The Nigerian Communications Communications (NCC) has spent N105 million to promote research and innovation on Information and Communications Technology in 13 Nigerian Universities, a document titled ‘2019: NCC’s Regulatory Feats’ has revealed.
The telecom regulator said it decided to make the funding available in keeping with its ongoing tradition of driving technology innovations for Nigeria’s economic growth and sustainability.
“In keeping with its ongoing tradition of driving technology innovations through funding relevant researches in tertiary institutions, the Commission decided to fund research and innovations in 2019,” the document noted.
The document disclosed that in May 2019, NCC announced N40 million endowment funds for Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). The fund will be utilized by the institutions to drive innovation, research and development in the digital space with an ongoing commitment to expand the list of benefiting institutions.
In June that same year, the Commission, again, demonstrated its determination to facilitate research and innovation in the telecom industry in Nigeria by presenting the sum of N65 million to eleven (11) universities in Nigeria for driving innovation, research and development.
Through the funding, the benefitting tertiary institutions are expected to deliver research results and prototypes that are implementable, commercially-viable and capable of engendering innovation in different sectors of the economy.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission has continued to support young innovators by showcasing their innovations at global telecoms fora such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecoms World.
The are also organizing a local competition for innovators to competitively encourage them to develop locally-relevant tech innovations that can help grow the economy.