The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has called for the urgent commercialisation of research findings in Nigeria, stressing that transforming locally developed innovations into marketable products and services is critical to creating jobs, boosting local manufacturing, and accelerating economic growth.
Echono made the call on Friday in Abuja while inaugurating the committee for the 2026 National Research Fair and Exhibition, where he also announced plans to expand the event into a national innovation platform that will attract researchers, inventors, investors, entrepreneurs, and industry stakeholders from across the country and beyond.
He said Nigeria possesses enormous intellectual resources that must be effectively harnessed to address the nation’s developmental challenges and stimulate sustainable economic growth.
According to him, TETFund is repositioning the National Research Fair and Exhibition to become Nigeria’s premier innovation platform where research institutions, technology developers, entrepreneurs, and investors can collaborate to commercialise home-grown technologies.
“Nigeria is richly endowed with intellectual assets. If we can effectively harness these resources and deploy them across different sectors of the economy, promote local manufacturing, create jobs, and generate wealth along various value chains, we will be on the right path toward national development and prosperity,” Echono said.
He explained that the decision to broaden participation in the 2026 exhibition followed the success of the maiden edition held in November 2024, which showcased groundbreaking research from Nigerian tertiary institutions and facilitated partnerships between researchers and industry players.
According to him, the inaugural exhibition produced several innovations that have already entered the Nigerian market, contributing to entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.
He expressed optimism that the event had already begun stimulating job creation through the commercialisation of research outputs.
Echono disclosed that the newly inaugurated committee has been expanded to include representatives from the organised private sector, innovation hubs, relevant government ministries, the Nigerian military, the Association of Nigerian Inventors, community-based inventors, and other strategic stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and ensure wider national participation.
He said the committee's primary responsibility is to identify, compile, and showcase viable research and development outputs while creating opportunities for innovators to connect with angel investors, venture capitalists, intellectual property specialists, technology licensing experts, and entrepreneurs.
According to him, the committee is expected to foster partnerships that will facilitate the commercialisation of Nigerian innovations for both local and international markets.
He further revealed that the committee will develop a comprehensive national database of research outputs from universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, and research institutes across the country while selecting innovations to be showcased during the exhibition later this year.
Echono also announced that the 2026 National Research Fair and Exhibition will feature an international conference expected to attract researchers, innovation experts, and investors from across Africa and other parts of the world.
In a major policy shift aimed at promoting inclusiveness, he disclosed that participation will no longer be restricted to institutions benefiting from TETFund interventions.
He explained that any Nigerian with an innovative product, service, invention, or technology would be eligible to submit entries for consideration.
The TETFund Executive Secretary also encouraged participants from the maiden exhibition to return with upgraded technologies and newly developed innovations to demonstrate the progress made since the inaugural event.
He expressed hope that the exhibition would evolve into Nigeria's leading platform for showcasing inventions, research breakthroughs, and technological innovations capable of transforming the country's economy.
Responding on behalf of the committee, its Chairman, Engr. Umar Bindir, commended Echono for expanding the committee's membership to include researchers, policymakers, inventors, and industry leaders, describing the inclusive approach as an innovation in itself.
Bindir assured TETFund of the committee's commitment to organising a successful exhibition that would strengthen collaboration between researchers and industry while promoting the commercialisation of innovative solutions.
He pledged that members of the committee would work diligently to achieve the objectives outlined by the Fund.
Earlier, TETFund Director of Research and Development and Centres of Excellence, Suleiman Zwingina, said the Fund has supported numerous research projects that have produced promising technologies and prototypes now requiring commercialisation.
He explained that the National Research Fair and Exhibition was established to provide a platform where research outputs could attract investors, manufacturers, policymakers, and industry partners capable of transforming innovations into commercially viable products and services that address Nigeria's developmental needs.
The National Research Fair and Exhibition remains one of TETFund's flagship initiatives designed to bridge the gap between academic research and industry by promoting the commercialisation of innovations developed within Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Its maiden edition, held in November 2024, featured hundreds of research products and facilitated strategic partnerships between researchers, manufacturers, entrepreneurs, and investors, laying the foundation for a stronger innovation-driven economy.
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