Nigeria’s research and innovation potential remains largely untapped because of weak links between universities, research institutions and industry, limiting the country’s ability to turn scientific discoveries into commercially viable products, according to a book review by Tinuke Temitope, Deputy Director-General of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
In a review of From Laboratory to Marketplace: Bridging Industry and Academia for Innovation-Led Development, with Lessons for Nigeria and Africa, authored by Adesoji Adesugba, Founder and Chairman of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Entrepreneurship, Skills and Technology (BEST) Centre, Temitope identifies poor technology transfer, uncertain ownership of inventions, inadequate financing and weak industrial capacity as major barriers preventing Nigerian research from reaching the marketplace.
The review argues that although Nigerian universities and research institutes produce thousands of academic papers, theses and prototypes annually, the country continues to import machinery, medicines, processed foods and technologies that local researchers could potentially develop.
Temitope notes that the disconnect between research and commercial application reflects deeper institutional problems, including academic promotion systems that reward publications rather than practical use, weak intermediaries between researchers and businesses, and fragmented responsibilities for commercializing inventions.
Adesugba’s book examines how other countries have built stronger links between academia and industry, drawing lessons from the United States, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Brazil, Morocco and Ethiopia.
According to the review, the book assesses how Nigeria could adapt aspects of these models to strengthen its innovation system while accounting for local institutional and economic realities.
The Nigerian experience receives particular attention, with the book examining the country’s research funding, patent systems, institutional frameworks and policies affecting technology commercialization.
One of the examples highlighted is the proposal to transform the University of Abuja into a knowledge-based free zone. The initiative, which emerged while Adesugba was head of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), reportedly failed to progress despite encountering no opposition because no institution assumed responsibility for the final decision.
The review also examines Niprisan, a sickle-cell medicine developed from traditional knowledge by the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development. The case illustrates how a Nigerian innovation can struggle to achieve commercial success without a capable industrial partner, although a subsequent licensing arrangement offered a route to revive it.
Other initiatives discussed include the TETFund National Research Fair, the TETFund/Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) partnership, and GenMRI software, which the review identifies as a 2026 Nigeria Prize-winning innovation designed to accelerate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
The book also highlights a refinery catalyst developed at Ahmadu Bello University using Nigerian kaolin, identifying the Dangote refinery as a potential first customer.
Temitope says the cases demonstrate that developing an invention is only one stage of the innovation process, with commercial success also requiring appropriate financing, industrial partnerships, effective intellectual property arrangements and access to markets.
The review notes that Adesugba proposes a range of practical interventions, including university intellectual property policies, invention disclosure procedures, licensing frameworks, technology valuation methods and a financing facility designed to support innovations through the high-risk stages between research and commercial production.
The book also proposes a national network of research-to-commercialisation hubs modelled on Brazil’s EMBRAPII approach, under which public funders, industries and universities share the costs of research projects.
A proposed ten-year implementation road map outlines reforms, lead institutions, timelines, indicative costs and potential risks. It also provides alternative measures that could be implemented under existing laws and institutions if the proposed National Research and Development Fund is delayed.
Beyond financing and institutional reforms, the review emphasises the importance of building the human capacity required to commercialise research. These include placing graduates in companies, training professional technology transfer personnel and providing researchers with protected time to conduct research.
However, Temitope acknowledges that limited and sometimes outdated data on Nigerian research outcomes constrain assessments of the country’s innovation performance.
She also notes that the proposed reforms depend partly on sustained political commitment and funding arrangements that have yet to be fully established.
Despite these limitations, the reviewer describes From Laboratory to Marketplace as a comprehensive and practical examination of the gap between Nigerian research and enterprise, arguing that its recommendations could help policymakers, university leaders, investors and industrialists strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.
