DELT-Her Initiative: NASENI Grants N70.5 million to Six Female Engineers

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), through the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT), has awarded a grant of N70.5 million to six female engineers.

This information was provided in a statement issued by NASENI’s Director of Information, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ayeoyenikan stated that the grants were awarded to the six winners under the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her) project, with a call for proposals launched as part of NASENI’s Delta-2 programme.

He recalled that on March 8, the agency had introduced the DELT-Her project, aimed at addressing the gender imbalance in engineering and technology-based businesses in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice-Chairman of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Halilu, represented by the Coordinating Director of the Planning and Business Development Directorate, Dr. Nonyem Onyechi, noted that the DELT-Her initiative sought to empower young women in engineering and technology.

He stressed the importance of providing women with the necessary tools, platforms, and support to excel in fields that have traditionally been male-dominated.

Also Read: 2024 IWD: NASENI Launches The DELT-HER Initiative Programme

“I encourage the awardees to see their success as a beacon for others and a commitment to fostering environments where women can thrive in engineering and technology,” Halilu said.

The Chairman of PICTT, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru, stated that after evaluating over 120 applications, six innovative projects were selected for funding, with each recipient receiving grants, technical support, and partner connections for commercialisation.

Dahiru added that some of the awardees had also been selected to participate in the upcoming AFRI Lab Annual Gathering in Cape Town, South Africa, based on their projects.

The grant recipients and their projects included: Rukkaya Abdulmutalib, ‘Artificial Intelligence Censored Machine to Monitor Soil Health for Greenhouses’ (N3 million); Patience Ibrahim-Janda, ‘Automobile Brake Pads Produced from Organic Waste’ (N10 million); Amina Khaleel, ‘Drone for Intelligent Real-Time Security and Target Tracking’ (N17.5 million); Kudirat Jimoh, ‘Electronic Training Board/Device for Science and Engineering Students’ (N16.5 million); Ikechukwu Francisca, ‘Automatic Bambara Flour Processing Machine’ (N8.5 million); and Abisola Olayiwola, ‘Solar-Powered Snail Shelling Machine’ (N15 million).

NAN/Chidimma Gold