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By Michael Ajayi
The National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) says it has unlocked a proposed investment and development-finance pipeline exceeding 600 million dollars through international partnerships.
The Director-General of NBTI, Dr Kazeem Raji, said during a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja that the achievement was recorded at the NextGen Innovation Challenge 2026.
Raji said the London summit showcased 298 Nigerian innovators representing the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to him, it marked an expansion from 105 participating innovators in the previous year, highlighting rising national talent.
Raji explained that the financial portfolio consisted two distinct strategic international agreements.
“The first component involves a proposed 500 million dollar solar-energy partnership with Gigawatt Global for Nigerian tertiary institutions.
“The second component features a 100 million dollar financing Memorandum of Understanding signed with Cambridge Investors,” he said.
Raji said that the secondary financing directly supported the President Bola Tinubu Light Initiative, targeting one million micro and small businesses nationwide.
He further said that the international support included grants for women innovators, foreign acceleration programmes and leadership scholarships.
“Our message is straightforward: Nigeria’s innovators deserve visibility, our enterprises deserve opportunities to grow and our technologies deserve pathways to the marketplace.
“We are presenting a national innovation story, a portfolio of emerging investment, and a practical pathway towards economic prosperity.
“Our responsibility is to help move these opportunities from announcements and frameworks towards bankable projects, transparent implementation, and verifiable results,” he said.
The D-G urged private sector investors and development partners to deepen their engagement with Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.(NAN)
Edited by Uche Anunne
English (US) ·