InnovateNaija: Fueling Local Innovation Movement

A Nationwide Initiative to Empower Nigerian Innovators

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has launched a bold initiative called InnovateNaija, a nationwide innovation challenge that offers a total of ?250 million in funding. The goal is to identify and support young Nigerian innovators who are working on creative solutions to local challenges. This program aims to spark excitement and online engagement by encouraging participants to showcase their inventions or ideas through video submissions.

The competition will provide not only financial support but also mentorship and exposure to innovators across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The overall winner will receive ?100 million to scale their solution, making it one of the most significant prizes in Nigeria’s innovation landscape. The challenge is designed to ignite creativity and generate vibrant energy within the country's innovation ecosystem, using social media to create a dynamic movement that celebrates local talent and ingenuity.

A Movement to Ignite Innovation

"We are not just unveiling a competition, we are igniting a movement," said Khalil Suleiman Halilu, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI. He emphasized that this initiative is about finding stories like that of a young man from Kano who built a low-cost water purification system from everyday materials. "This is a movement that empowers, funds, and accelerates Nigerian ingenuity," he added.

For many years, Nigerian innovators have faced significant obstacles, including inadequate funding, lack of mentorship, poor infrastructure, and limited platforms to showcase their work. Many promising ideas never progressed beyond sketches or prototypes. Halilu, one of the country's youngest appointees to head a federal agency, sees InnovateNaija as a crucial step in breaking this cycle.

Structure and Vision of the Challenge

Backed by the Presidency and supported by AfriLabs, Africa's largest network of innovation hubs, the challenge is set to become Nigeria's largest showcase of homegrown products in science, engineering, and manufacturing. The structure of the competition is as ambitious as its vision.

In the first phase, 36 innovators, one from each state and the FCT, will be selected through a blend of public voting and expert review. Each will receive ?2.5 million to advance their ideas. The second phase will culminate in the NASENI Invention Fest in Abuja in February 2026, where the top 15 innovators will pitch to a jury of experts and stakeholders. The ultimate winner will walk away with ?100 million to scale their solution. By design, InnovateNaija decentralizes opportunity, ensuring that no state is left behind.

Addressing Economic Challenges Through Innovation

Nigeria faces immense economic challenges, including fluctuating oil revenues, currency volatility, unemployment, and a fragile industrial base. For Halilu, these challenges are not deterrents but springboards. During a panel session at GITEX on The Neo-Geo Politics of Tech, he argued that Nigeria holds unique competitive advantages such as its youthful population, a vast domestic market, cheap labor, and abundant raw materials.

"With these factors combined, Nigeria is the next attraction for global investment," he said. "We must localize what is practical, diversify supplies, and push government institutions to enforce standards and provide incentives, because incentives drive industrialization."

Halilu believes innovation is no longer optional; it is a survival strategy in a world where geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions, and tariff wars threaten smaller economies the most. For him, InnovateNaija is about more than prizes; it is about building an ecosystem that sustains itself.

The NASENI Innovation Hub

Parallel to the competition is the unveiling of the NASENI Innovation Hub, a facility designed to bridge the gap between raw ideas and market-ready products. Here, innovators will receive mentorship, technical capacity-building, and access to infrastructure that most could never afford on their own. The hub, Halilu explained, is about transforming innovators into entrepreneurs.

"Our Innovation Hub is designed to strengthen research and development with a clear focus on advancing Nigeria's technological capabilities and promoting homegrown solutions, not just for Nigeria, but for all of Africa," he said.

A Pan-African Vision

While rooted in Nigeria, InnovateNaija's ambition is continental. Halilu insists innovation should not stop at borders. "When a Nigerian innovator builds a solar solution, it should be scaled in Ghana, Kenya, and beyond. When a Kenyan builds a health-tech breakthrough, it should find partners in Lagos and Abuja," he said.

This pan-African orientation explains why NASENI partnered with AfriLabs, which connects over 400 hubs across Africa. The goal is to ensure that Nigerian-made solutions find pathways across the continent, while Nigeria also benefits from innovations developed elsewhere.

Government and Investor Roles

For many investors, the Nigerian market carries risks of policy inconsistency, infrastructure gaps, and foreign exchange volatility. Halilu acknowledges these concerns but argues that government must take the lead in de-risking innovation. "There is a growing global interest in Nigeria," he said at GITEX. "It is government's role to de-risk, and it is the entrepreneur's responsibility to build."

This approach aligns with the broader push by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration to diversify the economy beyond oil and embrace industrialization. That InnovateNaija was unveiled at GITEX is itself significant. Traditionally held in Dubai, GITEX is one of the world's largest technology exhibitions, showcasing cutting-edge innovations and attracting global investors. By bringing GITEX to Lagos, Nigeria has placed itself squarely on the global innovation map.

A New Era for Nigerian Innovation

For a nation often dismissed as a consumer of foreign technology, InnovateNaija offers a radical reimagining: Nigeria as a hub of creators, inventors, and exporters of solutions. If sustained, the challenge could redefine the country's innovation landscape, providing young Nigerians with the platform and resources to solve pressing local problems while also contributing to Africa's collective advancement.

"Together, let us ignite innovation, empower our youth, and build a future where Nigeria and Africa are not just consumers of technology, but creators and exporters of solutions. This is InnovateNaija. This is our movement. And together, we will make history."