NASENI honours top staff and highlights progress on 44 local innovations

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is marking a period of internal transition as it shifts focus toward the industrial deployment of indigenous technologies. Under the stewardship of its Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, the agency has moved to implement a framework centered on what it terms the 3Cs: Creation, Collaboration, and Commercialisation. This strategic pivot, developed over the last two years, aims to address a long-standing challenge in Nigeria’s research sector, where scientific discoveries frequently stalled as laboratory prototypes rather than entering the marketplace.

The agency highlighted this operational shift during a staff recognition event held in Abuja. The ceremony served to acknowledge the contributions of its workforce in developing 44 commercially viable products. These innovations include solar irrigation pumps, electric tricycles, smartphones, and various renewable energy solutions designed for local implementation.

Media additions

Key Pillars of Institutional Reform

According to reports from the agency, the recent transformation of NASENI has been driven by several structural changes intended to improve accountability and project delivery. These include:

• Digital Infrastructure: The deployment of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system to manage finance, procurement, and monitoring across all departments.
• Operational Efficiency: The establishment of Project and Implementation Management Offices (PIMOs) to ensure adherence to scope and budget.
• Fiscal Discipline: A 100 per cent budget reorientation designed to tie funding directly to measurable project deliverables.

Addressing the staff, Mr. Halilu emphasized the role of the agency's personnel in executing these reforms.

"Tonight is more than an award ceremony. It is a celebration of the people behind NASENI’s transformation. Behind every innovation, every partnership and every achievement are dedicated staff whose commitment has made our progress possible."

Khalil Suleiman Halilu, Executive Vice Chairman, via Businessinsight

Expanding the Innovation Ecosystem

NASENI has integrated several initiatives to foster technological capacity beyond its own laboratories. Among these is the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her) initiative, which provides grants to female engineers.

The agency’s infrastructure expansion includes the ongoing construction of a 40-hectare Solar Industrial Park in Gora, Nasarawa State, intended to serve as a major clean energy manufacturing hub. Additionally, the agency has pursued a strategy of "glocal" collaboration, securing over 50 memoranda of understanding with local and international partners. These agreements are part of a broader push to localize advanced manufacturing, reduce reliance on imports, and support Nigeria’s transition to sustainable energy technologies.

Market Integration and Procurement

To facilitate the transition from research to revenue, the agency has established showrooms across the country to interface directly with consumers and institutional buyers.

The agency reports that its agricultural and energy initiatives—such as the Irrigate Nigeria programme—have already contributed to the creation of over 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. As the institution continues its trajectory, the focus remains on sustaining financial viability through licensing agreements and private sector partnerships.

What to Watch Next

The agency’s current leadership maintains that the path to long-term industrialization depends on the continued ability to convert research outputs into widely used technologies. As stated in reports regarding the agency's recent milestones, the success of this model is increasingly measured not by the number of patents filed, but by the number of innovations successfully deployed in homes and across the agricultural sector.