The director-general of the National Board for Technology Incubation, Kazeem Raji, says the Next Generation Challenge 2026 will entrench Nigeria as Africa’s Innovation Powerhouse.

Mr Raji disclosed this at an event to mark his one year in òffice on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to him, with boot camps in Abuja, the NextGen 2026 will officially kick off in February and a Grand Finale in London.

“The NEXTGEN Innovation Challenge 2026 stands as a national development catalyst. It will prioritise high-impact, future-defining innovation sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics, advanced semiconductors and digital infrastructure and software, applications, and advanced design.

“Others are telecommunications (6G and AI integration), green and renewable energy, climate resilience and flood detection, safety, surveillance, and tracking technologies, and women in tech and gender-inclusive innovation,” Mr Raji said.

He further explained that the overarching strategic goals for the NEXTGEN 2026 are to mobilise significant capital and foreign direct investment for Nigeria and emerging-market innovators.

He also added that it would position Nigeria and partner countries as credible sources of global innovations, strengthen international innovation diplomacy through London, Doha, and North American engagement.

“It will move innovators from prototype to market, not just pitch stages and institutionalise NextGen as a year-round innovation and investment platform,” said Mr Raji.

He explained that modalities were in place to ensure that everyone with new innovations across the 774 local governments in Nigeria was carried along.

Reeling out his achievements over the past year in office, Raji said the agency faced some challenges when he assumed office on Jan. 20, 2025.

“Yet, we chose purpose over paralysis, and reform over resignation and abandonment. The most historic achievement of this first year is the statutory allocation of four per cent of the National Development Levy to NBTI, secured under the Tax Reform Acts 2025.

“This is a watershed moment. The achievement reflects strategic leadership, effective executive-legislative collaboration and purposeful policy advocacy. NBTI has undergone deliberate institutional renewal, staff welfare and capacity development.

”It has re-emerged as a connector of ecosystems, forging partnerships across government, academia, industry, and the international community. These partnerships span the United Kingdom, Canada, the USA, Germany, Singapore, China, Qatar, Azerbaijan, and multilateral platforms. These have opened pathways for funding, mentorship, intellectual property protection, and global market access,” Mr Raji said.

On global visibility, he said the NextGen model was formally adopted by the Commonwealth across 56 countries and was recognised by Innovate UK.

Mr Raji also commended the strategic partnership between NBTI and UKALD, London, whose leadership, professionalism, and shared vision were instrumental to the success of NextGen Innovation Challenge 2025.

The NBTI boss thanked President Bola Tinubu, the sci-tech minister, the National Assembly, and other stakeholders who facilitated the successes recorded in the NextGen Innovation Challenge.  

(NAN)