NIMASA BEAP: PORTAL OPENS TO ALL NIGERIANS AS AGENCY REMOVES AGE BARRIER

NIMASA-BEAP: Portal Opens to All Nigerians as Agency Removes Age Barrier

By Babatunde Aremu

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has removed the age restriction for participation in its National Innovation Hackathon 2026, under the NIMASA Blue Economy Accelerator Programme (NIMASA-BEAP), following widespread calls from Nigerians seeking to participate in the initiative.

The NIMASA-BEAP application portal, which opened on Monday, October 5, 2026, is now open to all Nigerians aged 18 and above, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion or educational background.

The Agency has therefore urged Nigerian innovators, entrepreneurs, researchers, developers, engineers, artisans, graduates and students to take advantage of the opportunity and submit their applications through the portal at no cost.

The National Innovation Hackathon, scheduled to hold from December 8 to 10, 2026, is designed to identify innovative solutions to challenges and opportunities across Nigeria’s maritime and blue economy.

The Hackathon features 13 innovation tracks, covering maritime technology and logistics; maritime safety, surveillance and security; green shipping and vessel decarbonisation; seafarer welfare; port digitisation; marine waste management; aquaculture and sustainable fisheries; coastal and artisanal fishing; ocean data and analytics; nature-based coastal defence; marine tourism; marine biotechnology; and deep seabed mining technologies and research.

Successful innovators will have the opportunity to progress into the 12-week NIMASA-BEAP Accelerator Programme, scheduled to run from January to April 2027. Selected ventures will receive structured mentorship, industry exposure and venture-development support.

The programme will culminate in a National Demo Day in April 2027, providing participating ventures with opportunities to engage investors, industry partners, potential customers and other relevant stakeholders.

NIMASA-BEAP is conceived as more than a competition. It is designed as a national innovation-to-market pipeline aimed at identifying promising Nigerian solutions, developing them into viable ventures and connecting them with opportunities within Nigeria’s marine and blue economy.

NIMASA has consequently encouraged Nigerians with innovative ideas and solutions capable of addressing challenges across the maritime and blue economy to seize the opportunity and apply for the programme.