The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has launched NASENI Xceler8, a three-month virtual accelerator designed to help Nigerian science and engineering innovators turn working products into commercial ventures.

Under the initiative unveiled on Monday in Abuja, 25 post-MVP innovators will receive up to $25,000 in programme support, expert world class mentorship and direct access to investors over three months.

Speaking at the launch of the initiative , Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said that the programme would help to addresses a persistent gap in Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem, where technically strong prototypes frequently stall before reaching the market.

Halilu noted that for too long, the country has measured innovation by the number of ideas generated, research papers published, prototypes developed or laboratories established stressing that though these are important achievements, they are only part of the journey as the real test of innovation is what happens after the laboratory.

He said, ” Can that idea become a product? Can that product solve a real problem? Can it reach the people who need it? Can it create jobs, attract investment, compete in the market and ultimately improve lives? This is the question that must increasingly define Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem,.

Halilu who stated that Nigeria does not lack innovative minds, pointed out that across our universities, research institutions, technology communities, workshops and startups, Nigerians are developing solutions to some of the country’s most pressing challenges in agriculture, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, education and technology.

He argued that the challenge is moving these solutions from potential to performance, and from prototype to market adding that NASENI Xceler8 is designed to identify Nigerian science and engineering innovators who already beyond the idea stage and help them commercialize their solutions.

Halilu explained that the programme is a three-month virtual accelerator designed for post-MVP innovators, prov business skills, mentorship, technical support, market development connections and investment readiness.

He observed that the agency’s objective is want to help Nigerian innovators build businesses around Nigerian solutions, stressing that commercialization matters because innovation that remains on the shelf cannot fully deliver its economic or social value.

“When we commercialize local innovation, we create more than products. We create industries, jobs, intellectual property, investment opportunities and new pathways for economic growth. We also strengthen our ability to solve Nigerian problems with solutions designed for the Nigerian context. But commercialization requires more than a good product. It requires understanding the customer, validating the market, developing sustainable business models, building strong teams, understanding finance, attracting investment and knowing how to enter and scale in new markets. That is why Xceler8 goes beyond conventional training”.he added.

He explained that Xceler8 will select 25 post-MVP innovators from across Nigeria. Each cohort will receive up to $25k in programme support, structured capacity-building workshops, hands-on product development support and mentorship from expert practitioners who set and review milestones every week.
According to him, all sessions will run online, allowing innovators to participate from anywhere in the country.

“Nigeria does not have a shortage of brilliant engineers and scientists. What we have is a gap between the laboratory and the market. Xceler8 exists to close that gap. We are backing founders who have already built something real and already have paying customers, and we are giving them the business capability, the capital readiness and the networks to scale. This is what a Nigeria First innovation agenda looks like in practice.”

He disclosed that applications are open to Nigerian citizens aged 15 to 40 who reside in Nigeria and operate a registered Nigerian entity with evidence of at least five completed paid transactions.

According to NASENI, applicants must have a fully functional prototype or a live commercial product that solves a local problem within science, engineering or innovation. Idea-stage concepts are not eligible. Priority sectors include agrotech, renewable energy, fintech, edtech, healthtech and manufacturing.

“We deliberately designed Xceler8 for founders who are past the idea stage,” said Busola Beckley Perez-Folayan, Head of the NASENI Innovation Hub. “Every applicant must show real transactions and name a specific milestone they intend to hit during the program. That discipline is what makes the three months count, and it is why we expect this cohort to create jobs and attract investment well beyond Demo Day.”

The program targets 25 accelerated startups, at least 100 direct and indirect jobs created, five strategic partnerships and measurable improvement in participants’ commercial and investment readiness.

Also speaking AfriLabs Programmes Director, AfriLabs, Nanko Madu, observed that AfriLabs is the implementing partner that NASENI entrusted to design and deliver NASENI Xceler8, the programme adding that the firm is working with NASENI to transform Nigeria from a nation of innovators into a nation of industrial innovators, where science, technology, engineering, and local manufacturing drive economic growth, job creation, and national competitiveness.

She said , “Too often, groundbreaking inventions remain trapped in laboratories, workshops, and prototype stages. Too often, brilliant solutions never become sustainable businesses. Too often, products. with immense potential fail to reach the people who need them most. AfriLabs Innovation alone is not enough. Innovation must be commercialised, financed, manufactured, distributed, and scaled.

“That is the gap NASENI Xceler8 was created to close. NASENI Xceler8 is not designed for individuals with ideas alone0 It is built for innovators who have already demonstrated proof of concept, developed a minimum viable product or commercial solution, attracted early customers, and shown evidence that there is market demand for what they are building”.