DELT-Her 2.0: NASENI, PICTT Empowering Female Engineers 

In a move to accelerate gender parity in engineering and innovation, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), in partnership with the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT), has launched the second phase of its flagship initiative, Engineering Leaders Through Her (DELT-Her).

The portal for DELT-Her 2.0 officially opened on Monday, May 19, 2025, at NASENI Headquarters in Abuja, with a renewed commitment from the Federal Government to double the number of female engineers in Nigeria within five years. The initiative aims to empower women-led innovation through funding, mentorship, and access to global platforms.

The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, during the launch event noted that DELT-Her is fueling a wave of women-led solutions to Nigeria’s toughest challenges. “We are not only providing financial grants but also investing in mentorship and global exposure to ensure women are front and center in Nigeria’s technological transformation.”

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According to him, “DELT-HER is a clarion call to promote women in STEM, to ensure every girl and woman knows she belongs at the forefront of innovation. Through DELT-Her, we are providing grants, mentorship, and global platforms like the AFRILAB Gathering in Cape Town to amplify women’s voices. Every grant, every project, every woman’s success is a milestone in Nigeria’s transformation” he added.

The EVC noted that the first phase of DELT-Her saw over 120 applications, with NASENI awarding N70.5 million in grants to six female engineers leading groundbreaking projects, including AI-powered soil monitoring tools and eco-friendly automotive components.

“As the EVC/CEO of this great Agency, I am committed to making NASENI a beacon for gender balance, where women’s ideas drive progress that resonates locally and globally” he said. DELT-Her is a movement that invites every woman to lead, knowing they have NASENI’s support to turn their vision into impact, he said adding that it is fueling a wave of women-led solutions to Nigeria’s toughest challenges.

Similarly, the Chairman of PICTT, Dr. Dahiru Muhammed, further emphasized the broader vision, “We are not just inviting applications; we are igniting a movement,” he stated. This initiative is designed to nurture talent, create a supportive ecosystem, and ensure that women take their rightful place in driving Nigeria’s socio-economic progress.

Dr. Muhammed noted that the DELT-Her initiative, a flagship project under PICTT and NASENI, is more than a funding opportunity; it is a call to action and bold step toward addressing the gender imbalance in engineering and technology, where women represent only 5% of engineers in Nigeria compared to the global average of 28%.

“This program is a clarion call to young women with innovative, commercially viable ideas to step forward, break barriers, and lead the charge in building a dynamic science and engineering infrastructure for our nation” he said.

In his view, Chairman of the Senate Committee on NASENI, Senator Francis Onyewuchi, emphasized the importance of closing the gender disparity in engineering and other technical fields. He described the initiative as “a step in the right direction” and praised women for their resilience, multitasking ability, and diligence.

“When you work with women, you’re sure of who you have,” Onyewuchi said. “Women are very diligent, articulate, and hardworking. What NASENI is doing today is to address those impediments that affect female participation in engineering, including funding and cultural biases.” He pledged the full support of the Senate to the initiative, promising legislative backing to ensure a more inclusive environment for female innovators.

In the same vein, Dr. Maryam Keshinro, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, who represented Minister Hajiya Imaan Sulaimon-Ibrahim, during the launch of the programme, lauded DELT-Her initiative as a strategic lever for national transformation through inclusive innovation. “This is not charity, but smart economics,” she said.

“Nigerian women have long demonstrated ingenuity and resilience, yet structural inequities continue to constrain their full participation in the innovation ecosystem.” She revealed that the ministry has developed a strategic roadmap (2024–2027) to empower 10 million women, particularly in STEM. “DELT-Her aligns perfectly with this goal,” she added, urging young women to take leadership roles in innovation. “Your ideas are valid. Your solutions are needed. Your leadership is welcome. Don’t wait to be invited to the table, grab a chair and join us.”

Engr. Mistura Adenike Rafiu, who represented Engr. Margaret Aina Oguntala, the first female President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), said the initiative aligns with NSE’s agenda of promoting inclusivity and empowering future engineers. “We commend PICTT and NASENI for this vital initiative,” she said. “Programs like these are key to addressing gender disparity in engineering and unlocking potential for national development.”

