. It begins with someone who notices a problem and refuses to ignore it. It begins with an idea and grows into a solution.

If you’ve ever looked at a problem and wondered, “What if this could be better?” or thought to yourself, “If we could do this, things would change,” then perhaps you are already thinking like the next TIC innovator.

Every great innovation begins with a single question. The next one could begin with yours. The next project we celebrate may not come from a laboratory or a boardroom. It may come from a classroom, from a young mind willing to ask, “Why not?”

About ATTP

A Talented Tribe with Purpose (ATTP) is committed to helping young people discover, develop, and deploy their talents through innovation, mentorship, and purpose-driven initiatives.

The Teens Innovation Challenge (TIC) is one of ATTP’s flagship programmes, providing young innovators with the opportunity to turn ideas into practical solutions that can make a lasting impact in their communities.

To learn more about ATTP, the Teens Innovation Challenge, and other opportunities, visit https://attpglobal.com/.

Interested in shaping the next generation of innovators? Volunteer applications are open. If you would like to contribute your skills and be part of an organisation that creates opportunities for young people to grow, build, and lead, apply at https://attpglobal.com/volunteering.