Nigeria’s talent pipeline is getting younger. While the country debates how to strengthen STEM education, a 10-year-old from Abuja is quietly building his own tech footprint. Zaq Isa is not only one of the youngest app creators in the country; he is also shaping a conversation Nigeria has barely begun to have, which is: how early should financial literacy and digital innovation start?

His smart-savings app, Kids Future Funds Hub (KFFH), and his book Zaqonomics were not class assignments or school fair projects. They were born from lived experience, curiosity and self-taught skills, reflecting a generation that is learning to build before they are told they can.

Zaq’s journey began during a family summer holiday when he cleaned the kitchen, earned twenty dollars, and decided to save it. By the time he broke his piggy bank, he had accumulated US$70, a discovery that sparked the idea that children could learn to make, manage and grow money from everyday activities. “When I saw the money, I realised kids can actually make and save a lot if they understand how,” he said.

Encouraged by his mother, Dr Kate Isa, and supported by family members, the 10-year-old refined the idea further. When he could not afford a professional developer, he turned to app-building tools, taught himself how to use them and invested US$245, a mix of savings and family contributions, to build KFFH.

His parents maintained a strict one-hour screen-time rule throughout the process, a structure his mother believes strengthened his discipline. “Every child needs well-defined boundaries. Discipline engenders mutual respect and a feeling of security and worth,” she said.

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Zaq’s creativity also impressed his coach, Apostle Obii Pax-Harry, who described him as a child whose ideas consistently outpace expectations. “Zaq already had a content page and was running ahead of us,” she noted.

With a functional app now in place, Zaq has begun approaching financial institutions. He recently pitched KFFH to Zenith Bank, proposing a partnership that would allow children to use a smart-savings app alongside debit card tools, giving them early exposure to real-world financial systems.

His book Zaqonomics complements the app’s mission through relatable stories, activity-based learning and simple frameworks that help children understand earning, saving, spending, investing and giving. It also provides parents with guidance on nurturing healthy money habits at home.

Zaq’s work fits into a growing global push for early financial literacy, as edtech initiatives across Africa, including Money Africa Kids, gain momentum. In Nigeria, fintech platforms and microfinance institutions are increasingly recognising the need to equip children with practical money skills long before adulthood.

For his mother, the larger lesson is clear. “Take children seriously and support them. Greatness lies within, waiting to be unleashed,” she said.

With KFFH and Zaqonomics, Zaq is not simply building his own path, he is demonstrating how early empowerment can shape the financial confidence of an entire generation.

Meiza Nigeria