NBTI unveils NEXTGEN Innovation Challenge 2026 to scale Nigerian startups and connect innovators with global investors

The National Board for Technology Incubation, NBTI, has unveiled the NEXTGEN Innovation Challenge 2026, a national platform aimed at accelerating technology-driven entrepreneurship and attracting global investment to Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem.

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The announcement was made at a world press conference in Abuja on Thursday, February 27, 2026, by NBTI Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kazeem Kolawole Raji.

Dr. Raji described NEXTGEN 2026 as “a national development catalyst and a global innovation diplomacy platform,” designed not as a competition but as a structured framework to move innovators from laboratories to livelihoods, prototypes to products, and ideas to commercial success.

The programme will connect Nigerian innovators with investors, development finance institutions, governments, multilateral agencies, and private sector partners.

Innovation boot camps are set to commence in Abuja, while the grand finale is scheduled for October 2026 at the ExCeL Centre in the United Kingdom.

Additional international showcases are planned for Doha, Qatar, and London.

Raji highlighted that priority will be given to high-impact sectors including artificial intelligence and robotics, advanced semiconductors, telecommunications integrating 6G and AI, green and renewable energy, climate resilience systems, agri-tech, health-tech, edu-tech, women in tech, gender-inclusive innovation, and virtual reality and 3D manufacturing.

These focus areas align with Nigeria’s development priorities and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

“The programme is structured to unlock climate finance, attract foreign direct investment, and scale environmentally sustainable innovations,” Raji explained, emphasising the economic potential of Nigerian intellectual capital.

He further urged universities to prioritise the commercialisation of research and encouraged investors to provide structured capital to startups.

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The NBTI CEO also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration for the Nigeria First Policy and economic reforms, describing innovation as “the new oil” and a cornerstone of national development.