The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to commercialise 5,000 research outputs to accelerate Nigeria’s transition towards an innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy.

Speaking during the event, TETFund’s Executive Secretary Sonny Echono said the partnership directly supports President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Development Plan, the Nigeria Startup Act, and national digital and youth programmes, including the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Program (NJFP) and 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT).

Echono explained that the partnership aims to strengthen universities and polytechnics as engines of research commercialisation, entrepreneurship, job creation, and technological advancement.

The TETFund executive secretary said it would be implemented through the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme (NIDTPP), a joint platform for programming, co-investment, technical collaboration, and ecosystem coordination.

Under the MoU, he said, both institutions will focus on five strategic areas: institutionalising innovation across tertiary institutions, strengthening Nigeria’s human capital base for transformative innovation, accelerating research commercialisation and frontier technology adoption, scaling access to sustainable financing for innovation, and strengthening evidence, policy, governance, and impact systems.

Echono added that the agreement would support between 1,500 and 2,000 university-linked startups and equip over 500,000 students and researchers with digital and innovation skills.

He said: “This partnership strengthens TETFund’s mandate and expands our ability to deliver world-class innovation systems, research capacity, and job-creating ventures within Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape.”

The project aims to connect Nigerian universities to UNDP’s Timbuktoo pan-African innovation ecosystem.

Also, the UNDP Resident Representative, Ms. Elsie G. Attafuah, stated that the MoU would be followed by the rapid finalisation of a Programme and Joint Action Plan to be anchored in upcoming TETFund budget cycles, ensuring strong alignment between vision, financing, and implementation.

She said: “TETFund has been a cornerstone of Nigeria’s nation-building project. Its investments have strengthened infrastructure, expanded research, and enabled thousands of scholars to advance knowledge and national development.

“UNDP is honoured to partner with TETFund in this next phase – one that deliberately advances innovation, digital transformation, and the knowledge economy across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.”