Senator Jika Launches $100,000 E-nnovate Bauchi JENIUS fund to drive Innovation, Jobs

Senator Haliru Jika has launched a $100,000 E-nnovate Bauchi JENIUS Fund, an impact investment platform aimed at accelerating youth-led innovation, digital entrepreneurship, and sustainable economic development in Bauchi State.

The fund, unveiled in Bauchi, is designed to convert innovative ideas into viable enterprises while positioning technology, education, and enterprise as drivers of job creation, democratic participation, and inclusive growth.

JENIUS—an acronym for Innovation Exchange for Impact-Investment to Uplift Sustainable Societies—is the flagship financing pillar of the broader E-nnovate Bauchi Initiative, which seeks to strengthen innovation ecosystems and support impact-driven development across the state.

According to organisers, the fund will provide early-stage capital and structured support for young innovators, university-linked startups, and social enterprises tackling Bauchi’s most pressing development challenges.

Speaking at the launch, Senator Jika said the initiative was conceived to address a major constraint facing young innovators—limited access to seed funding, mentorship, and institutional support.

“In a world increasingly shaped by digital citizenship and technology-driven economies, innovation and enterprise are no longer optional,” he said. “The JENIUS Fund is a statement of intent. We are investing in the intelligence, creativity, and drive of Bauchi’s youth to build solutions for our economy, our democracy, and our future.”

He stressed that the fund goes beyond financing, offering a 10-month accelerator programme that links innovation to markets, policy priorities, and measurable social impact.

Anchored within the E-nnovate Bauchi Impact Ecosystem and aligned with university-based incubation at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), the initiative is designed to ensure that innovation remains locally grounded, socially accountable, and economically scalable.

The $100,000 JENIUS Fund sets out clear performance benchmarks, including: $100,000 in catalytic impact capital deployed to early-stage startups and social enterprises, 10 innovation grants awarded to high-potential ventures, 10 Bauchi Development Goals addressed across key sectors, a 10-month JENIUS Accelerator cycle combining finance, mentorship, enterprise development, and policy integration.

It.includes 50+ youth innovators and entrepreneurs supported through incubation and market access, 10 high-impact enterprises scaled across priority sectors, over 100 direct and indirect jobs generated through innovation-led growth.

Organisers said these outcomes would position Bauchi as an emerging hub for impact investment and youth-driven innovation in Northern Nigeria, while attracting follow-on local and international investment.

Under the Bank My Tech Bauchi 10.0 framework, JENIUS-supported ventures will focus on ten strategic impact economies aligned with Bauchi’s development priorities.

These include democracy, green and blue economies, security and safer cities, health, tourism, creative and cultural industries, transport, and agriculture.

The framework, according to programme leads, is intended to ensure innovation translates into real livelihoods, improved public services, and sustainable growth pathways.

A lead adviser to the E-nnovate Bauchi Impact Investment Fund described JENIUS as “patient, purposeful, and catalytic capital.”
“With a defined 10-month pathway, clear development goals, and strong institutional partnerships, the JENIUS Fund turns local innovation into scalable solutions capable of attracting larger investment and delivering measurable social returns,” the adviser said.