Despite being ranked 50th in the world among countries with research paper publications, Nigeria is said to have ranked poorly in the number of innovations stemming from these research papers.
According to the Acting Director of the Innovation and Technology Management Office (ITMO) in the university of lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, Abiodun Gbenga-Ilori, A total of 13,282 research papers were published in Nigeria in 2020, ranking 50th globally based on the figure.
However, Ms Gbenga-Ilori said that only 300 out of 13,282 research papers led to successful innovations.
He said that in Ghana, Nigeria’s neighboring West African country, where only 4,189 research papers were published in the same period, more than 300 innovations were registered.
Ms. Gbenga-Ilori made the disclosures at UNILAG on Thursday at the launch of an initiative tagged: Project Innovation to Market (I2M).
About I2M
Described as a support system to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem in Nigeria, the project, according to university chancellor Folasade Ogunsola, aims to address the challenges of innovations and the translation of research papers in Nigeria.
She said: “Despite the abundance of brilliant ideas, many innovators face significant hurdles when it comes to turning their concepts into viable commercial ventures. And that’s where Project Innovation to Market comes in. This initiative recognizes the challenges that exist and also recognizes the immense potential of innovative ideas and we seek to bridge that gap between innovation and commercialization.”
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Folashade Ogunsola
Ms Ogunsola, Professor of Medical Microbiology, said I2M’s primary goal is to provide innovators and researchers with the resources, mentoring and support needed to transform their ideas into market-market products and services, “and It will help identify buyers early.” .”
She said the project is a pioneering initiative funded by UKAID’s Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) to bridge the knowledge gap in Nigeria by providing resources on how to innovate and translate research results to the market.
Speaking about the aim of the project, Ms. Gbenga-Ilori, who is also a team leader, highlighted the identified factors that stand in the way of turning research into innovation in Nigeria, including “lack of proper knowledge on how to innovate; limited access to capital for prototyping; inadequate access to laboratory machinery and equipment; slow protection of intellectual property and limited market access and industrial linkages”.
She said the project aims to foster innovations at various stages, providing training, incubation, mentoring, consultancy, financing, patents and company registrations, and taxes.
“I2M is an initiative for all Nigerian innovators, not limited to the UNILAG community, and we will be collaborating with research institutions across the country. We also have industry experts that we plan to collaborate with to serve as mentors to our participants across the country,” he said.
Funder, others talk
In her welcome speech, UNILAG Deputy Vice Chancellor for Development Services Ayodele Atsenuwa said that innovation and research are the hallmarks that universities are known for and are important ways to address unemployment.
He said the I2M project is one of the first ITMO activities of the university to win a funding opportunity from RISA through a competitive process.
Speaking about the initiative, RISA Country Manager Alice Omisore said the aim is to bridge the gap “between research institutions and innovators through funding and technical support for many organizations that focus on providing capacity development. for the research and innovation ecosystem. ”
Also speaking, Leane Jones, West Africa research and innovation team leader at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), praised the university for the initiative.
She said: “The project is exciting as it brings together key stakeholders from a wide range of organizations critical to supporting innovation across the country, including universities, polytechnic research institutions, innovation hubs, industry, entrepreneurs and policy makers, putting Share ideas and resources.
“Combining ideas and resources more formally into a research, funding, and training database repository for all stakeholders will create opportunities for an ever-growing policy chain of advocacy for innovation and the fundraising needed to translate. innovation research”.
Meanwhile, National Universities Commission (NUC) Director of Skills Development and Entrepreneurship Ladan Ashafa, who represented the agency’s Executive Secretary Abubakar Rasheed, praised RISA for the funding.
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) West Africa research and innovation team leader Leane Jones
Mr. Ashafa said that collaboration must be properly considered in the operation of the project, describing it as the future of innovation.
Expected result, sustainability
Speaking about the expected result and the sustainability plan of the project, the project team leader said that within the first year, the initiative will take care of the formation of a working consortium.
Ms. Gbenga-Ilori said that other expected results include the creation of the iBank software platform, the onboarding and training of 800 innovators, 100 industry-licensed innovations, 20 incubated start-ups and a co-working space to be used by innovators.
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He noted that 600 of the 800 innovators have already been onboarded, adding that 225 supported Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) have been created, and that he will ensure the provision of a minimum of 80 IP protection request fields.
He added that the goal is for, after the first year, the university’s ITMO to leverage its partnerships to secure more project funding for sustainability.
The project’s director of innovation, David Alozie, said the project team looks forward to collaborating with private investors and industry to identify their interests in innovations for targeting and funding.
He said there is a portal for registration and for investors to check the works of the participants.
Nigeria Innovation system
The launch of the I2M Project also featured a panel session on how to strengthen Nigeria’s Innovation Ecosystem.
The panel session featured the Founder of Future Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji; the Executive Director of the Destino Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi; Google Nigeria Country Director Juliet Ehimuan; the pioneering Head of UNILAG’s Innovation Unit, Hakeem Amuda; the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, Teju Abisoye; and Ground Breakers Founder Ian Barker, who joined virtually.
Mr. Aboyeji acknowledged that the Internet has created many opportunities, but Nigeria needs to do more by creating space for innovations that will gain momentum globally.
He stressed the need to optimize human potential and rethink the market for more viable opportunities.