The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion(NOTAP) on Monday urged the Federal Government to put in place a National Research Fund which would ease the burden of commercialisation.
Lucky Nwosa, a Deputy Director with NOTAP, said in Lagos that commercialisation would remain a mirage without such a fund.
”The recent breakthrough of the out going administration’s approval for a National Research Council to be chaired by the president is the best thing that could have happened to our nation.
”Inspite of the approval, the National Research Fund that is to go with the establishment of the council is yet to be put in place.
” Only such fund will ease the burden of commercialisation.
”There are issues of infrastructure gaps, low level of understanding of the subject matter by the vast majority of the populace and non availability of “angel funds.
”Without such fund and council, commercialisation will become a mirage because it takes a lot of funding to develop a product and build a brand, ”he said.
Nwosa said that commercialisation of results was a very complex process and a term that was very much misunderstood in the country.
He said that what most Nigerians regard as commercialisation was probably massive prototype production.
”I tell people that until you are able to go to the market and get any part of the equipment and machinery that may have broken down or worn out in the course of exploitation, the said product is just a prototype even if one million copies have been produced,” he said.
According to him, a commercialised product is one which has a producer that may not be known because all the spare parts issues are adequately covered in the market.
(NAN)
