5th from Right: The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu; the Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer and Information Exchange, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru and beneficiaries of the Delta-2 projects after the signing of implementation agreements at NASENI HQ in Abuja.

In a bid to boost Science, Technology, Innovation and commercialized Research products in Nigeria, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has signed an agreement worth $21.7 million with eleven indigenous firms in the country.

The eleven firms are beneficiaries of the take-off of the Delta-2 Projects, being the outcome of the bilateral collaboration between the federal government of Nigeria and the Czech Republic.

Innovation Nigeria reports that Delta-2 Programme is being implemented by the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer/Information Exchange (PICTT), with NASENI as implementing Agency working in partnership with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR)

The primary objectives of funding these eleven firms according to Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NASENI, Mr Khalil Suleiman Halilu include  among other things to empower the benefiting companies and strengthen their innovative drive to develop quality products and services acceptable to both local and international markets

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of NASENI stated this in his opening speech at the event held at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja

He said the Delta 2 programme, which was launched in 2022 was designed with the aim of funding and enabling research, development and innovation projects in Agriculture, Mining, and General Manufacturing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The EVC said $21.7 million is already set aside to finance the selected projects, with TA CR contributing $11.7 million while NASENI will contribute $10 million as counterpart fund, revealing that the bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and the Czech Republic began on 15th May, 2014.

The NASENI boss stated that the Delta-2 Programme was yet another manifestation of NASENI’s commitment to fulfilling its mandate of transforming Nigeria’s technology and innovation landscape, through sustained focus on its 3Cs principles of Collaboration, Creation and Commercialization.

“Ultimately, our goal is not just to produce prototypes and models, but to ensure that the outcomes of the partnership are taken to the market; that they are available commercially for consumers and end-users to benefit from, knowing that the real value of technology lies in market usefulness and application.

“Our vision in the new NASENI that we are building is to create values and to be relevant in the market” he said

The EVC/CEO reiterated that for every single kobo that NASENI will invest into this phase of the Delta-2 program, to develop new projects and products, the Agency will realize almost six naira (N6) in commercial returns, in addition to job creation opportunities, capacity building and technology transfer.

“That is what NASENI stands for: leveraging technology and talent to deliver returns that benefit Nigeria on multiple levels,”. Halilu said

While congratulating the selected beneficiaries of the projects, the EVC urged them not to take this massive opportunity for granted as the funds would be deployed with a sense of service and responsibility.

In his remarks, Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer/Information Exchange, Mohammed Dahiru, said  the Delta 2 Programme was launched on 18th May, 2022

The Committee according to him received 285 proposals from various companies registered in Nigeria, adding that the proposals cut across the three focal areas of Agriculture, Mining and SMEs development.

Dahiru stated that the evaluation of the proposals was carried out diligently by members of the Assessment Committee who were selected from the Nigeria Academy of Science, Nigeria Academy of Engineering (as research experts) and the Nigeria-Czech Republic Trade and Investment Council (NCTIC), as the business experts.

The process according to him was well coordinated by experts in both fields of research and business and ably assisted by the PIC secretariat.

The criteria adopted for selecting the benefiting companies he said include: “”Understanding their organizational structures;  Assessing their human capital resource and key assets; Assessing their ability to manage the funds, as well as their readiness to execute the projects to achieve desired outputs; and ability to commercialize the outputs and project sustainability”

Dahiru also explained that the distribution of the beneficiaries of the awards spans across the country, having all zones represented, adding that “the funds are ready and we eagerly looking forward to starting implementation in January 2024.

“The funding of the projects is scheduled to last between 12 to 36 months. The outputs of the projects are expected to yield patents, pilot plants, proven technologies, software, certified methodologies, processes and specialized maps, and databases, among others.

“It is expected that the outcomes of the various projects will have a direct and immediate positive impact on the average Nigerian farmers, miners and MSME operators.

The resulting technologies from these collaborations will be transferred and domesticated in Nigeria through NASENI and other research institutions and private companies as planned”

The event was attended by other key stakeholders including the Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji; Chairman, Senate Committee on NASENI, Chief Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi; Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology, Alhaji Aminu Iya Abbas and the Chairman, House Committee on NASENI, Honourable Taofiq A. Abimbola, who reassured the Agency of better enabling laws and partnership for better productivity.

In a related development, NASENI also on Monday signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) for production license and establishment of Coal-based fertilizers Factory in Nigeria with PT Saputra Global Harvest.

The agreement with SAPUTRA covers three key areas according to NASENI Boss

These he said include  “Food Security as one of the priority area on the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led federal government

Others areas he said are : the supply of machinery and equipment that will enable us produce coal-based fertilizer for use in Nigeria; the capacity development component, which is the training of Nigerian personnel on the use and maintenance of these equipment; and the licensing that gives Nigeria the permission to produce the coal-based fertilizer according to the prevailing standards of quality already established by Saputra.

“The agreement is building on the initial MoU signed between NASENI and Saputra in September 2022, as part of steps to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Indonesia, while also supporting the development of Nigeria’s agricultural sector.