Samuel Bello, Abuja
The Federal Government has given a sum of N43.5 million to 121 indigenous scientists as grant to boost commercialisation of inventions and innovations.
Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while announcing the names of awardees for Presidential Standing Committee on Inventions and Innovations (PSCII) grants.
According to him, after 590 applications were received across all the six geo-political zones of the country, following an advertisement made in some national dailies, last year, the technical sub-committee thereafter selected a total of 121 inventors and investors.
It would be recalled that over N70 million was given last year to some selected investors and inventors under the same PSCII programme.
“In total, N43,500,000 will be given as award grants to these 121 inventors and innovators who have shown exceptional ingenuity.
Onu explained further that the awardees were grouped into three categories, where 24 awardees in the first category would receive N500,000 while N300,000 to N400,000 will be meant for those in second category.
He added that the awardees in the third category has 43 numbers of awardees with an award grant between N200,000 and N250,000 per awardee.
In his address, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bitrus Bako, congratulated the selected beneficiaries of the grant and advised that they utilise the grant judiciously in order to make an impact on their various innovations that will lead to commercialization of their products.