As Nigeria intensifies efforts to build a knowledge-based economy, attention is turning to the role of research and innovation in driving national growth.
Within universities and research institutions, a gradual but deliberate transformation is taking shape, one that places research and innovation at the centre of national development priorities.
At the centre of that effort is TETFund’s National Research Fund, a programme designed to convert academic research into practical solutions for national development.
Through the National Research Fund (NRF), TETFund is investing billions of naira into research projects designed to tackle some of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges, from food insecurity and healthcare to energy, defence and industrial production.
The latest evidence of this commitment emerged with the announcement of the 2025 NRF Grant Cycle, in which TETFund approved 174 research grants worth N7.5 billion for researchers across the country’s tertiary institutions.
Announcing the outcome of the grant cycle in Abuja, TETFund Executive Secretary, Arch. Sonny Echono, described research and development as the foundation upon which modern economies are built.
According to him, Nigeria possesses enormous intellectual resources capable of driving national progress if properly harnessed.
“As you know, over the last four years, particularly with greater impetus from Mr President, we are focusing on research and development as the bedrock for our economic transformation and development.
“We believe strongly that if we can use the knowledge in our tertiary institutions and we can harness those intellectual talents and deploy them efficiently, we will be able to better utilise our natural resources, we’ll be able to create, innovate, and make new products and services to grow our economy, create jobs for the millions of our youths, and generally improve the standard of living of our people.”
For TETFund, the NRF is not merely an academic intervention. It is increasingly being positioned as a strategic tool for solving real-world problems and stimulating economic productivity.
The selection process itself shows that there is emphasis on quality and competitiveness. Researchers first submit concept notes, which undergo rigorous evaluation.
Successful applicants are then invited to submit full proposals before proceeding to oral defence sessions in Abuja.
“The concept notes were reviewed and they were followed by submissions of full proposals. Again, this went through a second stage of review and analysis. The shortlisted researchers were invited to Abuja, and they had to do oral presentations to defend their proposals,” Echono explained.
Following this process, 174 grants were approved across a wide range of thematic areas considered critical to national development.
The grants cover sectors including health and social welfare, agriculture and food security, science and engineering, power and energy, blue economy, defence technology, clean energy, education and human capital development, gender inclusion, and conflict and security studies.
Collectively, the projects attracted funding of N7.5 billion, with individual grants ranging from about N13.7 million to nearly N50 million.
The distribution of awards also revealed where some of Nigeria’s strongest research capacities currently reside.
The Federal University of Technology, Minna emerged as the top-performing institution with 18 successful grants. It was followed by the Federal University of Technol
ogy, Owerri with 11 grants, while Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria secured 10.
Others among the leading institutions included the University of Ilorin, Bayero University Kano, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, University of Jos, University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto.
Significantly, newly established institutions also secured grants, including the Federal University of Applied Sciences, Kachia; the Federal University of Environment and Technology, Ogoni; and the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin-Ekiti.
State-owned institutions, polytechnics and colleges of education were equally represented, underscoring TETFund’s effort to broaden participation beyond traditional research-intensive universities.
Echono further stated that the real success of the programme will not be measured by the number of grants awarded but by the solutions produced.
“Some of the crude and basic ways that we do things, we’ll find new ways and better ways of doing them. We’ll create new services and products that when people consume, they’ll be able to perform more optimally.
“That’s how we have shared prosperity, because as you stimulate effective demand, there is a need now to also employ more people, you create more wealth, because revenues go up, and as economies grow, it also creates more opportunities,” he said.
This vision mirrors the development trajectories of countries that transformed themselves through innovation-led growth.
On this note, Echono pointed to nations such as Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, India and China as examples of how sustained investment in research can alter a country’s economic fortunes.
“That is why we have put so much emphasis on research, and the results are beginning to show,” he noted.
Indeed, some of those results are already becoming visible.
Responding to questions on whether TETFund-supported research has yielded commercial outcomes, the Executive Secretary revealed that several innovations have progressed beyond laboratories and prototypes.
“We have the number of patents that have come from our researchers in the last two years, about 55 of them,” he disclosed.
Among the innovations cited are technologies for preserving perishable agricultural products, industrial-scale gari processing systems, water purification solutions, renewable energy devices and high-yield seed varieties capable of significantly increasing agricultural output.
One notable innovation is a hearing aid developed by Nigerian researchers which has attracted international attention and is now heading into manufacturing in the United States.
“The hearing aid is going into manufacturing in the US,” Echono said.
“It’s unfortunate that we couldn’t get a local manufacturer to do it to that specification, but the prospect is much higher in the US, and it is more suited to our own conditions,” the Executive Secretary said.
He added that the inventor retained significant ownership in the venture after receiving guidance from TETFund on intellectual property management.
The Fund is increasingly encouraging researchers to commercialise innovations strategically rather than surrendering ownership outright, according to Echono.
“We have included a counselling and guidance component for our researchers so that they should know that it is easier for you to retain some proprietary ownership.
“You can go into partnership, but always retain a percentage, so that as long as they are using that technology, you will be getting money,” he stated.
The challenge, according to him, has never been a shortage of ideas. Rather, it has been connecting researchers with industry, investors and manufacturers capable of taking innovations to scale.
“When you have proven your concept, when you have a prototype, how do we get someone to take it up and begin to produce it at scale?”
To address this gap, TETFund plans to host another National Research Fair in November, where researchers will showcase inventions and engage directly with investors, financial institutions, start-ups and manufacturers.
The initiative forms part of a broader strategy to create an innovation ecosystem where academic discoveries can move rapidly from laboratories to the marketplace.
The Fund has also created a database of Nigerian researchers and research outputs to facilitate access by potential investors and industry partners.
Beyond commercialisation, TETFund is equally focused on strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness in global research funding.
According to Echono, Nigerian researchers have already improved the country’s standing on the continent, saying that if Nigerian scholars in the diaspora can rank among the continent’s best researchers, there is no reason scholars at home cannot achieve similar success.
“We are supporting them by providing facilities, and we are encouraging them to be able to carry out those research. We are building partnerships to help them, to mentor them and to teach them how to win global competitive grants.”
