By Luminous Jannamike
The National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) has taken 298 Nigerian innovators from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to London to attract global investment, commercialise homegrown technologies and create jobs.
The 2026 NextGen Innovation Challenge brought the innovators before international investors and potential business partners, nearly tripling the 105 participants at the previous edition.
The NBTI Director-General said the initiative was aimed at turning indigenous ideas into viable businesses and supporting Nigeria’s ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“A one-trillion-dollar economy cannot be built by government alone. It must be built by Nigerians who innovate, Nigerians who manufacture, Nigerians who invest,” he said.
The Director-General said the programme’s success would depend on whether innovators could move beyond showcasing their ideas to securing investment and building sustainable enterprises.
“Today is a celebration, but tomorrow is the real test,” he said.
In a keynote address delivered on behalf of Nigeria’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ambassador Aminu Dalhatu, Ambassador Abu Obey Eche said London offered a platform to connect Nigerian innovators with international capital and business opportunities.
“Diplomacy today must go beyond governments speaking to governments. It must also connect businesses to markets, innovators to investors, researchers to institutions, and Nigerian opportunities to global capital,” Eche said.
He urged Nigerians in the diaspora to support entrepreneurs at home with their expertise, resources and international business networks, while advocating wider collaboration with other Commonwealth countries.
Investor Ms. Erin Grover expressed interest in backing at least one of the women entrepreneurs she met at the showcase.
“I think there are some inspiring women here especially who I’ve been able to speak with today, and I definitely hope to invest in at least one of them coming out of this event,” she said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Mukhtar Muhammad, pledged increased support for the initiative and proposed state-level platforms to identify promising innovators.
“If there is a problem in the society and you identify that problem and you try to solve it, you are making more impact to the society than someone who is doing several degrees in university,” Muhammad said.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in the United Kingdom and Executive Director of UKALD, Hon. Tunde Doherty, urged investors to explore the commercial potential of Nigerian innovations.
The initiative’s ultimate test will be whether the London showcase produces tangible results: investment deals, thriving businesses and jobs for Nigerians.
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