Kingsley Udeh, the science, tech and innovation minister, says the federal government is prioritising strategic STI development to strengthen Nigeria’s scientific capacity and position the country as a leading scientific hub in Africa.
Mr Udeh disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while receiving the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Kuo Sharper Centre Foundry Fellows in his office.
“Nigeria’s STI vision is bold and clear, our ambition to become one of the world’s leading scientific powers is enshrined in the National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy,” the minister said.
He noted that Nigeria was not short of inventions but faced challenges in translating research outcomes into market-ready solutions.
According to him, the ministry is strengthening the commercialisation pipeline for research and development results to bridge the persistent gap between research and the market.
To address this, Mr Udeh disclosed that the ministry was developing a national policy to commercialise research and development results, inventions and innovations.
He said the policy represents a shift from a supply-driven approach to a demand-led innovation ecosystem, supported by key legislative and policy instruments.
Among these, he cited Presidential Executive Order No. 5, which prioritises Nigerian professionals and locally developed technologies in public procurement and infrastructure projects.
“Central to this proposed policy is the Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development framework, which we describe as Nigeria’s Innovation Monetary Policy. For the first time, we will systematically measure our research and development investment, which currently stands at 0.16 per cent of GDP, based on World Bank estimates,” he said.
Mr Udeh added that the government was committed to meeting the African Union’s recommended target for research and development investment.
He further disclosed plans to launch a Commercialisation Fund to provide staged financing, from proof-of-concept to full-scale deployment, while revitalising the national network of technology incubation centres and innovation hubs.
The minister said his responsibilities spanned the broader STI ecosystem, stressing his intention to provide leadership and institutional support.
He assured that entrepreneurs in the innovation, science and technology space would receive not only financial backing but also access to partnerships, networks and market linkages.
Mr Udeh urged the Foundry Fellows to partner with Nigerian innovators through technology transfer, co-development and investment initiatives.
The executive director of the MIT Kuo Centre Foundry Fellows, Dina Sherif, said the visit was aimed at exposing the 2025–2026 cohort of Fellows to Nigeria’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.
She said the engagement would help the Fellows understand how leading Nigerian actors navigate growth, volatility and structural constraints in a dynamic business environment.

(NAN)