FG Gives N47m Grants To 32 Tech Inventors, Innovators

• Over 600 inventors and innovators had benefited from the grants across the country’s six geopolitical zones

Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Innovation, announced that the federal government has awarded N47 million in grants to 32 innovators and inventors across the country’s six geopolitical zones.

Nnaji, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Esuabana Nko Asanye, made the statement at the Presidential Standing Committee on Inventions and Innovations (PSCII) 2023 Grants Award Ceremony in Abuja yesterday.

He went on to say that over 600 inventors and innovators had benefited from the grants across the country’s six geopolitical zones since the PSCII program began in 2005.

He also said that collaboration with the private sector would facilitate the achievement of the desired goal of the programme by providing a solid foundation for technological breakthrough, as well as improve the socio-economic development of Nigeria.

In the same vein, Nnaji stated that global competitiveness would contribute to job and wealth creation, improved wellbeing and quality of life of Nigerians.

To this end, the minister urged the beneficiaries to utilise the grants judiciously and encouraged them to work hard in order to surmount the challenges of unemployment and poverty in the country.

The Permanent Secretary, Mrs Asanye, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Technology Acquisition and Adaptation (TAA), Azuftama Dahiru, while stating that the grants ranged from N1m to N5m to each awardee, added that the programme was to encourage Nigerians, particularly those in the informal sector that had viable technological ideas capable of impacting positively on the citizenry and the economy.

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Dr Patricia Uche Chukwu, said that invention and innovation advancement ensured great technological progress which assured efficient production, prosperity and economic growth of any country.