UNILAG connects 362 to innovation marketplace
IN its efforts at empowering innovators and researchers in the country, the University of Lagos ( UNILAG), through its innovation to market ( I2M) project has connected 362 novel inventors to the market in its first year.
The I2M is meant to nurture innovations at various stages, by providing training, incubation, mentorship, advisory, funding, patenting company and tax registration and industry linkage needed to commercialise researches that solve societal problems.
The acting director of Innovation and Technical Management Office ( ITMO) of the university, Dr Abiodun Gbenga- Ilori, at the 2023 endof- year press conference to evaluate the progress made so far, and raise awareness for the year 2024, said the project partnered with facilitators drawn across academia and industry to develop training on various aspects of innovation and uploaded these on the learning management system of the ibank platform.
According to him, the onboarded innovators were to participate in a self- paced training on innovation and its nuances., and in the end, 362 of the 524 innovators completed the training.
“Completing the training was a prerequisite to receiving further support from the project. Innovators with promising innovation, who could convincingly show a viable plan for the market, were scheduled to pitch for resources from the project,” she said.
Gbenga- Ilori explained that the project, which is being funded by a grant from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO) through the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa ( RISA) to address three core challenges inhibiting innovation, including lack of training on how to innovate, lack of a support system for innovators, and lack of a clear pathway from innovation to market, received a grant of $ 352,682 from in 2023 to tackle the said challenges.
An elated Gbenga- Ilori disclosed that the funders have extended the grant for Project I2M from $ 352,682 to $ 748,722, for this year.
“The project has evolved into a multi- year intervention and the application process for this year has commenced,” she added. Resources provided to innovators included prototype funding, intellectual property ( IP) filing, company and tax registration, access to the incubator programme, and industry linkage towards commercialisation.
According to her, in the first year, 62 innovators received prototype funding; 67 intellectual property applications were filed, 50 start- ups were incubated, 40 start- ups filed with the corporate affairs commission, and 20 start- ups received seed grants of N850,000.00 each.
The Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, applauded the project, describing it as an initiative geared towards turning concepts into viable commercial ventures.
“This initiative aims to bridge the gap between innovation and commercialisation. Its primary objective is to provide innovators with the necessary resources, mentorship, and support to transform their ideas into market- ready products and services,” she said.
Ogunsola maintained that the key strength of the project is its holistic approach, which makes it consider the multifaceted nature of innovation, recognising that success requires more than just a brilliant idea.