THUMBS UP AS NASENI MARKS THREE YEARS OF INSTITUTIONAL REFORM, TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALISATION AND INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT UNDER KHALIL HALILU
…Agency strengthens technology-transfer systems, expands local manufacturing and builds pathways from research to market
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is marking three years of institutional transformation under its Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, with a renewed focus on technology transfer, commercialisation, local manufacturing and industrial development.
Since assuming office in September 2023, Halilu has led the repositioning of NASENI as a technology-transfer and commercialisation institution aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. The new direction is focused on closing the gap between Nigeria’s research and innovation capacity and its industrial output by connecting research, infrastructure, skilled manpower, finance, manufacturing and market access.
Speaking on the milestone, Halilu said Nigeria has never lacked ideas, researchers or technical talent, but has historically struggled to convert these capabilities into commercially viable products and sustainable industries.
“Nigeria has capable engineers, researchers and innovators. What has often been missing is a connected system that can identify promising ideas, develop them, finance them, manufacture them and take them to the market. Closing that gap has defined our work at NASENI over the past three years,” he said.
Institutional Reform as the Foundation
NASENI began its transformation by strengthening its internal systems and adopting a more accountable and results-driven approach to project implementation. The Agency established Project Management and Implementation Management Offices, reoriented its budget towards measurable deliverables, strengthened audit and reporting systems, digitised key processes and introduced an Enterprise Resource Planning system to improve efficiency and institutional accountability.
These reforms have been complemented by frameworks for accelerated technology transfer, green industrial development and innovation commercialisation. NASENI’s operating model is anchored on three principles: Creation, Collaboration and Commercialisation.
Under the model, the Agency develops and adapts technologies that respond to national needs, collaborates with partners that provide expertise, capital and market access, and commercialises viable innovations into products, enterprises, factories and jobs.
Building an Innovation-to-Industry Pipeline
To prevent promising Nigerian innovations from ending at the prototype stage, NASENI has developed an interconnected pipeline covering talent discovery, research funding, incubation, product development, commercialisation and market access.
Initiatives such as InnovateNaija identify promising innovators across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, while the NASENI Innovation Hub provides product-development support, mentorship and connections to investors and industry.
The Research Commercialisation Grant Programme supports applied research with market potential, while DELT-Her provides funding, mentorship and commercialisation opportunities for women in engineering.
In 2025, NASENI awarded ₦229 million to 14 researchers under its research commercialisation programme, supporting projects in agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, mobility and digital security.
The Agency is also implementing DELTA-2, a Nigeria–Czech Republic programme supporting applied research, experimental development and technology transfer.
Other initiatives include FutureMakers, which introduces young people to science, technology, engineering and mathematics; SheFly, which trains women in drone technology; and the Reverse Japa Programme, which seeks to reconnect Nigerian researchers and innovators abroad with opportunities to contribute to national development.
NASENI HoldCo is being positioned as the commercial vehicle for market-ready technologies, while the NASENI Showroom provides a platform for investors, procurement institutions and the public to interact with locally developed products.
According to Halilu, the strength of the model lies in connecting the different components of the innovation ecosystem.
“A competition can discover an inventor, but that inventor still needs product-development support, finance, manufacturing capacity and access to customers. We are building these components as one connected system rather than as isolated programmes,” he said.
Advancing Local Manufacturing
NASENI has developed and introduced more than 40 products across renewable energy, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, information technology, home appliances, clean cooking and education.
The portfolio includes solar irrigation pumps, solar home systems, solar streetlights, portable solar generators, batteries, electric vehicles, electric tricycles, CNG conversion solutions, smartphones, tablets, laptops, televisions, household appliances, rapid diagnostic kits, clean cookstoves and STEM learning tools.
Beyond product development, the Agency is investing in industrial platforms capable of supporting local manufacturing, testing and technology adaptation.
The 40-hectare Solar Industrial Park in Gora, Nasarawa State, is being developed as an integrated platform for solar research, manufacturing, testing and deployment. NASENI DevFrontier is advancing local solar streetlight production, while NASRacks is being established to manufacture solar mounting structures.
The Agency is also working with local and international partners to develop domestic capacity for photovoltaic modules, inverters, batteries and other renewable-energy components. The interventions are designed to increase Nigeria’s participation in the solar manufacturing value chain and reduce dependence on imported systems.
Sustainable Mobility and Transport Technology
In the mobility sector, NASENI is developing an electric vehicle assembly facility at the Abuja Technology Village to support the production of electric vehicles, including the NASENI Electric Keke.
The Agency has also established CNG conversion and reverse-engineering centres in Abuja to support Nigeria’s transition towards cleaner and more affordable transportation. The centres provide vehicle conversion services, technical training and platforms for the local fabrication and adaptation of CNG components.
NASENI views its electric mobility and CNG initiatives as complementary pathways, with CNG providing a near-term option for reducing transportation costs while electric mobility builds the engineering and supply-chain capabilities required for the future of transportation.
