Stanbic IBTC, NASCO, UAC, Throws Weight Behind Mathema 3.0, Nigeria’s Next Generation Mathematics Movement

The competition that crowned six school champions and moved corporate Nigeria to act enters its most ambitious chapter yet

Stanbic IBTC Bank, NASCO Group, UAC Foods, and Cadbury Hot Chocolate have confirmed sponsorship of Mathema 3.0, the third edition of the South-West’s most compelling annual mathematics competition and leadership conference, organised by Mathema Innovations Limited, deepening a wave of private sector commitment tomathematics education at the precise moment Nigeria’s Federal Government is overhauling its national STEM curriculum.

The movement was founded in 2022 by Mathema Innovations Limited, that mathematics is a national asset, not a subject to be feared.

The inaugural edition, Mathema 1.0, drew 200 secondary school students from Lagos and Ogun States. Eminence College, Ogun State, claimed the top prize, Utopia College, Lagos, finished first runner-up with and Sachel College, Lagos, as second runner-up. Joshua Ajayi, CEO of Awesome Communications and Special Guest of Honour, called it “an exceptionally organised event”, a verdict that put the wider corporate community firmly on notice.

Mathema 2.0, themed “Advancing Leadership and Mathematical Excellence,” was held on September 24 and 26, 2025, drawing over 750 secondary school students from Lagos, Osun, Ekiti, and Ogun States across a three-stage process: a proctored Computer-Based Test, a written theory examination that narrowed the field to 40 finalists, and a live oral quiz final.

In the Senior Category, Vetland Senior Grammar School emerged champion, with Agbowa Community Grammar School second and Great Solid Rock Secondary School third.

In the Junior Category, Superb College won outright, Caleb British School finished first runner-up, and Baptist Girls Secondary School, Obanikoro, took second runner-up.

Every finalist was celebrated on stage; no student left empty-handed.

The leadership conference moderated by Oluwatomisin Adegoke, the project manager, Mathema, convened senior professionals from engineering, finance, marketing, and technology, while a technology masterclass in partnership with TechImpacters equipped students with practical ICT skills that outlasted the event itself.

The 2.0 edition was backed by twelve sponsors, Stanbic IBTC Bank, BIC Nigeria, NASCO Foods, Promasidor, UAC Foods, Fresyo by Olam, El-Fad Concept, TechImpacters, Land Republic Limited, LASAA, the Mathematics Association of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Institute of Civil Engineering and received broadcast coverage from Lagos State Television (LTV) and a news story in The Nation newspaper.

Now comes Mathema 3.0, themed “The Power of X: Turning Equations into Expressions of Art” the first time in Nigerian educational history that a major mathematics platform has fused analytical competition with creative arts expression.

Students across the South-West will solve equations and render them as paintings, sculptures, collages, and three-dimensional installations, giving visibility to gifted students whose mathematical and artistic potential has long been overlooked by an examination-focused system.

The programme will feature a structured mathematics competition, a student arts exhibition, a leadership conference, and a teacher development programme.

Founder and Managing Director of Mathema Innovations Limited, Segun Emmanuel Osunniyi, said: “Three editions in, we are no longer simply running a competition. We are building a movement, and the decision by Stanbic IBTC, NASCO, UACBIC Nigeria, and Cadbury Hot Chocolate to stand behind Mathema 3.0 is proof that corporate Nigeria has recognised what we have always known: the most important investment this country can make is in the mind of a young person.”

“From 200 students at 1.0 to over 750 across four states at 2.0 and now 3.0, every edition has been built on the evidence of the last and this one will be the most significant yet.”

Mathema’s mission is to make mathematics accessible, inspiring, and transformative for secondary school students across Nigeria through competitions, leadership conferences, creative exhibitions, and educator programmes that unite student talent, industry professionals, and forward-thinking corporate partners.

Mathema is also extending its impact beyond competitions through “Mathema 100,” a long-term sponsorship initiative aimed at sending underprivileged skilled students to school every year.

The scheme will identify bright but financially disadvantaged learners and support them with tuition and essential learning materials, working in partnership with committed sponsors and school communities.