Also, Dr. Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi, Senior Mandate Secretary of the Women Affairs Secretariat at the FCTA, described the DELT-Her programme as “a bold declaration that women are not only participants in technological innovation, but are destined for leadership and co-creation.” She commended NASENI for driving meaningful change, noting that Abuja is leading in institutional support for women empowerment. “For the first time in 48 years, the FCT has set up a Women Project Office to institutionalize women-focused development,” she said.

Benjamins-Laniyi also celebrated inspiring female trailblazers, citing the example of Dr. Theoda Nkambiji, a Nigerian woman who rose from humble beginnings to earn a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Phase one of the DELT-Her initiative in 2024 saw over N70.5 million in grants awarded to six exceptional female engineers whose innovations are already making waves in national and international tech spaces. These include AI-driven soil monitoring tools, eco-friendly automotive components, and drone-based real-time surveillance systems.

A video presentation at the event showed two trailblazing engineers from Kano State, Amina Ibrahim Kalil and Hauwa Ibrahim Kalil, stars of the 2024 DELT-HER programme, designed to accelerate women’s involvement in advanced technologies. Their project: a drone-based real-time surveillance system powered by artificial intelligence.

Amina, who studied electrical engineering at Barrington University and earned a master’s degree from the University of Glasgow, says her thesis on UAV control systems laid the foundation for their innovation. “That led to the development of a real-time security system using drones. It’s a UAV equipped with an AI system that captures images and transmits them to a command center for analysis,” she explained.

Hauwa, who holds a master’s in Telecommunications Engineering, added: “We had difficulty acquiring the right components and datasets, but with NASENI’s support, we overcame those barriers.” Their firm, Germanium Solutions Engineering Limited (GSEL), also received sponsorship to attend the AFRILAB Annual Gathering 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa, where they connected with investors and startup mentors.

Another standout story is that of Janda Ibrahim Patience, a mechanical engineer from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, who developed an eco-friendly brake pad using agricultural waste. “My innovation uses gingerbread palm fruit, commonly known as goruba, and other natural materials to create a brake pad that meets market standards,” she said.

The product replaces asbestos, a carcinogenic material used in conventional brake pads, with locally sourced plant fibers, ceramics, graphite, and epoxy resin. Designed for the Mazda 323, commonly used in Northern Nigeria, her innovation is both safer and cheaper to produce. “My dream is to build a large-scale automobile parts company that will serve Africa and the world,” she said. “Thanks to NASENI and PICTT, that dream is no longer out of reach.”

Even younger girls are getting involved in DELT-her. Some students of Junior High School, Gwanada, Abuja, are already thinking like a true engineers. Supported by NASENI’s outreach initiative, they designed a multipurpose farming machine to ease the burden on local farmers. “Through the problems farmers are facing, we decided to build a machine that helps with cake counting, hole digging, chemical brewing, and carving holes for planting,” she explained.

At just the junior secondary school level, these girls are already solving real-world agricultural problems, an early sign that NASENI’s model of early intervention and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) inclusion is beginning to bear fruit. The success stories of these girls and women are more than individual triumphs; they represent the growing effectiveness of NASENI’s PCITT and DELT-Her initiative in tackling gender disparity in STEM, while also addressing pressing national challenges.

As Nigeria seeks to diversify its economy, deepen its industrial base, and reduce dependence on imported technologies, one thing is clear: the future of science and engineering in Nigeria will not only be technologically advanced, it will be proudly female.

Backed by NASENI and PICTT, DELT-Her 2.0 is opening new pathways for Nigerian women in engineering to build, lead, and scale high-impact solutions. The application portal (www.delther.pictt.gov.ng) is open until July 31, 2025. As Nigeria positions itself to diversify its economy and build a robust science and engineering infrastructure, the DELT-Her movement is proving to be a catalyst—not only for empowering women but also for reshaping the country’s future through inclusive, female-led innovation.