Jessica Dogo
Prof. Peter Onwualu, President, African University of Science and Technology (AUST), says plans are underway to support winners of the summit’s pitch sessions to commercialise their ideas and bring them to market.
Onwualu said this on Wednesday night in Abuja at the awards and dinner to wrap up the 3-day 2026 Innovation and Investment (AfricaX) Summit.
The programme was themed: “Reshaping the Future of Africa through Innovation, Investment, and Collaboration”.
According to the Onwualu, the summit markes the first step in a broader chain of activities aimed at nurturing innovation across Africa.
He explained that the next phase would involve working closely with the winners to develop their ideas, many of which already exist as minimum viable products.
“The summit is only a step one in a whole chain of activities we have lined up. During the summit, we had pitch sessions and awards are being presented to winners.
“The next stage is to link these innovators to venture capital firms, government agencies and development banks we are already engaging with.
“This will give them access to finance and help them take their products to the market,” he said.
Speaking on the theme of the summit, Onwualu said it was designed to inspire a new generation of African innovators to focused on solving real-life challenges.
“The goal is to encourage the next generation of innovators in Africa to develop solutions across key sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and manufacturing,” he said.
On measures to ensure that innovations did not remain theoretical, he revealed plans to establish a digital platform to connect innovators with potential investors and industry players.
“We are creating a web portal where all these innovations will be showcased.
“The same platform will also host investors, entrepreneurs and industrialists.
“This will enable matchmaking between innovators and investors, leading to funding opportunities and eventual market entry for these products,” he said.
He said that the long-term objective of the initiative was to ensure a steady pipeline of market-ready innovations emerging from Africa annually.
“Our end target is that every year, a number of innovations from across Africa will successfully enter the market,” he said.
In her remarks, Mrs Chinwe Okoli, Special Adviser to Anambra State Governor on Innovation and Business Incubation, reiterated the state’s commitment to empowering young people through innovation.
Okoli said that the initiative would unlock economic opportunities and drive sustainable growth in the country.
She said the state government was expanding access to digital training by supporting innovation hubs across communities, including partnerships with private organisations and institutions.
She said the training programmes, offered free of charge, were designed to equip the state’s residents with skills for global competitiveness and entrepreneurship. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Uche Anunne
