Presidency, NASENI launch portal for Female engineers to access funding
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) have created a live portal for Female Nigerian engineers and scientists to get funding for their innovative projects.
The Agency and the PICTT at the weekend launched the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her), initiative with the portal, https//delther.gov.ng which went live yesterday, allowing female engineers and scientists to apply for funding and mentorship, will close on 20th May 2024.
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu said the Agency through this initiative aims to increase the number of female engineers in the country by 100 per cent annually and double the number over the next five years.
Speaking at NASENI Headquarters, Abuja during the official launch of the initiative, he said DELT-Her, a subset of Delta-2 programme, is floated to close the gender gap in engineering practice in the country, inspire next generation of female engineers, provide financing support for new ideas and projects, translating them into viable businesses, and ultimately to strengthen the entire engineering ecosystem.
Mr. Halilu said, “DELT-Her is what I call ‘an opportunity platform,’ through which girls and young women can pitch and present their exciting and groundbreaking engineering ideas, for funding by NASENI, through our collaboration with the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT).”
Speaking further, he said the project, “seeks to correct the imbalance in practice and enterprise development, by focusing attention and funding on young women, and very importantly, creating and cultivating public awareness around the need to train and mentor more women into the engineering professions.”
According to him, what this should ideally mean is that women should make up half of all professional spaces in the country but, for now, this is far from reality.
“The global average for female representation in engineering is 28 percent. In Nigeria, it is only five percent, only one in 20 Nigerian engineers is a woman. This awareness component of the work is one that we will take very seriously, working through schools, and storytelling campaigns.
“We intend to, through DELT-HER, double the number of female engineers in Nigeria over the next five years. This will mean working extensively at the level of secondary education, which is where young girls make the vital decisions regarding choice of professional field,” he affirmed.
The Chairman of PICTT, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru stated that, “The Committee, through continuous support of NASENI, is determined to fund innovative and commercially viable ideas in engineering and technology-oriented proposals by women. Therefore, today’s launch of call for proposals from young women marks the beginning of a chain of events which are expected to lead to engineering start-up companies owned and run by women.”
The President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala said DELT-HER initiative seeks to address the challenges of practice by the female gender, and to unlock the full potential of women in engineering.
Other goodwill messages at the event included the chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI, Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi who pledged his support for Women in engineering and science sector to ensure that they are given their rightful position in society.
Others who gave goodwill messages include the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Citizenship and Leadership, Rinsola Abiola and Chairman, Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria(APWEN), Engr. Mrs. Katume Giwa. The event was graced by students from Government Secondary School, Dasara, Kuje, Abuja.
