Project summary

The Olympiad Charity Foundation was established to address the prevailing challenges faced in organizing Olympiads in Nigeria. The National Mathematical Center, the national body tasked with the organization of Olympiads, due to a lack of funding, is usually unable to cover the travel costs of the Nigerian Math Olympiad Team to the IMO and PAMO, and the quality of training and team selection tests they offer is very poor. We seek to assist in the seamless execution of Olympiads in Nigeria. To achieve this, we plan to implement a rigorous 5-year training cycle for Olympiad students in Nigeria, closely monitoring their progress and preparing them to achieve IMO medals during their final year or two in the program. This approach will involve annual MOP-like camps and in-person gatherings. In addition to this, we intend to train the selected teams for IMO and PAMO for a full year before they participate. We also intend to distribute free training materials, currently comprising a book series and a video series, to schools that cannot afford to train their talented students in Math Olympiads.  

What are this project's goals and how will you achieve them?

Our project aims to consistently develop Nigerian mathematicians who can compete and achieve medals regularly at the IMO and PAMO. Our project will involve:

• An annual one-month physical training camp for 30-40 students

• Online training for 30-45 students

• Distribution of free training materials (book and video series)

How will this funding be used?

Intensive Olympiad Training Program

• Organizing a one-month physical training camp for 30-40 carefully selected students at the final round (1 month): $30,000

• Online Weekend Training (12-16 weeks) with  30-45 carefully selected top Nigerian Mathematics Olympiad students in Conjunction with past/present US MOP/IMO/EGMO participants: $10000

Total: $40,000

• Free Distribution of Olympiad books (Title: Special Maths Algebra: A Primer for a Mathematical Olympian) in Nigeria

  • $30 per book × 1000 books

Total: $30,000 

• Distribution and access to  video series (Foundation of Mathematics Olympiad) to public and private schools

  • $500 per school × 100 schools

Total: $50, 000

In light of the outlined expenses, our total ask for sponsoring Olympiad activities in Nigeria is $120,000.

However, the minimum funding we would require for our project is the amount covering the distribution of the video series which is $50, 000

Who is on your team and what's your track record on similar projects?

The Olympiad Charity Foundation is managed by the organizers of the Special Maths Academy (SMA). The SMA team is dedicated to training Nigerian Olympiad students to be competitive at the level of the International Mathematical Olympiad. To achieve this, we organize virtual training camps via Zoom for Olympiad students in Nigeria each year. We also provide Nigerian students access to Olympiad resources through our website https://specialmaths.ng/ where we paste links to Olympiad books and past questions to various Olympiad contests, and our YouTube channel, where our instructors solve various problems from Olympiad contests around the globe. Here is a link to the YouTube channel, which currently has over 200 videos: https://youtube.com/@specialmathsacademy. We are also currently working on books and a video series to help assist Nigerian students in their Olympiad journeys. See a preview of the video series here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA7VB5eiHZ8ycjfgl9l1UZhtvG1gQ_v2J

On many occasions, we have been formally recognized by the National Mathematical Centre and given letters of appreciation for our efforts.

Many of our students have been successful in various international and national mathematics contests. Here are some of the accomplishments of some students who are part of our programs:

• Uwakmfom Jacob: Jacob qualified for his first IMO in grade 9 and has consistently been in the Nigerian team each year since then. He currently has two gold medals and a bronze medal in the PAMO. He has also participated in various other Olympiad contests and now has over 20 medals from International Math Olympiad competitions.

• Oghenerukevwe Esemitodje:  Rukevwe won a gold medal in the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad in 2022

• Precious Arogundade: Precious won a bronze medal in the Pan African Mathematics Olympiad in 2022

What are the most likely causes and outcomes if this project fails? (premortem)

This project will have failed if it fails to produce a PAMO Gold Medalist after a year into the program or/and fails to produce an IMO Medalist after 5 years (a complete cycle) in the program.

The most likely causes of failure are:

• Lack of Dedication from Students: 

Mitigation Strategy

We intend to pass the students through a rigorous and thorough selection process to ensure that only talented, dedicated and committed students are admitted into the program. We would also monitor students’ progress closely to identify any signs of waning dedication and maintain a reserve list of high-potential students that can replace any such students.  

• Lack of Dedication from Instructors

Mitigation Strategy

We are going to work with only instructors who can commit to the project. We also intend to involve external expert instructors who can help us achieve the project’s goals

What other funding are you or your project getting?

Although we have been actively exploring alternative sources of funding, there has been no promising indication of forthcoming support.