The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), in collaboration with the Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT), has awarded a total of ₦229 million in grants to 14 female engineers under the Developing Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her 2.0) initiative.
NASENI’s deputy director, Information, Chima Cletus Akwaja, made this known in a statement on Friday.
Speaking at the awards ceremony held on Thursday at the Agency’s headquarters in Abuja, the executive vice chairman/chief executive of NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, described DELT-Her as a platform that enables women to transform bold engineering ideas into innovative solutions that impact society.
Halilu disclosed that 14 women emerged successful out of 9,925 project proposals, each receiving part of the N229 million grant to advance innovations across key sectors, including agriculture, clean energy, health, mobility, digital security, and environmental sustainability.
He emphasized that gender inclusion is a strategic priority for NASENI, not a gesture of charity. “Every woman empowered through DELT-Her represents new capacity for the nation’s technology and manufacturing ecosystem,” he stated, adding that women bring unique perspectives that lead to smarter, more human-centred innovations.
The NASENI boss noted that the first edition of DELT-Her in 2024 supported six female engineers with N70.5 million, adding that the 2025 edition recorded exponential growth with 9,925 entries compared to 120 applications the previous year. He also highlighted the programme’s expansion in mentoring schoolgirls, from 30 participants in the Federal Capital Territory in 2024 to over 150 girls across Kwara, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, and the FCT in 2025.
In his remarks, the chairman of PICTT, Dr Mohammed Dahiru, praised the awardees for their creativity and resilience, noting that their success exemplifies the untapped potential of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). He urged sustained commitment to the DELT-Her initiative to bridge gender gaps further and drive national development.
The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on NASENI, Senator Ezenwa Francis Onyewuchi, reaffirmed the National Assembly’s support for NASENI’s efforts in promoting indigenous production, local content, and gender inclusion. “A nation that builds its technology builds its destiny, and a nation that empowers its women secures its future,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Udoka, commended NASENI and PICTT for advancing the Federal Government’s goals of technological independence, industrial growth, and gender inclusion.
Goodwill messages were delivered by the Postmaster-General of the Federation and CEO of NIPOST, Engr. (Ms) Tola Odeyemi, Executive Director, Business Development, NEXIM Bank, Hon. Stella Okotete, special assistant on ICT to the President, Mr Fawaz Amodu, and representatives of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), PenCom, NIMC, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, among others.
