Friday, November 7, 2025 - The Federal Government has disbursed a total of N200m in grants to 14 outstanding women engineers to scale up innovations addressing Nigeria’s most pressing development challenges.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Presidential
Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer and the National Agency for
Science and Engineering Infrastructure, marks the second phase of the
Developing Engineering Leadership and Technology – Her programme, launched to
tackle gender disparity in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
Speaking at the award ceremony held in Abuja on Thursday,
Chairman of PICTT, Dr Dahiru Mohammed, described the DELT-Her initiative as a
transformative step toward building a new generation of women leaders in
engineering and technology.
“DELT-Her was born from a national vision to rectify the
gender imbalance in STEM fields, fostering an environment where women can lead
groundbreaking innovations,” Mohammed said.
He explained that the programme had recorded remarkable
growth since its inception.
While the inaugural edition in 2024 empowered six female
engineers with N70.5m, the 2025 edition received 9,925 project proposals, a
massive leap from the 120 applications recorded last year.
“From this competitive pool, 14 remarkable female engineers
have emerged as this year’s awardees, receiving over ₦200m in grant funding to advance their innovative
projects,” he added.
The selected projects cut across agriculture, clean energy,
healthcare, mobility, digital security, and environmental sustainability, all
aimed at delivering real-life impact and advancing the nation’s technological
base.
Beyond funding innovators, the DELT-Her initiative has also
extended its reach to younger girls in secondary schools. Mohammed disclosed
that the programme had expanded its mentorship and grassroots engagement
component to encourage early interest in STEM careers among girls.
“In 2024, we mentored 30 schoolgirls in the FCT. This year,
we scaled significantly, reaching over 150 girls across Kwara, Niger, Plateau,
Nasarawa, and the FCT,” he said.
Through STEM bootcamps and the deployment of fabrication
kits, participants designed creative prototypes, including biodiesel production
technology and solar-powered power banks, a move Mohammed said was “inspiring
the next generation of innovators.”
In her address, the Project Coordinator of DELT-Her under
NASENI and PICTT, Olamide Apejoye, attributed the programme’s rapid growth to
increased awareness and support for female-led innovation.
“We had increased participation, from 150 applications last
year to 9,925 this year. The number of winners also grew from six to 14, while
funding rose from N17.5m to N228m across board,” she said.
Apejoye noted that the initiative was helping to bridge
gender gaps in Nigeria’s engineering and science sectors, historically
dominated by men, while also driving economic inclusion through
entrepreneurship.
“The more prototypes they create, the more startups emerge.
That means more jobs, more empowerment, and more economic growth,” she
explained.
She urged aspiring women scientists and engineers across the
country to prepare for the next round of applications.
“DELT-Her is here to support female engineers and scientists
across Nigeria. I encourage more women to take advantage of the next call for
applications,” she added.
The DELT-Her initiative was introduced in 2024 as part of the Federal Government’s strategy to boost technology transfer and local innovation capacity through PICTT and NASENI. It aligns with Nigeria’s National Science, Technology, and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR 2030), which prioritises inclusive participation in science and engineering fields.
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