The Chief Commerical Officer, Airtel Nigeria and partner of I-Scholar Initiative (iSI), Femi Oshinlaja, has urged the 2024 iSI awardees to ensure that they build resilience, prioritise risk management and disaster preparedness to minimise the impact of unexpected events and prioritize collaborations with partners.

This he said at the recently held iSI virtual award event which took place on June 22, 2024.

The not-for-profit organisation with a mission to mentoring and empowering young African students in fulfilling their dreams to pursue graduate studies via access to fully funded scholarships in world class foreign universities has recently released the names of 100 additional Nigerians who will benefit from its annual scholarship program.

Launched in 2019, iSI is a registered charitable organisation in USA and Nigeria and is completely run by volunteers and fully funded by partners.

Speaking on the topic: Sustaining Focus In An Uncertain World, an expert, Oshinlaja admonished the scholars to have a clear vision, stay true to their values, look for ways to improve themselves, don’t overstress while also keeping it simple.

He advised them to prioritise flexibility and adaptability in their journey to greatness and build processes that allow for rapid iteration and adjustments while also embracing new learning and emerging technology that can keep them ahead.

The President of iSI, Victor Ogunmola, expressed gratitude to all stakeholders and donors who have over the years ensured that the vision of the organization stays alive.

He said, “Without them, we can’t do any of what we are doing. So, I won’t be mistaken to say that they are the engine that powers this organisation.”

Ogunmola revealed that over 3,362 applications were received in 2024 and only 100 successful applicants were awarded the scholarship overpowering last year’s record of 70.

He went further to note that in its five years of existence, a total of 8,500 applications were received while 1900 were the successful/eligible application and out of which only 13 percent were awarded, which is because of limited finance.

He seized the opportunity to plead for more partners and collaborators who are interested in partnering with the organisation so as to increase the numbers of applicants that can be accepted in subsequent years.

Victor noted that some of the vision of iSI is to sustain at least ten percent annual increase in scholarship awards, expand and secure sustained sources of funding, increase mentoring capacity, continue process optimization and also expand corporate partnership.

The organisation’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Olufemi Fajolu, noted that the release of the list followed a rigorous selection process coordinated by iSI’s operations Vice President, Mrs. Hanatu Banjoko and the scholarship scheme covers a predetermined amount of graduate school application fees and most importantly, an end-to-end mentoring program.