NASENI marks three years of reform under Halilu

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has marked three years of institutional reforms and technology commercialisation under its Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Suleiman Halilu.

The agency, which marked the milestone on Friday, 4 September 2026, said the reforms had repositioned NASENI as a key technology-transfer and commercialisation institution supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda.

Since assuming office in September 2023, Halilu has focused on bridging the gap between Nigeria’s research and innovation capacity and industrial production by connecting innovation, infrastructure, skills, finance, manufacturing and market access.

Halilu said Nigeria had never lacked technical talent or innovative ideas, but had struggled to convert them into commercially viable products.

“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.

As part of the reforms, NASENI established Project Management and Implementation Management Offices, strengthened internal audit and reporting systems, digitised key processes and introduced an Enterprise Resource Planning system.

The agency also developed an innovation-to-industry pipeline through initiatives including InnovateNaija, the NASENI Innovation Hub, Research Commercialisation Grant Programme, DELT-Her, FutureMakers, SheFly and the Reverse Japa Programme.

NASENI said it awarded N229 million to 14 researchers in 2025 under its research commercialisation programme, supporting projects in agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, mobility and digital security.

The agency has also developed more than 40 products across renewable energy, mobility, agriculture, healthcare, information technology, clean cooking and education.

Major industrial projects include the 40-hectare Solar Industrial Park in Gora, Nasarawa State; an electric vehicle assembly facility at Abuja Technology Village; CNG conversion and reverse-engineering centres in Abuja; and a rapid diagnostics factory in partnership with Troment.

ALSO READ: South-east records lowest NELFUND loan beneficiaries

In agriculture, NASENI is deploying solar-powered irrigation technologies, restoring idle tractors and developing agricultural incubation centres. It is also implementing a coal-based fertiliser manufacturing project in Kano through bilateral technology transfer.

The agency said it had established more than 50 local and international partnerships spanning renewable energy, automotive technology, agriculture, healthcare, defence, aerospace and research.

Looking ahead, NASENI said it would prioritise scaling commercial production, strengthening local content, improving standards and certification, increasing factory utilisation and expanding market adoption.

“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.

He added that his goal was for NASENI to become an institution that helps Nigeria build the capacity to manufacture what it needs.