Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Executive Secretary Sonny Echono has said that the recently-held TETFund National Research Fair/Exhibition aligns with its aspiration to use technology to spur national economic growth.
Echono, who made this known in Abuja on Monday, said the initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria’s economy through research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
The Fund, between November 18 and 21, held a tech fair which showcased research outcomes from TETFund’s beneficiary institutions and other innovations from private individuals, connecting them to industries for commercialization.
According to him, the expo was driven by three key realisations, which included that the most assured path for sustainable transformation of the nation’s economy was research and innovation.
He said: “It lies in harnessing our intellectual assets, converting those into products and services to address our national challenges, shortfalls, and also to exploit the opportunities that exist in various sectors of our economy.
“So, we believe strongly that research, development, innovation and entrepreneurship have a major role to play in transforming this economy from a consumptive to a productive one.”
Echono also said in spite of the significant investments in research over the years, many innovations had remained confined to bookshelves and academic papers.
He, therefore, noted that the expo sought to bridge the gap between research and marketable products by showcasing Nigerian-made inventions across various industries.
