Designed to expand practical technology training for students and young innovators, the facility was unveiled on Monday, June 8, by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, during a ceremony held at the university.

The hub was launched under the National Information Technology Development Agency in partnership with the Renewed Hope Initiative.

It comes equipped with laboratories focused on artificial intelligence, robotics, additive manufacturing and the Internet of Things. These are areas the government says are highly important to modern industry, both in Nigeria and globally.

Inside the campus, the space is meant to move students beyond theory and into hands-on work. It provides tools that many public universities in the country have found difficult to provide consistently.

Dr Tijani said the NITDA innovation hub should be seen as an investment in young people, both in and outside OAU, rather than just a collection of machines and lab equipment.

He also encouraged students to make use of the facility and take an active role in building solutions that can work in real settings, not just in classrooms.

With this development, the government is linking education more directly with needs across the industry. Officials present repeatedly returned to the idea of practical output, not just academic learning.

The robotics and IoT labs are expected to support hardware development, an area where many Nigerian startups still face limitations due to the cost of equipment and prototyping.

Additive manufacturing, often referred to as 3D printing, also features strongly in the hub’s design. It has growing use across sectors such as healthcare, construction and engineering.

The federal government has in recent years increased attention on digital infrastructure as a foundation for these kinds of projects. Earlier plans outlined by the Ministry include nationwide fibre deployment, expansion of communication satellites, and new rural telecom towers aimed at improving access to connectivity across the country by 2027.

Alongside the government’s initiative, private sector investment is also beginning to impact the direction of innovation hubs in Nigerian universities.

Fintech company Moniepoint has committed about N3 billion to establish innovation centres at Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Nigeria Nsukka, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The initiative, announced in May 2026, is designed to support training in areas such as artificial intelligence, software engineering, robotics, data science, product development and entrepreneurship.

The company says its engineers and product teams will be involved in mentorship, workshops and internship pathways. The aim is to make sure students are exposed early to how technology products are built and scaled in real business environments.

Government-led programmes and private funding are now being directed towards building a pipeline of tech talent across different regions of the country.

OAU in the South-West, UNN in the South-East and ABU in the North are among the institutions selected for these projects. The idea is to spread access beyond Lagos and Abuja, where most of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem has traditionally been concentrated.

There are still questions about how sustainable these initiatives will be. Funding is still a challenge, particularly when it comes to maintaining advanced equipment and keeping facilities up to date.

Hardware-based innovation also requires consistent technical support, which universities have sometimes found difficult to provide over time.

Connectivity is another factor that will determine how far these hubs can go. Many of the planned activities depend on reliable internet access and stable power supply, both of which are uneven in parts of the country.

That was the highlight of Interswitch’s message yesterday, June 25, 2025, as it premiered its latest brand campaign, “Powering Moments That Matter,” at its Innovation Lab in Victoria Island, Lagos.

With fintech jargon overwhelming daily lives today, Interswitch chose to step back, focusing on the deep human impact on individuals across Africa, asking the question; what’s the point of all this technology if it doesn’t help us live better, fuller, more human lives?

Beyond a product reveal or marketing campaign, the Interswitch TVC Premiere was a reflection on the moments we live for, the ones we usually overlook, and the technology that makes them possible. 

Be it a father paying for emergency treatment, a young woman starting her dream business, or a child walking into their first classroom, Interswitch wanted us to see that money is only meaningful when it powers something real.

“This is not just about the business or the brand, it’s about people, it’s about the story we tell that touches lives,” said Dr Cherry Eromosele, executive vice president and group chief marketing & communications officer at Interswitch.

“It has not been an easy journey working in a space that people see as very technical. One of the biggest challenges is: how do you humanise a brand like ours? We’ve had to co-create with customers, listen deeply, and develop solutions that truly matter to them.”

From enabling daily transactions to life-changing moments, like urgent hospital payments, entrepreneurial breakthroughs, and first-time home purchases, Interswitch’s campaign zooms in on the value of its infrastructure. 

The commercial, created entirely in Africa by African talent, not AI, is a visceral insight that behind every payment is a person, a story, a dream.

Tomi Ogunlesi, divisional head of Brands and Communications, took attendees through Interswitch’s brand evolution, spotlighting its core belief that technology only matters when it connects meaningfully to human experiences.

The Interswitch new campaign builds on a rich legacy of storytelling. In 2015, Interswitch began by establishing trust as the core currency in fintech. In subsequent years, it embraced curiosity and innovation, and later encouraged customers to “see beyond the big picture.”

The latest phase goes even further, placing human experience at the centre of the brand’s ethos.

“We see money move, we process billions of transactions,” said Ogunlesi. “But what really matters are the moments behind those transactions. From a child’s school fees to a last-minute flight to see a loved one, Interswitch is there, quietly powering it all.”

This campaign reiterates Interswitch’s footprint across the continent, having been shot in multiple African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, with the objective of representing a shared African identity. 

Casting and production were painstakingly curated to ensure audiences could relate universally, regardless of geography.

Paul Otu, divisional head, Design, Research & User Experience, explained: “It was important to tell authentic stories, stories everyone can see themselves in. Everyone knows someone chasing a dream, someone battling illness, someone trying to build a future. And in all those stories, Interswitch is quietly there, enabling those moments.”

Innovation with Meaning

This past financial year alone, Interswitch achieved commendable milestones, from sponsoring the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards and Uganda’s Developer Summit, to collaborating with governments in Lagos, Sierra Leone, and Kenya to drive fintech innovation. 

The company introduced tech solutions like CipherTrust, enabled YouTube subscription payments in naira, and reached a historic 70 million debit cards issued milestone. Their continued role in nurturing Africa’s tech ecosystem, through platforms like TechConnect 4.0 and the Spark National Science Competition, stresses its focus and dedication to the continent’s sustainability.

“We’re not just a payments company anymore,” Dr Eromosele stated. “We’re a technology enabler across sectors; healthcare, education, energy, and more. We are here to make sure the technology you rely on is invisible when it works and unforgettable in the moments it enables.”

No AI, All Heart

Interestingly, while the fintech world highly utilises AI-generated content, Interswitch took a contrarian route, going all-human. “Fintechs use AI to create full commercials,” said Ogunlesi. “But we’re doubling down on human connection. This was created 100% in Africa by Africans, for Africans.”

The final commercial, a 90-second video which took weeks of creation, was rich in emotion. It does not show POS machines or app interfaces like normal Fintech ads. Instead, it shows a life saved, a small business breaking even, a mother happy to see her unborn child and many more. Calm, but powerful.

“When you see this ad, you might forget the platform behind it,” said Dr Eromosele. “But you won’t forget the moment it represents. That’s when we know we’ve done our job.”

With a strong internal culture built on mantras like “speedy execution with accuracy” and “do the right thing the first time,” Interswitch remains committed to bolstering Africa’s digital space. The company’s 4.5.6 +Xb strategy, places sustainable growth and human-centred design at the core of its business.

As the curtains closed on the event, the Interswitch personnel reiterated that this is not the end, not even the peak. It’s just a new chapter.

“We’ll never stop telling stories that matter,” said Ogunlesi. “We’ll never stop humanising technology, and we’ll never stop moving Africa forward, one moment at a time.”