The Earth Prize 2026: Young Nigerians named among top 35 global teams in $100K global competition

• The Earth Prize is the world's largest environmental competition and incubator for young people, equipping 13-19 year olds with mentorship, resources and funding
• Since 2021, the prize has reached 21,000 students, across 169 countries and territories, and awarded over $500K to turn ideas into impact
• Each year, 35 top-contender teams are selected as Scholars, representing seven global regions and the most promising youth-led solutions worldwide
• From 11–17 May, seven Regional Winners will be announced, each receiving $12.5K to accelerate their innovation in the real world
• Nigeria’s teams are BookBank Africa and PantiPads: BookBank Africa seeks to redistribute textbooks and PantiPads is a biodegradable sanitary pad

GENEVA, 13 April 2026 - Three young Nigerians have been named among the top 35 global teams in The Earth Prize 2026, the world’s largest environmental competition and incubator for young people aged 13-19 years. Representing the region of Africa, the students have presented two solutions: ‘BookBank Africa’, a network and app to redistribute school textbooks, and ‘PantiPads’, affordable and biodegradable sanitary pads.

BookBank Africa is the creation of teenagers Ossai Gift Chimdiuto and Ekwueme Chiziterem Noalene. After discovering that many young people are unable to access school textbooks in not only their local community but also across Nigeria, and that book burning causes environmental damage and waste, they decided to take action by repurposing unused spaces in their school to collect, sort, log, and redistribute books. Having worked on the solution for about a year, they hope to scale to additional schools with a network of Student Ambassadors and support from Teacher Facilitators, and additionally build an app to reach this goal.

PantiPads is the creation of teenager Raheema Auwal-Panti, who was motivated by the conditions of her local environment, where young women often don’t have access to affordable sanitary products. After discovering that conventional sanitary pads used by women today are 90% plastic, and take up to 500–800 years to decompose, she decided to create PantiPads, a biodegradable sanitary pad made from agricultural waste.

Raheema Auwal-Panti, Ossai Gift Chimdiuto, and Ekwueme Chiziterem Noalene, all from Nigeria, impressed The Earth Prize’s expert jury with their projects, forming two of the five teams selected to represent Africa.

Now in its fifth year, The Earth Prize has reached over 21,000 students across 169 countries and territories. Previous winners have been featured in leading international media including Forbes, Business Insider (US and Africa), The Irish Times, and UN Today, with several teams advancing their ideas through patents and corporate partnerships.

This year’s teams represent seven global regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Central and South America, the Middle East, and Oceania and Southeast Asia. Their solutions span a wide range of innovations, from an ocean-cleaning robot, to fog-powered drinking water, and an AI-driven drought predictor.

The Earth Prize is run by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit based in Geneva, Switzerland, founded during the School Strike for Climate in 2019. At a time when climate anxiety affects a majority of young people - 59% reporting they are very or extremely worried about the environment - the Prize provides a pathway from concern to action, equipping students with the tools to develop tangible, real-world solutions.

Peter McGarry, Founder of The Earth Foundation, commented on this year’s competition:

The next stage of the competition will see seven Regional Winners announced from 11–17 May, each representing one of the seven global regions and receiving $12.5K to accelerate their innovation. This will be followed by a public vote, with the global winner announced on Friday 29 May.