Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN), a leading diversified pan-African food and agro-allied group, has officially opened entries for the fifth edition of its annual Prize for Innovation (PFI 5.0).

Building on a five-year legacy of driving transformation across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain, the 2026 edition, themed ‘Innovative Practices in Cassava Production and Processing,’ focuses on advancing homegrown innovations in cassava, reinforcing the group’s commitment to local content development and sustainable food systems.

The initiative is open to registered Nigerian small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the food and agro allied sector and student innovators.

Successful participants in the SME category will receive cash prizes of N5 million for first place, N3 million for second place, and N2 million for third place.

In the student category, winners will receive N300,000, N200,000 and N100,000 for the top three positions. Beyond prize money, winners will gain access to corporate mentorship and industry insight to support the commercialisation of their solutions and drive business longevity.

This year’s focus reflects a deliberate response to one of Nigeria’s economic paradoxes, being the world’s largest producer of cassava, while continuing to import significant volumes of cassava-based industrial derivatives.

Through PFI 5.0, FMN is directing attention to innovations capable of strengthening cassava industrialisation.

Speaking on the milestone edition, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), FMN, Mr. Boye Olusanya, said: “The FMN PFI 5.0 is an industrial priority. Over the past five years, we have deliberately supported local innovation in building solutions within Nigeria’s food system. Our focus on cassava is strategic. It holds the key to industrial self-sufficiency, and economic progression through the Food and Agro-allied space. Since its inception, the FMN Prize for Innovation has been enabling sustainable food systems in Nigeria, and progressively reduce dependency on imported raw materials.”

Since its launch in 2021, the FMN Prize for Innovation has empowered 24 innovators across four editions, disbursing over N42 million in funding, and over N200 million in the provision of structured system to help winning ideas scale.

Previous editions have addressed priority areas including food loss and waste, local content development, precision agriculture and livestock farming.

Also speaking, the Managing Director, FMN Agro and Group Director, Strategic Stakeholder Relations, FMN, Mr. Sadiq Usman, said the initiative is structured to deliver long-term outcomes.

“The Prize for Innovation is designed to move ideas beyond the concept stage. By combining funding, mentorship and access to industry insight, we have enabled past winners to strengthen their operations and progress towards commercial viability. We expect the fifth edition to further deepen the pipeline of scalable cassava-focused innovations,” he said.

According to the company, entries are now open and will close on March 16, 2026.

Interested innovators can learn more and submit their applications through the official prize for innovation website.

Through the Prize for Innovation, FMN continues to drive agri-enterprise growth, strengthen local

innovation capacity, and contribute to Nigeria’s long-term agricultural and industrial transformation.

Incorporated on the 29th of September 1960, as a limited liability company and pioneer wheat miller in Nigeria, FMN started out on a journey that has seen the company evolve into what is now one of the biggest brands in the food and agro allied sector in Africa.

The Group has made strategic investments that drive development across its key value chains of grains, sugar, cassava starch, feeds; protein, and edible oil, fats.

For over six decades, FMN has been committed to its purpose of ‘Feeding and Enriching lives, Every Day. The organization has maintained a rich tradition of enhancing the quality of living for millions of families by producing a wholesome portfolio of food options through the company’s iconic food brand, ‘Golden Penny’, a household name that is trusted by many for good food and for daily nourishment.

(This Day)