They strengthen backward integration by developing local suppliers for components and machinery; build forward linkages through processing and branding to capture more of the final product value, and invest heavily in skills, standards, and innovation ecosystem that enable firms to move up the value chain. The strategy helps keep more value jobs and profits domestically while competing on technology and quality rather than just cost.

Nigeria for some decades has struggled to improve on its industrial outputs, but growth has been hampered by a single bottleneck: the gap between research and commercial production. Ideas are generated in labs and universities, but few make it to factories, markets, and the hands of Nigerian consumers.

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is closing that gap by building a complete value chain, from concept to prototype, from pilot production to market-ready products that industries can adopt today.

From Lab Bench to Factory Floor

NASENI’s mandate goes beyond research. The Agency operates a network of Development Institutes and advanced manufacturing centres designed to translate research into tangible products. At the heart of this system is reverse engineering and technology adaptation as well as commercialisation.

Instead of waiting for imported equipment, NASENI’s engineers dissect foreign technologies, redesign them for Nigerian operating conditions, and prepare them for local manufacturing.

This approach has already produced working models in renewable energy, agriculture, transportation, and capital goods.

The goal is simple: reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports, cut foreign exchange drain, and create products that are cheaper to buy, easier to maintain and built for local use and create jobs for Nigerians.

The R&D to Market Pipeline

NASENI’s process follows a deliberate 5-stage pipeline that private sector partners can plug into at any point. They are as follow:

1. Research & Adaptation

NASENI identifies high-demand capital goods products that Nigeria imports heavily. Engineers adapt designs using locally available materials and skills. These capital goods products cut across the key sectors of the economy.

They include Multi-grain Thresher, Rice Milling and Destoning Machines, Solar-powered Irrigation Pump, Oil Extraction System/Oil Expeller, Solar Water Dispensers, Home Solar Energy units, Energy Street Lights, Lithium Batteries, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, Electric Tricycles, NASENI Laptops, Tablets, and many more.

2. Prototype Development & Testing

Prototypes are built and tested in NASENI’s laboratories for durability, efficiency, and compliance with Nigerian standards. Testing reduces risk for partners who want to licence the technology.

3. Pilot Production

Small-batch production validates cost, quality, and scalability. This is where NASENI de-risks the investment for industry. Stakeholders can inspect pilot lines, assess quality, and negotiate licencing before committing to large-scale production.

4. Technology Transfer & Licencing

NASENI offers licencing agreements, joint ventures, and technical support to qualified partners. This means industries can start manufacturing NASENI-developed products without building R&D departments from scratch.

5. Market Deployment & After-sales Support

Through partnerships with distributors, cooperatives, and state governments, NASENI products reach end-users. The Agency also provides training for maintenance and troubleshooting, protecting the partner’s brand reputation.

Where Industry Gains

The value for stakeholders is in speed, cost, and reduced risk.

Speed to Market: A partner licencing a NASENI design bypasses 2–4 years of independent R&D. Production can begin once licencing and training are completed.

Cost Savings: Products adapted for local materials and labour cut import costs by 30%–60% in sectors like solar components, agricultural machinery, and electrical equipment.

Data point to source: Comparative cost analysis of NASENI solar panels and imported equivalents are available at the NASENI Energy Directorate.

Risk Reduction: NASENI absorbs early-stage R&D risk. Partners enter at the pilot or licencing stage with proven prototypes and technical documentation.

Local Content Compliance: Products developed under NASENI meet Nigerian local content requirements, making them eligible for government procurement and preferential treatment in public projects.

Real Products, Real Impact

Several NASENI technologies have passed through the licencing stage. Examples include Solar Irrigation Pumps designed for smallholder farmers, Electric Tricycles for urban transport, and Transformer components for the power sector.

Each product comes with a technical package: design files, bill of materials, supplier list, and training manual. For industries, this means immediate opportunities.

An agricultural equipment dealer can licence a NASENI Thresher and begin assembly in-house. A renewable energy firm can integrate NASENI’s solar components into its existing projects at lower cost.

A manufacturing small and medium enterprise (SME) can use NASENI’s CNC and machining centres to produce parts without buying expensive equipment. There are a number of active licencing agreements, SMEs trainings, and jobs created through NASENI technology transfer programmes from 2023–2026.

