Today, with the interministerial planning committee, we had the honour and privilege of addressing the Hon. Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology (FMIST), Chief Uche Geofrey Nnaji, along with our valued institutional Partner, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to formally apprise him of the preparatory activities for the 2025 Nigeria–Bangladesh Entrepreneurship and Innovation Boot Camp, which will be held from August 6 to 16, 2025, in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The five-year program targets Bangladesh and, progressively, other South-South destinations.
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD) was represented by Mr. Mike NGWAOGU -Ag. Director (EDI) informed the Hon Minister, whose team included the Director Generals of the Nigeria Energy Commission and National Board for Technology Incubation, respectively, and Special Advisers to the Hon. Minister. The FMYD informed the Hon. Minister that the Youth-Innovation-Science synergy is strategic to the Mandate of both Ministries, focused on the Youth Demographic and in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Federal Government program.
The NBBTF is profoundly grateful to Chief Uche Geofrey Nnaji for his institutional buy-in and approval of the Ministry’s strategic Agencies to participate and provide mentorship for post-camp winners and thus co-create the launchpad for a decade-long innovation diplomacy strategy.
We are encouraged by the Hon. Minister’s progressive leadership as supported by the FMIST, co-leadership and mentorship of youth innovators by your strategic Agencies will speak not just to the Ministry’s statutory mandate, but to a national dream of sustainable prosperity through science, technology and research.
Very special thanks to Dr. Roberts -SA/COS to the Hon. Minister and his team, Dr. Patrick Oghuma (Hon Minister’s Rep on the Interministerial Planning Committee) and his colleague SAs to the Hon Minister, the DD (EDI) DD Bilateral (FMYD), Mallam Mahmud and Mal. Abubakar. The indefatigable Team NBBTF cannot be forgotten here.Gratias, Lets achieve together!
Address by Arc. Roberts M. Achanya FiCENT, PhD, President, NBBTF during the Courtesy Visit to the Hon. Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, for Strategic Partnership & Support towards the 2025 Nigeria–Bangladesh Entrepreneurship and Innovation Boot Camp & Associated Activities at the Hon. Minister’s Conference Room, Federal Secretariat, Abuja. July 8, 2025.
Honorable Minister, Distinguished Officials of the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, my colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I bring you warm greetings on behalf of the Nigeria-Bangladesh Business and Technology Forum (NBBTF) and our institutional partners, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission -who together share a bold and strategic vision: to position Nigeria’s youth and diaspora talents as drivers of sustainable innovation, technology diplomacy, and economic transformation.
We are honoured to share insights on this catalytic international programme, the 2025 Nigeria–Bangladesh Youth-Diaspora Entrepreneurship and Innovation Boot Camp, which will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from August 6–16, 2025. The mission is not just another youth gathering; it is a diplomatic innovation mission, an export of Nigerian ingenuity and a tool to ignite science-based economic transformation.
Why We Are Here
Your ministry, FMIST, stands at the forefront of Nigeria’s innovation destiny. This initiative aligns profoundly with FMIST’s mandate to drive science, technology, and innovation (STI) for national development. The Boot Camp is your stage to:
- Accelerate technology transfer. Foster international collaboration in AI, biotech, agritech, medtech, fintech and digital transformation;
- Inspire agency-backed youth innovators to scale their inventions through exposure, mentorship and bilateral synergy.
We are seeking a synergy between FMIST, its agencies (NBTI, NOTAP, RMRDC, etc.), the youth and their Bangladeshi counterparts. This is not merely support; this is strategic co-leadership in reshaping Nigeria’s STI ecosystem for youth-driven development.
The Synergies We Envision
Hon. Minister and the Ministry’s co-delegation lead role
Agency Delegation & Technology Exchange:
Agencies like NBTI, NOTAP, NOTN, among others, will not only gain exposure to world-class innovation models in Bangladesh and Israel but can also initiate bilateral R&D partnerships, licensing exchanges, and joint ventures in frontier technologies.
- Youth Representation & Sponsorship:
We are profiling sector-ready youth innovators, including agency- nurtured talents, for sponsorship. We seek FMIST’s endorsement of four (4) such youths from each agency, especially those with working prototypes or patentable ideas.
- Technical Masterclasses & Knowledge Transfer: Your technocrats, experts and directors can serve as resource persons, mentors or jury during the Hackathon and Startup Pitch Sessions.
- Institutional Recognition & Visibility: FMIST will be spotlighted across bilateral media, policy dialogues, and youth-diplomacy forums as a key driver of Nigeria’s South- South science diplomacy.
Our Shared Outcomes
1) South-South technology transfer models that are adaptable to Nigeria’s rural and peri-urban economies;
2) Strengthened diaspora-anchored innovation pipelines;
3) Practical inputs into the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR);
4) Global branding of FMIST as a continental anchor of youth-STI diplomacy.
We are confident that this programme is another launchpad for STI-backed prosperity, entrepreneurship-led diplomacy, and youth-powered exports.
Let us partner for Nigeria’s future.
Thank you.
