The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has unveiled a new strategy tagged 3Cs: Collaboration, Creation, and Commercialisation to promote made-in-Nigeria products and strengthen the local manufacturing sector.
The disclosure was made on Tuesday during a Focus Group Meeting with stakeholders in Dutse, Jigawa State.
Dr Abdulfatai Ambali, Head of Manufacturing Services at the Hydraulic Equipment Development Institute (HEDI), a division of NASENI, explained the rationale behind the initiative while addressing industrialists, local manufacturers, and technology innovators present at the meeting.
According to Ambali, the 3Cs framework is designed to harness local talent, scale innovation, and drive market adoption of indigenous products.
“This meeting was basically based on made-in-Nigeria products because by our mandate, we are to develop home-based technology for the country, and we now have what we call 3Cs, which is collaboration, creation and commercialisation,” he said.
Supporting local innovation
He noted that under the Collaboration pillar, NASENI engages with individuals, institutions, and academia to translate university research into practical solutions for the country.
“Most of these research works by our students are just kept in our universities, so we are trying through collaboration to ensure that such ideas come to life to benefit Nigerians,” he said.
The Creation pillar, he explained, focuses on skills development and innovation support for Nigerian youth and local manufacturers, while the Commercialisation pillar ensures these innovations are introduced into the market and meet global standards.
Laments of low patronage
Ambali stressed that the agency was dissatisfied with the low level of patronage for Nigerian-made products and was working to change public perception and adoption.
“We are making sure that these products are up to standard. At NASENI, we have various departments looking into the quality of products. We are collaborating to ensure that these products compete globally,” he said.
He added that promoting local patronage is essential to achieving economic self-reliance and reducing import dependency.
“NASENI will make sure that these products have the same standard with those being imported into the country. The whole idea is to stop such importation so that we rely on our own products,” he added.
Mrs Fatima Ibrahim, a local manufacturer, commended the initiative and called for increased support for local businesses to boost production capacity.
Muhammad Ibrahim, another participant, described the forum as a critical step in increasing local production and product domestication.
