The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have entered a new partnership aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s shift toward an innovation-led, knowledge-driven economy. The MoU places universities and polytechnics at the core of Africa’s growing digital and innovation landscape.
Under the agreement, new innovation hubs will be created and existing ones strengthened, transforming tertiary institutions into centres for research commercialisation, entrepreneurship, job creation, and technological advancement. Over the five-year implementation period, the partnership plans to train more than 500,000 students and researchers in digital and innovation skills, support as many as 2,000 university-linked startups, and commercialise 5,000 research outputs.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Abuja, UNDP Resident Representative, Mrs. Elsie Attafuah, described the collaboration as a “defining moment” for Nigeria’s innovation journey. She noted that the MoU followed months of joint consultation, resulting in the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme designed to reposition tertiary institutions as engines of growth, creativity, and competitiveness.
Attafuah highlighted early achievements, including the Emerging Mining Tech Unipod at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and the Artificial Intelligence Unipod at the University of Lagos—state-of-the-art facilities focused on mineral value addition, advanced geoscience, clean energy solutions, AI applications and next-generation skills development. She explained that these hubs form part of the first cohort of innovation ports across universities and a polytechnic, stretching from Borno to Benue and Abia to Akwa Ibom.
She described the Unipods as “purpose-built innovation engines” designed to fast-track the journey from research to market, connect innovators with industry players and investors, and transform campuses into full innovation ecosystems capable of producing jobs, enterprises and enhanced national competitiveness.
According to her, the partnership draws strength from TETFund’s nationwide reach and UNDP’s continental innovation infrastructure, including the renowned Timbuktu Pan-African Innovation Initiative. She praised TETFund’s long-standing role in strengthening Nigeria’s tertiary education system and expressed UNDP’s commitment to driving digital transformation and a knowledge-based economy.
TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, also described the signing as a “momentous day,” aligning with the Fund’s mission to modernise curriculum delivery and equip youths with future-ready skills. He noted that Nigeria’s demographic trajectory places the country in a position to supply much of the global workforce in coming decades—making it essential to prepare young people for emerging opportunities.
Echono revealed that TETFund has tripled its allocation for innovation hubs in the 2025 intervention cycle and is working to integrate the facilities directly into academic programmes and national development priorities. He added that partnering with an organisation like UNDP will strengthen programme design, improve learning outcomes and boost the impact of innovation hubs across campuses.
A joint statement signed by UNDP’s Public Engagement Lead, Ms. Christabel Chanda Ginsberg, and TETFund’s Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr. Abdulmumin Oniyangi, reaffirmed the organisations’ commitment to empowering institutions, nurturing innovators and turning ideas into enterprises capable of generating jobs and prosperity.
They noted that Nigeria is entering a critical decade where digital capability, innovation systems and knowledge infrastructure will determine economic competitiveness. The partnership, built on years of investment in research and academic talent, aims to transform Nigeria’s tertiary institutions into hubs for frontier technology adoption and inclusive economic growth.
The initiative will be implemented through the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme (NIDTPP), a joint platform for co-investment, technical collaboration and ecosystem coordination. Both institutions will work across five strategic areas, including institutionalising innovation, strengthening human capital, accelerating research commercialisation, expanding access to financing and improving policy and governance systems.
Under the MoU, TETFund and UNDP plan to activate eight university innovation pods and one polytechnic pod, upgrade more than nine innovation facilities, establish up to 20 Technology Transfer Offices, train over 500,000 students and researchers, and support as many as 2,000 startups linked to universities, while commercialising thousands of research outputs.
