NASENI unveils $25,000 support for 25 Nigerian tech startups

September 1, 2026 by Juliana Agbo

NASENI unveils $25,000 support for 25 Nigerian tech startups

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI)has launched its Xceler8 Accelerator Programme, offering up to $25,000 in support to each of 25 Nigerian science, engineering and technology startups for a three-month acceleration cycle.

The applications opened yesterday and will run till September 30.

The programme, unveiled at a media parley in Abuja by the NASENI Innovation Hub, targets post-Minimum Viable Product (MVP) innovators, offering structured capacity-building, mentorship, product development support and access to investors, culminating in a physical Demo Day in Abuja.

NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said Nigeria had no shortage of brilliant engineers and scientists but lacked mechanisms to move innovations from the laboratory to the market.

“Xceler8 exists to close that gap,” he said, adding that the agency was backing founders with real products and paying customers.

Head, NASENI Innovation Hub, Busola Beckley Perez-Folayan, said the programme was designed for founders who’ve past the idea stage, with applicants required to show at least five completed paid transactions and name a specific milestone to hit during the programme.

NASENI said applicants must be Nigerian citizens aged 15 to 40, resident in Nigeria and running a registered Nigerian entity with a functional prototype or live commercial product.

Priority sectors include agricultural technology, renewable energy, fintech, edtech, healthtech and manufacturing. The agency said it expects the first cohort to create at least 100 direct and indirect jobs and record five strategic partnerships.

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