FUOYE Innovation Hub Commences Onboarding for iDICE Startup Bridge Founders Lab

The FUOYE Innovation Hub at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) has officially commenced its physical onboarding session for the newly selected cohorts of the iDICE Startup Bridge Founders Lab Programme. This milestone underscores the institution's intensifying commitment to driving technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation within the region. 

The onboarding gathered a diverse group of promising startup innovators operating across critical sectors, including financial technology, digital infrastructure, and healthcare.

To provide strategic guidance throughout the intensive innovation pipeline, the program has onboarded seasoned academic mentors. These include Dr. Adebimpe Esan, Head of the Department of Systems Engineering, and Dr. Daniel Uguru-Okorie of the Department of Mechatronics Engineering. 

Speaking on the strategic value of the initiative, the Vice-Chancellor of FUOYE, Professor Joshua O. Ogunwole, reaffirmed the university's dedication to engineering an ecosystem where creativity and enterprise development can flourish among young professionals. He noted that interventions like the iDICE Startup Bridge offer viable commercial pathways to translate raw technological concepts into high-impact enterprises capable of driving national economic growth. 

Corroborating this, the Director of Innovation and Digital Technology, Professor O. S. Ayanda, charged the inductees to optimize the resources made available to them through continuous iteration and active collaboration. 

"Innovation is the bedrock of sustainable development, economic growth, and national transformation," Professor Ayanda stated. "The future belongs to individuals who are willing to think differently, solve problems creatively, and build solutions that impact society positively." He added that the FUOYE Innovation Hub remains committed to scaling local ideas into globally competitive corporate entities by bridging the gap between developers and critical institutional resources. 

The iDICE Startup Bridge Programme is a flagship initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria, executed through the Bank of Industry (BOI) and fully supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to reinforce and scale the country’s technology and startup landscape.