The Infrastructure Advantage

Nigeria, NASENI operates advanced manufacturing centres equipped with CNC machines, 3D printers, metrology labs, and testing rigs.

Partners can use these facilities on a fee-for-service basis, avoiding millions in capital expenditure.

This shared infrastructure model is critical for SMEs and mid-sized firms that want to move up the value chain but lack the capital for heavy equipment. It also ensures quality control, as all licenced products are tested against NASENI’s standards before market release.

Partnership Model: How It Works

NASENI’s engagement with industry is structured for clarity and mutual benefit. NASENI assesses technical fit and readiness. The following are how it works.

Agreement & Training: Licencing terms are agreed, and partner staff receives hands-on training.

Production & Rollout: Partner begins production with ongoing technical support from NASENI.

Market Feedback Loop: NASENI collects user feedback to improve future iterations. The model is designed to be flexible. Partnerships range from single-product licencing to joint ventures for large-scale manufacturing plants.

Call to Action:

Nigeria’s industrial transformation will not come from imports alone. It will come from Nigerian companies producing Nigerian solutions, using Nigerian talents and infrastructure.

NASENI invites manufacturers, investors, distributors, and state governments to partner in building this value chain. If you operate in agriculture, energy, transportation, or manufacturing, there is a NASENI technology ready for adoption.

For existing or new partner of the Agency, the following steps are available: Review NASENI’s current technology catalogue on the Agency’s website and at zonal offices; Request a technical briefing and factory tour to assess production readiness; Engage NASENI’s Investment and Partnership Directorate to discuss licencing, joint venture (JV) and co-production terms; and Join upcoming NASENI Industry Stakeholder Forums for direct access to engineers and project managers.

NASENI is currently playing a critical role through its indigenous technologies in building Nigeria’s industrial value chain.  The infrastructure is in place.

The designs are tested. The market is waiting. The next step is for industry to step in, scale production, and make “Made-in-Nigeria” the standard.

The gathering brought together the top 50 of Simba’s channel partners from across the country, underscoring the strong bonds that have defined the journey of Simba and Luminous in Nigeria.

The event was met with resounding success, as channel partners and industry stakeholders welcomed the new products with enthusiasm. Attendees highlighted Luminous’s pioneering role in shaping Nigeria’s inverter industry, alongside Simba Group’s unmatched strength in nationwide distribution and after-sales service infrastructure, as the foundation on which this next chapter is being built.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Vinay Grover, group managing director of Simba Group in Nigeria, emphasized the changing energy needs of Nigerian households and businesses: “Nigerians need power solutions that are not just reliable, but also intelligent – capable of supporting modern lifestyles, from home offices to family entertainment. Our new lithium and inverter systems are designed precisely for this. They represent a smarter investment in uninterrupted living and peace of mind.”

Simba Group executives also underlined how solar and lithium technologies are reshaping the global energy landscape and opening new opportunities in Nigeria for energy independence, reliability, and cost efficiency.

The newly launched products reflect Luminous’s continued focus on innovation and tailoring solutions for regional requirements, while leveraging Simba’s longstanding reputation for trust, reach, and dependable service. Together, the companies reaffirm their commitment to delivering sustainable, high-quality, and future-ready energy solutions for Nigerian homes and businesses.

Simba Group is a leading Nigerian conglomerate with interests across diverse sectors, including mobility, power, communications, and customer experience.

With a commitment to innovation, service, and trust, Simba has built a reputation for bringing world-class products and solutions to the Nigerian market. Luminous Power Technologies is a global leader in power backup, storage, and solar solutions.

With a strong focus on innovation and sustainability, the company delivers cutting-edge products – from inverters and batteries to solar applications – that meet the evolving energy needs of millions of homes and businesses across emerging and developed markets.

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) is calling on investors to collaborate with the Agency in local production and domestication of Lithium batteries among other renewable energy solutions.

Dr. Bashir Gwandu, the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI speaking today in Abuja said the Agency was ready to partner with international companies that are willing to set up their industries in Nigeria and start local production of renewable energy solutions, electric vehicles parts and other capital goods that could create jobs and reduce Nigeria dependence on foreign goods that exert pressure on our foreign exchange for the country.

