The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Dr. Kazeem Kolawole Raji, has said that the reform agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is repositioning Nigeria toward a knowledge-based economy anchored on innovation, intellectual capital and technological advancement.
Dr. Raji made this assertion in Abuja while officially unveiling the NEXTGEN Innovation Challenge 2026, a national platform designed to accelerate technology-driven entrepreneurship and attract global investment into Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.
Addressing journalists at a world press conference, he described NEXTGEN 2026 as a defining national platform created to accelerate innovation, mobilise investment and position Nigeria as Africa’s undisputed innovation powerhouse.
He stressed that the initiative is not merely a competition, but a national development catalyst and a strategic global innovation diplomacy platform.
Commending President Tinubu’s economic reforms and the “Nigeria First Policy,” Raji noted that innovation has now been repositioned as a central pillar of national development.
According to him, the President’s conviction that innovation is the new oil has fundamentally redefined Nigeria’s development architecture, placing the country on a strategic path toward a knowledge-driven economy powered by technology and research.
Organised by NBTI in partnership with UK-based consultancy firm UKALD, NEXTGEN 2026 aims to connect Nigerian innovators with global investors, development finance institutions, governments, multilateral agencies and private sector partners.
Raji disclosed that innovation boot camps will commence in Abuja, while the grand finale is scheduled for October 2026 at ExCeL London in the United Kingdom.
He explained that the programme is structured to move innovators “from laboratories to livelihoods, from prototypes to products, and from ideas to commercial success.”
He added that NEXTGEN 2026 will feature international editions in Doha, Qatar, targeting Middle East investors and sovereign wealth funds, as well as in London, United Kingdom, which will serve as the global flagship showcase.
The NBTI boss further stated that the challenge will prioritise high-impact sectors such as artificial intelligence and robotics, advanced semiconductors, telecommunications with 6G and AI integration, green and renewable energy, climate resilience and flood detection systems, agri-tech, health-tech, edu-tech, women in tech and gender-inclusive innovation, as well as virtual reality and 3D manufacturing.
He said these focus areas align with Nigeria’s national development priorities and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
NBTI also revealed that the initiative will deepen collaboration with global institutions including the Cambridge Centre of Alternative Finance, and the Commonwealth Investment Network. According to Raji, the programme is structured to unlock climate finance, attract Foreign Direct Investment and scale environmentally sustainable innovations.
Describing NEXTGEN as a matured global platform, he said it is designed to scale ideas, unlock capital and deliver tangible economic impact.
Dr. Raji urged Nigerian universities to prioritise the commercialisation of research, encouraged investors to provide structured capital to startups, and challenged young Nigerians to regard their ideas as strategic national assets capable of transforming the country’s economic future.
