NASENI moves to commercialise locally developed technologies
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) says it is moving to commercialise locally developed technologies, including solar irrigation systems, electric vehicles, CNG solutions and medical diagnostics.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI, Mr Khalil Halilu made this known in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
Halilu said that the agency’s three-year transformation was focused on converting Nigerian research and engineering ideas into products, factories, businesses and jobs.
He said that NASENI had developed and introduced more than 40 products across renewable energy, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, information technology, clean cooking and education.
Halilu said that the agency was now building the industrial infrastructure and partnerships required to take such technologies beyond development and testing into sustained production and market adoption.
“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,” he said.
The executive vice chairman said that NASENI had established systems connecting talent discovery, research funding, product development, incubation, financing, manufacturing and market access.
According to him, the approach intends to prevent Nigerian innovations from remaining as prototypes, without a clear pathway to commercial production.
He said that NASENI’s Research Commercialisation Grant Programme awarded N229 million to 14 researchers in 2025 for projects in agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, mobility and digital security.
Halilu said the agency was also implementing DELTA-2, a Nigeria-Czech Republic programme supporting applied research, experimental development and technology transfer.
He said that NASENI HoldCo was being positioned to commercialise market-ready technologies, while the NASENI Showroom would provide a platform for investors and procurement institutions to access locally developed products.
“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,” Halilu said.
He said that the agency’s manufacturing drive was particularly evident in renewable energy, where it was developing the 40-hectare Solar Industrial Park in Gora, Nasarawa State.
According to him, the park is being developed as an integrated platform for solar research, manufacturing, testing and deployment.
He said that NASENI DevFrontier was advancing local production of solar streetlights, while NASRacks was being established to manufacture solar mounting structures.
According to him, the agency is also working with local and international partners to develop domestic capacity for photovoltaic modules, inverters, batteries and other solar components.
He said that the objective was to increase Nigeria’s participation in the solar manufacturing value chain, instead of depending mainly on imported systems.
In agriculture, Halilu said that NASENI was deploying solar powered irrigation technologies to enable farmers to produce throughout the year, while reducing dependence on petrol and diesel pumps.
He said that the Irrigate Nigeria Project was designed to reduce production costs and improve food security through locally adapted irrigation technology.
The NASENI boss said that the agency had recently demonstrated its solar irrigation system to farmers in Gabasawa and Kumbotso Local Government Areas of Kano State.
Halilu said that NASENI was also restoring idle tractors and other public machinery under its National Asset Restoration, Refurbishment and Redeployment Project.
According to him, the programme will extend the lifespan of agricultural equipment, support mechanisation and reduce the cost of replacing functional machinery.
On transportation, Halilu said that the agency was developing an electric vehicle assembly facility at Abuja Technology Village, including capacity for the NASENI Electric Keke.
He said that the agency had also established CNG conversion and reverse engineering centres in Abuja to support cleaner and more affordable transportation.
According to him, the centres will provide conversion services, technical training and opportunities for local fabrication and adaptation of CNG components.
Halilu said that NASENI was pursuing similar local manufacturing capacity in healthcare through the NASENI-Troment Rapid Diagnostics Factory in Abuja.
He said that the facility would strengthen domestic production of essential medical diagnostic products and reduce dependence on imported diagnostics.
He said the Centre of Excellence for Precision Manufacturing in Abuja would support production of high accuracy components for aerospace, defence, automotive, renewable energy, electronics and medical device industries.
Beyond products and factories, Halilu said that the agency was developing the skilled workforce needed to sustain local manufacturing.
He said that NASENI’s Skills Acquisition Centres were training young Nigerians in electrical installation, solar technology, automotive maintenance and other productive trades.
He said that DELT-Her and SheFly were increasing women’s participation in engineering and emerging technologies, while FutureMakers was developing an early pipeline of future engineers and inventors.
Halilu said that NASENI had also established more than 50 local and international partnerships covering renewable energy, automotive technology, agriculture, healthcare, defence, aerospace and research commercialisation.
He said that the partnerships would be judged by technology transferred, skills developed, production capacity established, investment mobilised and products delivered.
According to him, NASENI is working with the Bureau of Public Procurement and other institutions to encourage adoption of credible locally developed technologies.
Halilu said that the agency’s next phase would focus on scaling production, strengthening local content, improving standards and certification, and increasing factory utilisation.
He said that NASENI would also measure its performance through products sold, jobs created, local suppliers engaged, import savings, people trained and technologies transferred.
“The number of products, projects or partnerships is important, but it is not the final measure of success.
“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 remain within the Nigerian economy,” Halilu said.