STEM Africa Fest, West Africa's largest experiential science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) festival for children and young people, is set to return for its sixth edition across Nigeria. The flagship Lagos edition will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2026, at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos. The 2026 edition will also feature a multi-city rollout, including Ilorin, reinforcing the festival's growing reach beyond Lagos and its commitment to making STEM learning accessible, engaging, and practical for children and teenagers across Nigeria.
Theme: Building Future Innovators
This year's theme, 'Building Future Innovators,' reflects the festival's core mission of creating immersive, practical learning environments where children can explore, experiment, and apply STEM concepts in real-world contexts. It underscores a broader commitment to nurturing curiosity, creativity, and problem-solving skills while building early exposure to future-focused technologies and innovation pathways.
Speaking on the significance of the 2026 edition at a media parley in Lagos, the Co-organiser of STEM Africa Fest, Mrs. Jadesola Adedeji, reiterated the festival's commitment to advancing STEM education and strengthening innovation capacity among children across Africa.
She said, 'STEM Africa Fest was created to respond to the growing need to make STEM education more accessible, practical, and engaging for children across Nigeria. For too long, STEM learning has been perceived as abstract, overly technical, and disconnected from everyday experiences, which limits how early learners engage with it and see themselves in it. This informed our decision to design a platform that introduces children to STEM through immersive, hands-on experiences that reflect real-world applications. Over time, what began as a learning-focused initiative has evolved into a broader ecosystem-building platform that brings together educators, innovators, and partners committed to shaping the future of STEM education on the continent.'
Addressing the STEM Skills Gap
According to UNESCO, Sub-Saharan Africa continues to face a persistent shortage of skilled STEM professionals, driven largely by limited access to practical, hands-on science and technology education at early learning stages. The region remains significantly underrepresented in global STEM talent pipelines, despite a rapidly growing youth population and increasing demand for digital and engineering skills in emerging economies. In Nigeria, this gap is further reflected in the broader education-to-employment pipeline, where emphasis on theoretical learning continues to limit early exposure to applied innovation, coding, robotics, and engineering-based problem solving.
Since its inception in 2021, STEM Africa Fest has grown into a leading platform for experiential learning, impacting over 25,000 children, students, parents, and educators across Nigeria and other African countries, including Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, The Gambia, Kenya, and Sierra Leone. The festival continues to play a pivotal role in bridging the STEM skills gap by exposing young people to practical, immersive learning experiences.
Festival Activities and Inclusivity
The 2026 festival will feature interactive STEM labs, robotics showcases, coding and game development challenges, AI and machine learning workshops, engineering and innovation labs, drone technology sessions, and science-based experiments. The programme will also include career-focused sessions designed to expose participants to pathways in global technology and innovation sectors. In addition, dedicated sessions for parents, teachers, and school leaders will explore how experiential STEM education can be integrated into learning environments to improve student engagement and learning outcomes.
Co-founder and Co-organiser of STEM Africa Fest, Titi Adewusi, Co-founder of 9ijakids, noted, 'From inception, our goal has been to make participation as accessible as possible, with targeted interventions to widen access for underserved communities. Importantly, at least 20% of attendees participate at no cost, with transportation and feeding fully covered through our partners, enabling us to reach public schools, NGOs, and SOS villages. Inclusion remains central to our mission because we believe access to quality education is a fundamental right for every child. As female founders, we are particularly passionate about ensuring that girls are not just represented but empowered to thrive in STEM, helping to build a more diverse and inclusive pipeline of future innovators across Africa.'
Ecosystem Building and Future Vision
Adedeji added, 'We see ourselves as ecosystem builders. This festival is not just an event; it is an advocacy platform aimed at making STEM education mainstream across Africa. Through it, we are also spotlighting the work of other stakeholders and partners within the ecosystem. Over the years, the value of this initiative has been reflected in the number of activities, collaborations, and projects that continue to emerge from the festival each year.'
The event is open to students, schools, educators, and families. Registration details and participation guidelines are available via official STEM Africa Fest communication channels and social media platforms. For further information, please visit their website: www.stemafricafest.com.
