By Ngozi Nwankwo
Nigeria is set to showcase between 400 and 500 research-driven innovations with the potential to generate businesses, create jobs and boost economic prosperity at the 2026 Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, National Research Fair and Exhibition.
The Chairman of the organising committee, Engr. Umar Bindir, disclosed this during the committee’s meeting on Thursday in Abuja.
Bindir said the exhibition, scheduled for November 24 to 27 in Abuja, was designed to move research outputs beyond academic publications and laboratories into the marketplace, where they could be transformed into commercially viable products and services.
He explained that the initiative was part of TETFund’s efforts to make research more relevant to Nigeria’s economic development by connecting innovators with investors, industries, business development institutions and intellectual property experts.
According to him, the committee received between 4,000 and 5,000 applications from universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, research institutions, private inventors and other innovators across the country.
He said only innovations that had attained a reasonable level of development and demonstrated practical potential were selected for exhibition.
“We have gotten an average of 350 to 400 nationwide from everywhere,” Bindir said, adding that the screening process was intended to identify research outputs capable of progressing towards commercialisation.
