The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has committed over N500 million to the Nigerian universities and other tertiary institutions across the country to facilitate research and innovations aimed at promoting developments in the Nigeria telecommunications industry.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Danbatta made this known during a two-day Regional Roundtable event held in Kano and attended by the Academia, Captains of Industry, and other Stakeholders in the telecommunications sector.

The funds, he said, have been committed to research grants to universities and tertiary institutions, including professorial chairs in the universities in salient areas to drive technology development in Nigeria

Prof. Danbatta stated that the Commission is now focused on supporting the academia in the commercialization of technology prototypes from innovative research as this is relevant to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy’s policy towards achieving indigenous technology for sustainable development of the nation.

He said the roundtable organized by the Commission was to provide the necessary platform to support the commercialization of locally-developed telecommunications innovations that NCC has been sponsoring.

“The Commission collaborates with the Academia in maximizing the contributions of tertiary institutions to innovations and sustainable development of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry as finance is needed to drive the possible success of these endeavors. ” Danbatta said.

These efforts he said have enabled the Commission to contribute to other national  initiatives to ensure overall growth of the industry and create wealth for innovators, saying “all these are fundamental to the objective of the NCC’s R&D-oriented programs”.

He added that, these ideas, inventions, and improvements that emanate from academia are required by the industry for improved efficiency and productivity, noting that, appreciable impacts had been achieved since the Commission reinvigorated research grants for telecommunications-based research innovations from Nigerian academics.

Prof. Danbata stated that NCC is focusing on the successful commercialization of locally developed solutions to foster and deepen the uptake of indigenous technology by Nigerians.

In the same vein, Engr. Ubale Maska, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, stated that the Commission has so far awarded 49 telecom-based research grants to academia out of which 10 prototypes were successfully developed and displayed to industry stakeholders.

The R&D efforts of the Commission he said “were aimed at actualizing some of the 8-point Pillar of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030, focusing on Indigenous Content Development and Adoption”

Participants at the event focused more on understanding commercialization and entrepreneurial model within the university and industry perspectives as well as brainstorming on investment/ funding opportunities for prototype development, sustainability, and the sale of new products in the marketplace.

The event, which featured a series of panel session discussions, drew participants from the academia, telecoms industry, financial services sector, and other critical sectors of the economy.