Agriculture and Food Security
NASENI’s agricultural interventions are focused on improving mechanisation, enabling year-round farming and increasing local production.
Through the Irrigate Nigeria Project, the Agency is deploying solar-powered irrigation technologies to reduce dependence on rainfall and fossil-fuel-powered irrigation systems.
The National Asset Restoration, Refurbishment and Redeployment Project is recovering idle tractors and other public agricultural machinery and returning them to productive use. The initiative is expected to extend the lifespan of public assets, support agricultural mechanisation and reduce unnecessary replacement costs.
Agricultural incubation centres associated with the University of Abuja and Bayero University Kano are also being developed to provide shared infrastructure for researchers, startups, cooperatives and young agripreneurs.
In Kano, NASENI is implementing a coal-based fertiliser manufacturing project through bilateral technology transfer, with the objective of strengthening domestic fertiliser production and reducing exposure to imported agricultural inputs.
Health and Advanced Manufacturing
The NASENI–Troment Rapid Diagnostics Factory in Abuja is strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to produce essential medical diagnostic products locally. The facility is being developed around recognised quality-management and regulatory requirements for medical devices, supporting health security and reducing dependence on imported diagnostics.
At the Centre of Excellence for Precision Manufacturing in Abuja, NASENI is building capacity to produce high-accuracy components for aerospace, defence, automotive, renewable energy, electronics and medical-device industries.
The Agency is also supporting indigenous unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capability through NASCAV Technologies and the UAV School at the Air Force Institute of Technology in Kaduna. The programme provides training in UAV design, assembly, operation, maintenance and recovery, with applications in defence, agriculture, mapping, infrastructure inspection, surveillance and environmental monitoring.
Through collaboration with the defence sector, NASENI is further developing reverse-engineering capacity for the repair, adaptation and local production of selected equipment.
Developing the People Behind the Industries
NASENI maintains that industrialisation cannot be sustained without developing the skilled workforce required to design, operate and maintain industrial systems.
Through its Skills Acquisition Centres, the Agency is training young Nigerians in electrical installation, solar technology, automotive maintenance, tailoring and other productive trades. The NASENI Sustainable Empowerment Programme combines practical skills, productive tools and locally developed technologies to improve livelihoods and household resilience.
DELT-Her and SheFly are expanding women’s participation in engineering and emerging technologies, while FutureMakers is building an early pipeline of future engineers, innovators and problem-solvers.
The Sustainable and Emerging Technologies Institute at Bayero University Kano is also being developed to connect academic research, emerging technologies, industrial requirements and enterprise development.
NASENI is further developing an Innovation Campus in the Federal Capital Territory to bring research, product development, advanced manufacturing, startup incubation, skills training and testing facilities into an integrated innovation district.
Partnerships for Technology Transfer
Over the past three years, NASENI has established more than 50 local and international partnerships across renewable energy, automotive technology, agriculture, health manufacturing, defence, aerospace, research and commercialisation.
Its partners include public institutions, private companies, universities, research organisations and international technology firms.
The Agency said the value of these partnerships would ultimately be measured not by the number of agreements signed, but by the technology transferred, skills developed, production capacity established, investment mobilised and products delivered.
Through collaboration with the Bureau of Public Procurement and other public institutions, NASENI is also supporting the Nigeria First policy by promoting the adoption of credible locally developed technologies.
The Next Phase: Scale, Standards and Measurable Impact
NASENI said the next phase of its transformation will focus on scaling commercial production, deepening local content, improving standards and certification, increasing factory utilisation and expanding market adoption.
The Agency will also strengthen its measurement of outcomes, including units produced and sold, direct jobs created, local suppliers engaged, import savings generated, people trained and employed, technologies transferred and private investment mobilised.
“The number of products, projects or partnerships is important, but it is not the final measure of success,” Halilu said.
“The real test is whether our products are adopted, our factories operate sustainably, our partnerships transfer useful capabilities, our trainees secure livelihoods and more value remains within the Nigerian economy.
“I do not want NASENI to be remembered simply as an agency that installed equipment or launched projects. I want it to be recognised as the institution that helped Nigeria build the capacity to manufacture what it needs.”
NASENI acknowledged that while some factories and products are already operational, others remain at various stages of development, testing and commercialisation. The Agency said it would continue to distinguish completed outcomes from ongoing projects and future targets as part of its commitment to transparency and accountability.
Three years into the transformation, NASENI is evolving from a collection of research assets into a connected national platform for technology transfer, manufacturing and commercialisation.
The Agency reaffirmed its commitment to supporting President Tinubu’s industrialisation agenda by transforming Nigerian ideas into competitive products, productive enterprises, skilled jobs and sustainable industries.
“The work is still in progress, but the direction is clear,” Halilu said. “Nigeria’s industrial future will be built through capable institutions, skilled people, competitive products and factories that produce. That is the system we are building at NASENI.”
