National Innovation
Capacity Study

This is a landmark diagnostic initiative commissioned by the Ministry of Education and TETFund under the Research, Innovation and Commercialisation Committee (RICC). Its purpose is to produce Nigeria's first comprehensive evidence-based map of the country's innovation financing architecture — documenting who funds what, at what stage, through what mechanisms, and with what outcomes.

Nigeria faces a critical structural challenge in innovation funding. While statutory funds concentrate heavily on basic research (TRL 1–3), and private capital primarily enters at the market-ready stage (TRL 7–9), the critical middle stages persist without structured support. This gap — encompassing prototype development, laboratory validation, and pilot testing (TRL 4–6) — is chronically underfunded and widely known as the Valley of Death. This study exists precisely to quantify this gap and lay the required groundwork for the National Innovation Commercialisation Fund (NICF), establishing the coordinated National Policy and Framework that will drive sustainable national socioeconomic growth and development.

Your participation directly shapes this outcome. The institutional data you provide will inform policy design, direct public investment allocation, and structure Nigeria's innovation financing framework for the next decade. Findings will be presented directly to RICC Subcommittees, the Federal Executive Council, and key international development partners.