Ndubuisi Orji
The federal government has said that the absence of venture capitalists in the country is militating against the commercialisation of research findings.
The Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday.
However, he stated that the government is determined to ensure that the citizens benefit from researches conducted with public funds.
Onu, who spoke at a 2021 budget defence session with the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology told the lawmakers that the government has done a lot to ensure that research findings are beneficial to Nigerians.
He explained that there are currently 2150 products in the markets, which are a fallout of research findings.
According to him, “In the area of commercialisation, one problem we have in the country is that we don’t have venture capitalist Many of you lived abroad and you know that most of the country that has done very well they have venture capitalists.
“These are people who are waiting for research results. They are willing to take the risk. Take the results of researches and commercialise them. But in our country, we don’t have them and we badly need them. But we have done a lot. We have 2150 products coming out from research that is in the market place.”
Onu added that the government has also instituted an annual Science competition to reward secondary school students, who excel in science and innovation.