Dr Gwandu who disclosed this while receiving a business delegation from LEMI Technology Shenzhen, China at NASENI headquarters said that “NASENI is already doing a lot in the area of Solar Panel Production”.

He says very soon NASENI will attract solar cell manufacturing to improve synergy with its existing work on solar panel assembly. 

He said the Agency has held meetings with other companies from around the world with a view to seeking partnership on local production of lithium-based end-products in Nigeria as against the normal practice of foreign companies exporting the raw materials outside the country for processing.

According to him, taking some of the visions of NASENI forward, which is domestication of technologies, capital goods production and commercialization in Nigeria, NASENI would help bridge the technological gaps between Nigeria and other countries, help stop importation of these technologies and encourage local production.

He also said NASENI will be working with the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to encourage development and production of electric vehicles and even conversion of existing vehicles to electric-vehicles as against producing from scratch.

In that same regard, NASENI is also in discussion with various stakeholders on promotion of the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on major roads across the country.

“So, we are inviting friends of Nigeria to come here and establish here. We are encouraging those who can come and produce locally. We will give them support and ensure that the investment environment is encouraging,” he said.

The NASENI EVC hoped that this call is an opportunity to partners who want to produce in Nigeria to do so. The Federal Government, he disclosed, “would welcome any company who gets to us first”, adding that on the production of Lithium batteries, the Agency was ready to go into partnership with companies that are willing to establish their factories in Nigeria.

 Dr. Gwandu suggested that NASENI and LEMI Technology should work out the areas of possible collaborations in the production of the lithium battery and ensure that all the safety and environment regulations are followed.

 While emphasizing NASENI’s priority area to be the production of lithium battery and inverters, Dr Gwandu expressed delight in working out a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LEMI Technology with a view to ensuring safest means of producing the lithium-based batteries, taking into cognizance Nigeria environmental peculiarities. 

The founder of LEMI Technology, Ms. Joyce Chen in her speech said the company is ready to partner with NASENI and invest in the country, promising that they look forward to a rewarding relationship with NASENI and the Nigerian government. Other members of the delegation include the Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Rocky Hu; Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Biju Yao; Oversea Business Director, Ms. Monica Liang and Engineer Mr. Lucia Peng.

Giving details of the visit, the Chief Executive Officer of LEMI Technology Mr. Xie Feng expressed his company’s willingness to partner with NASENI through MoU on renewable energy with particular reference to products like solar and television panels, inverters and battery production.

He said Nigeria and China have a brotherhood that spans many years, adding that Nigeria with its teeming population, it is critical for investment opportunities. Mr. Feng added that LEMI Technology has been operating in the Nigerian market since 2018 and had provided job opportunities to Nigerians and have sold renewable energy products to over 200,000 Nigerian households.

NASENI is the Nigerian only purpose-built Agency with specific mandate in the area of capital goods research, production, and reverse engineering in the following broad areas: Engineering Materials, Industrial and Analytical Chemical Materials, Scientific Equipment and components, Engineering Equipment, Engineering Designs and Standardization, and Power Equipment.

On resumption of duty, one of the projects embarked upon by the EVC of NASENI amongst many others was to summon some of the key exporters of Lithium from within Nigeria and advised them to start thinking of inviting their offtakers in different parts of the world who manufacture lithium batteries to start planning to come and invest in the end-product production in Nigeria.

He encouraged them to take advantage of the discussion and harness the first mover-advantage because those who come to invest will be assisted by NASENI through promotion of government policy to limit export of all types of lithium except what Nigeria cannot process to an end-product.

He emphasized that Nigeria cannot continue to export raw lithium if other countries such as Zimbabwe have gone to the extent of lithium processing. He stated that Nigeria should be at the fore-front of battery production since it has all the relevant raw materials including Phosphate.

He stated that in any area where NASENI can attract manufacturers be it in renewables or other areas such as aerospace industries, any company that can come to Nigeria and process the raw elements into end-product will be supported by NASENI. Companies invited for earlier discussion on the Lithium included suppliers to CATL and LEMI of China.

Today the EVC received the first delegation from LEMI of China to start conversation on the local production of various types of lithium batteries and other products in the photovoltaics value chain.