The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has signed an agreement worth $21.7 million with eleven firms in Nigeria as beneficiaries for the commencement of the Delta-2 Projects, being the outcome of the bilateral collaboration between the federal government of Nigeria and the Czech Republic.

The Nigerian beneficiary companies are expected to come up with various products and services to be injected into the Nigeria economy.

The Delta-2 programme is being implemented by the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer/Information Exchange (PICTT), NASENI as implementing Agency for Nigeria, working in partnership with the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TA CR).

Speaking at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday, December 18, 2023,  the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the Delta-2 programme, which was launched in 2022, was designed with the aim of funding and enabling research, development and innovation projects in Agriculture, Mining, and General Manufacturing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Halilu said with $21.7 million set aside to finance the selected projects, TA CR will contribute $11.7 million, while NASENI will contribute $10 million as a counterpart fund, adding that the bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and the Czech Republic began on May 15, 2014.

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He stressed that the Delta-2 programme was another manifestation of NASENI’s commitment to fulfilling its mandate of transforming Nigeria’s technology and innovation landscape, through sustained focus on its 3Cs principles of Collaboration, Creation and Commercialization.

The EVC/CEO reiterated that for every money that NASENI invests into this phase of the Delta-2 programme, to develop new projects and products, the agency will realise almost swum amount in commercial returns, in addition to job creation opportunities, capacity building, and technology transfer.

“That is what NASENI stands for; leveraging technology and talent to deliver returns that benefit Nigeria on multiple levels,” Halilu said while congratulating the selected beneficiaries of the projects and urged them not to take the opportunity for granted, noting that the funds would be deployed with a sense of service and responsibility.

On his part, the Chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee (PIC) on Technology Transfer/Information Exchange on Delta-2 Projects, Dr Dahiru Mohammed, said the programme was launched on May 18, 2022, with 285 proposals received from various companies registered in Nigeria.

He stated that the evaluation of the proposals was carried out diligently by members of the Assessment Committee who, he said, were selected from the Nigerian Academy of Science, Nigerian Academy of Engineering (as research experts) and the Nigeria-Czech Republic Trade and Investment Council (NCTIC).

In a related development, NASENI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for production license for the establishment of Coal-based fertilizers in Nigeria with PT Saputra Global Harvest.

Halilu said: “Food Security is one of the priority areas on the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“The President is determined to build a Nigeria that is not only able to feed itself in an affordable manner, but also one that is able to produce surplus food for export.”

The Star