NASENI, PICTT award N229m grants to women engineers under DELT-Her 2.0 initiative

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), in partnership with the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT), has awarded N229 million in grant funding to 14 women engineers under the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her 2.0) initiative.

The grants were announced on Thursday at the NASENI headquarters in Abuja.

Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, said the programme is designed to help women transform innovative engineering concepts into practical solutions that address national challenges.

Halilu disclosed that the awardees were selected from a total of 9,925 project proposals, with innovations cutting across agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, mobility, digital security and environmental sustainability.

According to him, gender inclusion in science and technology is a strategic driver of growth, not a symbolic gesture.

“Every woman empowered through DELT-Her represents new capacity for the nation’s technology and manufacturing ecosystem, bringing unique perspectives that drive better designs, smarter products and more human-centred innovation,” he said.

He noted that while the first edition of the programme in 2024 supported six female engineers with N70.5 million, the 2025 edition recorded a significant increase in participation and outreach. He explained that the mentorship component of the programme expanded from 30 schoolgirls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) last year to over 150 girls across Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa and the FCT this year.

In his remarks, Chairman of PICTT, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru, praised the awardees for demonstrating resilience and creativity, saying their achievements highlight the vast potential of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on NASENI, Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi, reaffirmed the National Assembly’s support for initiatives that promote indigenous technology production, local content and gender inclusion.

“We believe that a nation that builds its technology builds its destiny, and a nation that empowers its women secures its future,” he said.

Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Udoka, also commended the initiative, stating that it aligns with the Federal Government’s broader agenda on industrial development, technological independence and national competitiveness.

Goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and several government agencies including PenCom, the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).