Kike AI Launches Student Innovation Challenge With N2.5m Prize

Kike AI, Nigeria’s first intelligent kitchen assistant platform has launched the Kike AI Campus Impact Challenge (KCIC) 2025, a nationwide student-led innovation competition offering over N2.5 million in prizes, a return ticket to New York, and career-shaping internship opportunities

Targeting undergraduate and postgraduates across tertiary institutions in Nigeria, the organizer said that KCIC 2025 aims to ignite student-driven solutions in the food and gas sectors through entrepreneurship, media creation, research, and policy innovation.

Femi Oye, CEO of SMEFUNDS while speaking on the competition said that the initiative is more than just a challenge, that it is a mission to empower young change makers to tackle real-life problems in Nigeria’s kitchen and cooking gas economy using creativity, collaboration, and technology.

“KCIC is about solutions, leadership, and impact. We want students to think beyond theory, to act, build, and shape the future of our gas and food systems.”

He said that participants will collaborate in teams of three and five students and take on one or more of the following challenge tracks  which include; Stakeholder Research and Mapping, Identify key actors across gas, food, and logistics sectors; Gas Distribution Innovation: Propose smarter, scalable distribution models; Vendor E-commerce & Chef Onboarding: Grow the Kike AI network with real users; Viral Skit & Content Creation: Drive signups and awareness through creative media; Policy & Strategy Development: Draft data-backed white papers to guide national reforms.

He noted that the challenge welcomes talents from diverse backgrounds in tech, energy, policy, storytelling, agriculture, or media who are passionate about creating real-world impact.

Oye also said that the grand prize for the overall best team is N2.5million, first place will get N1,250,000; second place, N500,000, while third place N250,000 and that all-expenses-paid trip to New York for the top individual performer.

He added that application open April 28, that submission deadline is June 13 while the demo day and grand prize announcement will take place on June 25.

According to him, “eligible students can apply online as a team or register as campus ambassadors to lead activation efforts across universities. Both roles come with mentorship, leadership training, and growth opportunities.

Speaking further he said that Kike AI is modernizing Nigeria’s cooking and food systems using artificial intelligence, smart data, and digital vendor networks, adding that the challenge is part of Kike AI’s broader mission to onboard 10,000 B2B vendors and reach one million users in 2025.

“We are using this platform to find the next wave of innovators, marketers, media minds, and ecosystem shapers. It is time to build with Nigeria’s brightest students,” he added.