The National Board for Technology Incubation has announced a proposed investment and development-finance pipeline exceeding $600 million aimed at supporting Nigerian innovators, with the bulk earmarked for solar energy projects, following the participation of 298 innovators at an international challenge in London.
Director-General Dr Kazeem Kolawole Raji disclosed the figures at a world press conference in Abuja on Wednesday. The package includes a $500 million solar-energy programme targeted at universities and polytechnics and a $100 million financing arrangement for the Tinubu Light Initiative. The funds have not been confirmed as received or fully mobilised.
The announcements followed the NextGen Innovation Challenge 2026, held in London on 9 October in partnership with UKALD. Participation rose sharply from 105 innovators in 2025 to 298 this year, drawing contestants from all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Entries covered agriculture, healthcare, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.
Raji said the event gave Nigerian technologies an international platform and connected innovators with investors and commercial partners. “Our innovators have demonstrated that Nigeria has ideas worthy of international attention. Our responsibility is to help create the conditions in which those ideas can grow, compete and deliver lasting value to our people,” he stated.
Talks with Gigawatt Global centred on developing solar farms at tertiary institutions under power purchase agreements. A memorandum of understanding with Financial Innovation for Impact UK, also known as Cambridge Investors, covers the proposed $100 million for the Tinubu Light Initiative. That programme seeks to equip one million micro and small businesses with solar solutions, create 50,000 direct youth jobs and train 10,000 field marketers, with ₦30 billion in blended financing targeted for its first phase.
Additional outcomes included a $100,000 investment commitment from Dubai-based investor Erin Grover for three women innovators and acceleration opportunities valued at $160,000 for 16 selected participants. The Learning and Development Bureau UK offered leadership and management scholarships worth more than £80,000 in total to the same group and pledged support with UK Global Talent Visa applications, subject to eligibility.
Raji emphasised that the priority now is converting these openings into viable businesses, jobs and measurable economic benefits. He called on investors and development partners to back Nigerian innovators with funding, mentorship and market access, stressing the need to move “from visibility to implementation, from promising concepts to commercially viable solutions, and from announcements to independently verifiable outcomes.”
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