FG Approves $500m Innovation Fund, Targets 10,000 Nigerian Entrepreneurs.
The Federal Government has approved a $500 million fund to support research and innovation, with the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) targeting more than 10,000 entrepreneurs for support in the coming months.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of growing international recognition for Nigerian innovators, as eight entrepreneurs drawn from the country’s six geopolitical zones returned from the SEE Pakistan 2026 World Startup Championship with two international awards.
Nigeria won the Country Award for Growth and Innovation, while Nature’s Sleek Limited, an enterprise supported by the NBTI Technology Incubation Centre in Minna, won an individual award in the skincare and beauty products category.
The NBTI Director-General, Kazeem Raji, said the international recognition demonstrated that Nigerian entrepreneurs have the capacity to develop products and businesses capable of competing in the global innovation economy.
Raji disclosed that the $500 million research and innovation fund would be made accessible to qualified entrepreneurs through an application process once the implementation framework is finalised.
The NBTI chief also disclosed that the agency was collaborating with relevant authorities on trademark registration and intellectual property protection, aimed at helping entrepreneurs safeguard their innovations and products while positioning them for expansion into international markets.
The eight Nigerian awardees, who represented the country at the global championship, expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for providing them with the opportunity to showcase their innovations on an international platform.
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They encouraged other Nigerian innovators and entrepreneurs to develop their ideas, pursue opportunities and seek platforms through which their products and solutions could gain wider recognition.
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