By Uche Onyeali
Executive Vice Chairman, National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, Mr Khalil Halilu has highlighted the importance of internal endorsement and usage of the agency’s products to build market credibility and strengthen internal collaboration.
Halilu said the appeal came as a critical step towards increasing the adoption and success of the agency’s innovations in external markets.
This was contained in a statement signed and made available yesterday to AljazirahNigeria by the Director of Information, NASENI, Mr Olusegun Ayeoyenikan.
According to the statement, the directive is in line with the new policy unveiled at the weekend by the management of the agency that all its development institutes should henceforth, patronise themselves first, to ensure collaboration and enhance the drive toward full commercialisation of products and technologies from the agency, as “charity begins at home.”
“The policy approved by Halilu highlights the importance of internal endorsement and usage of the agency’s products to build market credibility and strengthen internal collaboration, which is a critical step toward increasing the adoption and success of NASENI’s innovations in external markets,” the statement said.
It recalled that “through an internal memo sent to all acting managing directors and overseeing officers of NASENI development institutes across the country, dated January 31, 2024, the new policy called for inter-institute patronage to support commercialization strategy .
“The directive is requesting the 11 development institutes with other emerging ones to patronise one another’s technologies, machines, equipment and innovations first as permitted by the procurement law, before such products are released to external markets.”
Halilu in the circular noted that the new commercialisation drive is aimed at enhancing inter-institute collaboration to support the commercialisation of innovations developed within NASENI’s institutes, foster patronage and strengthen the overall strategy of its products and solutions.
According to the statement, the new policy, which encourages active promotion, integration and utilisation of products developed within the NASENI ecosystem, will not only boost the internal confidence of the agency’s products, but also help to refine them through real-world applications before being introduced to external markets.
Some key components of the policy, it said, include, mandatory product integration, which requires all institutes to prioritise products developed within NASENI in their procurement plans, such as NASENI-branded laptops, especially in cases where procurement budgets allow. This initiative aims to create a consistent internal promotion of its innovations.
It also has internal pilots and testing, which entails that each institute will implement internal pilot programmes to test products in real-world settings, provide valuable feedback for further product refinement.
With the new policy, it is expected that stronger internal confidence is built to enhance internal usage and validation of products, making them more attractive for external markets, enhanced collaboration, foster a collaborative culture amongst institutes and facilitate support for one another’s innovations.
