The Minister of Innovation, Science and Innovation, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, has said that the federal government has given N47 million grants to 32 innovators and inventors across the six geo-political zones of the country.
Nnaji, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Esuabana Nko Asanye, said this at the 2023 Grants Award Ceremony of the Presidential Standing Committee on Inventions and Innovations (PSCII) in Abuja yesterday.
He further stated that more than 600 inventors and innovators had benefitted from the grants across the six geo-political zones of the country since the inception of the PSCII programme 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.
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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.
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