The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s transition into an innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy.

Signed under the National Innovation and Digital Transformation Partnership Programme (NIDTPP), the agreement was expected to strengthen universities and polytechnics as centres of research commercialisation, entrepreneurship, technological advancement, and job creation.

Speaking at the ceremony, UNDP Resident Representative, Elsie Attafuah, described TETFund as “a cornerstone of Nigeria’s nation-building project,” noting that its decades of investment in research and academic capacity have laid the groundwork for a national innovation ecosystem.

She said: “TETFund has been a cornerstone of Nigeria’s nation-building project. Its investments have strengthened infrastructure, expanded research, and enabled thousands of scholars to advance knowledge and national development. UNDP is honoured to partner with TETFund in this next phase one that deliberately advances innovation, digital transformation, and the knowledge economy across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.”

She added that the MoU would be followed by the swift finalisation of a joint Programme and Action Plan aligned with upcoming TETFund budget cycles “to ensure strong alignment between vision, financing, and implementation.”

TETFund Executive Secretary, Arc. Sonny Echono, said the partnership expands the Fund’s capacity to deliver cutting-edge innovation systems within the tertiary education sector.

“This partnership strengthens TETFund’s mandate and expands our ability to deliver world-class innovation systems, research capacity, and job-creating ventures within Nigeria’s tertiary education landscape.”

Under the agreement, both institutions would pursue five strategic focus areas: institutionalising innovation across tertiary institutions; strengthening human capital for transformative innovation; accelerating research commercialisation and frontier technology adoption; expanding sustainable financing for innovation; and enhancing evidence, policy, and governance systems.

Recent joint visits to the Mine-Tech UniPod at Nasarawa State University, Keffi, and the AI UniPod at the University of Lagos highlighted the potential of UniPods—purpose-built hubs that turn ideas into prototypes, startups, and eventually industries.

Through the collaboration, TETFund and UNDP plan to activate eight University Innovation Pods and one Polytechnic Pod; upgrade at least nine TETFund-funded innovation facilities; establish or strengthen up to 20 Technology Transfer Offices; equip more than 500,000 students and researchers with digital and innovation skills; and support up to 2,000 university-linked startups while commercialising 5,000 research outputs.

The partnership aligns with the federal government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Development Plan, the Nigeria Startup Act, and national digital and youth initiatives such as NJFP and 3MTT.

It also links Nigerian institutions to UNDP’s timbuktoo pan-African innovation ecosystem.
With the MoU, both organisations reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s innovation landscape and driving high-impact, sustainable development across the country