Nigerian School Girls Emerges 2026 Technovation Girls World Summit Finalists

Summary: Adegbile Teniola Vivian, Sulaiman Maryam Adenike Isah, Moses Joy, Ukpapi Theresa Uzepi and Yusuf Ruth, five hearing-impaired secondary schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Kuje, Abuja, have emerged as global finalists at the 2026 Technovation Girls World Summit in Bengaluru, India.

Adegbile Teniola Vivian, Sulaiman Maryam Adenike Isah, Moses Joy, Ukpapi Theresa Uzepi and Yusuf Ruth, five hearing-impaired secondary schoolgirls from Government Secondary School, Kuje, Abuja, have emerged as global finalists at the 2026 Technovation Girls World Summit in Bengaluru, India. Their feat was announced by the Technology Beyond Disability Initiative on Monday, October 13, 2026. 

The team, known as the STRIM Girls, developed an artificial intelligence-powered application designed to improve access to menstrual products. They named their innovation “Saving Pad” and competed against thousands of teams from more than 160 countries. Saving Pad seeks to address the challenges faced by hearing-impaired girls to help them locate nearby sanitary pad banks, request menstrual products and access menstrual health education.

Speaking about the motivation behind their innovation, the girls explained that menstruation for girls truly starts when the crucial question of, “I know where to go.” is to ask rather than,  ‘What am I going to do?’ 

Upon their return to Nigeria, the girls were warmly received at the airport by the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, Dr Adedayo Benjamins-Laniyi, and members of her management team.