By Olasunkanmi Onifade
Chemists have been urged to develop marketable products from their research to address societal challenges, create jobs and drive economic growth.
Dr Eniang Nkang, Chairman, 2026 Chemists Business Roundtable, made the call in his welcome remarks at a business roundtable on Wednesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Business Roundtable Discussion on Financing Chemical Innovations: Strategies for Startups and Entrepreneurial Growth was held as part of the 49th Annual International Conference of the Chemical Society of Nigeria (CSN).
Nkang said the forum was introduced to promote entrepreneurship among chemists and bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and commercialisation.
He said critical stakeholders, including the Bank of Industry, World Bank, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), SMEDAN and government representatives, were brought together to explore financing and other support for chemical innovations.
Nkang said the forum would also expose chemists to the experiences of practitioners who had successfully moved their ideas from the laboratory to the market.
The former CSN president urged chemists not to allow innovative ideas to remain at the ideation stage but to take practical steps towards developing and commercialising them.
“You may not get it right at first, but start, learn from the process and continue improving,” he said.
Mr Tijanee AbdulGafaar, Chairman, Industrial and Entrepreneurship Committee, CSN, also urged chemists to adopt a growth mindset to commercialise research and turn scientific ideas into viable businesses.
AbdulGafaar, who is also an industrialist, said chemistry offered numerous business opportunities because it was integral to virtually every aspect of life.
He urged chemists to identify societal problems and develop products that provided practical solutions rather than limiting their work to research.
“Much of our mindset is fixed, and this prevents us from moving our research from the laboratory into industry and entrepreneurship.
“We need to move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. This will help us change our perspective, commercialise our research and turn it into products that provide solutions to societal problems,” he said.
AbdulGafaar advised young chemists to start businesses with available resources and gradually expand as they grew.
He identified access to affordable finance as a major challenge for start-ups, warning that high-interest loans could undermine businesses with low profit margins.
“When you want to run a business, you have to consider your profit margin. If the interest on a loan is higher than your profit margin, the business will not grow.
“It is better to access grants than high-interest loans,” he said.
In an interview with NAN, Mrs Oyebola Olugbemi, Chief Executive Officer, Royale Cleaning Solutions Ltd., said chemistry could support job creation by encouraging young Nigerians to develop products addressing environmental and other societal challenges.
Olugbemi said young people could receive training, work in groups and begin production on a small scale before expanding their businesses.
She identified access to finance as a major challenge, urging entrepreneurs to develop viable products capable of attracting grants and other funding.
“Where there are challenges such as water or air pollution, there are different products that can be developed to address these problems,” she said.
Also, Mrs Edith Ihegwuagu, an Agricultural Chemist and Chief Executive Officer, Nedci Consultancy and Mushroom Farm, said inadequate water supply and electricity for drying mushrooms were among challenges affecting her business.
Ihegwuagu said low awareness of the nutritional and commercial value of mushrooms was another challenge.
She said she had trained about 150 cooperative members through Next Mushroom and more than 50 others in mushroom farming.
She added that she was collaborating with organisations on mushroom production and training.
Ihegwuagu appealed for grants, land and other support to establish a warehouse where people could access mushroom production facilities and develop sustainable livelihoods.(NAN)
Edited by Tosin Kolade