The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FIIRO

  • FIIRO reality show to train 25 youths

    To improve the number of entrepreneurs in the country, the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) in partnership with Lashone Links Communication Limited is to implement a reality show that would train 25 youths to be world- class solution producers and industrial entrepreneurs.

    Its Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Gloria Elemo said at a press conference that participants from four geo-political zones, Southwest(Lagos), Northcentral (Abuja), Southeast (Anambra) and Northeast and West (Kano), would be secluded in a house for eight weeks.

    Mrs Elemo, who said it would be beneficial for the country and its economy to have passion-driven entrepreneurs than over-ambitious youths, urged the participants to put in their best to maximise their potential.

    She said: “The programme presents a strategic drive to the realisation of the institute’s goals on commercialisation of indigenous research and development breakthroughs for sustainable economic development and specifically for job creation. It is a very good avenue of getting Nigerians to appreciate what we have got. A nation needs to deploy the instrument of science, technology and innovation to develop home grown solutions to solve socio-economic challenges and move unto the path of national economic prosperity.”

    The top three industrial entrepreneurs would be awarded N50 million – N25 million for the first prize, and N15million and N10 million for the runners up.

    They would be guided and mentored to invest their rewards profitably on the institute’s technologies of their choice.

     

  • FIIRO earmarks N50m for technopreneurs

    The Director General, Federal Institute of Industrial, Research (FIIRO) Prof. Gloria Elemo, on Tuesday said the institute had earmarked N50m for technopreneurs to emerge through a new reality TV show.

    Elemo made this known at the audition for the ‘Africa’s First Industrial Reality TV show’ in Lagos.

    According to her, the winners of the first, second and third positions would go home with N25 million, N15 million and N10 million respectively.

    She said 37 participants would be chosen as Fiiro ambassadors in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    According to her, participants who fail to make it to the Fiiro House, will go home with cerificates that will enable them have further empowerment trainings at Fiiro.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Lagos audition had 180 participants from the South west zone.

    Elemo said the overall objective of the reality TV show was to create a TV project to develop meaningful entrepreneurial skills and motivate entreprenuers towards evolving a productive economy.

    “It will promote indigenous technologies and local content among industrial practitioners, entreprenuers, manufacturers, as well provide quality sales programming both online and on television.

    “The programme will connect and promote interest of the Nigerian youthful population, especially the unemployed youth and prospective entreprenuers in indigenous technologies solution for manufacturing and production.

    “It will also engage and reward participants as they go through different levels of tasks to enhance and nuture them to world class solutions providers,” she said.

    She added the selected house mates would be presented to the world at an unveiling ceremony on Oct. 26 after undergoing a one-week training on core entrepreneurial competencies at FIIRO.

    Dr Lanre Shonekan, Chief Executive Officer, Lashone Links Group of Companies, said that industrialisation of the country through indigenous technology was the aim of the project.

    According to him, the FIIRO House, the first industrial TV Reality Show is a project Lashone partnered FIIRO to breed industrialists in the youth of the country.

    “We have been on this journey for over two years now and the whole idea is to industrialise the country through indigenous technology and also get the youth out of the streets.

    “The youth who will be trained at the FIIRO house will be exposed to the research and development that has been created by FIIRO and use them to conceptualise ideas to become industrialists.

    “This will enable them to raise their own industries and be able to employ more people and reduce unemployment in the country and this is the idea behind this project,” he said.

    He said the project would take place in the geopolitical zones of the country, the South-West here in FIIRO, in Abuja for North Central, Kano for North-west and Anambra for Eastern state. (NAN)

  • FIIRO attains ISO certification

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) has attained ISO/IEC 17025:2005.

    The certification is for Production, Analytical and Lab Management (PALM).

    Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu stated that it shows that FIIRO has been conducting research according to international standards.

    He added that the International Standard Organisation (ISO) certification enables FIIRO to analyse food and non food products and certify them suitable for export.

    Speaking in Abuja at the presentation of ISO certification, Onu said he is confident that very soon Nigerians will begin to see the positive effects of this ISO certification.

    “Attaining ISO/IEC 17025:2005 it is an important state needed for FIIRO to become a leading research institute, not just in Nigeria but also in the world,” he said, adding: “This certification enables FIIRO to analyse food and non food products and certify them suitable for export, hence any of such products certified by FIIRO will no longer acquire any other analysis outside the country.

    “It also means that research conducted in FIIRO labs can be easily published in international journals. This will greatly assist our export market with the potential to create more jobs, additional wealth and fight and defeat extreme poverty.”

    Director General/Chief Executive Officer FIIRO, Prof. Gloria Elemo explained that FIIRO was accredited with ten parameters, covering some critical areas in food and non food especially charcoal where FIIRO has developed some expertise over the years.

    “Under this accreditation, ten parameters where accredited, covering some critical areas in food and non food especially charcoal where FIIRO has developed some expertise over the years. Another eight parameters will be considered for accreditation, under this extension of the scope.”

  • FIIRO, Anchor varsity partner on entrepreneurship

    The Vice-Chancellor of Anchor University Lagos (AUL), Prof Joseph Afolayan, has led some members of the university’s Senate to the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Lagos to kick- start a partnership and explore ways that FIIRO could assist in promoting the institution’s ideals.

    Afolayan told FIIRO Director-General, Prof Gloria Elemo, that his university seeks to harness FIIRO’s wealth of technologies to uplift its academic programmes to meet world standard.

    He expressed confidence that FIIRO could help in giving Anchor students qualitative entrepreneurial training.

    He said both institutions would benefit from an exchange programme that would enable scientists and researchers from FIIRO to spend their sabbatical at AUL as well as organise workshops and seminars and a host of others.

    Afolayan spoke on the need for both institutions to formalise the relationship by the signing of a memorandum of understanding.

    Elemo said strategic collaboration could help the institution realise its dreams better than working in isolation.

    She said FIIRO had partnered other private universities, such as Landmark, Covenant, and Mountain Top.

    She said collaborations could be in entrepreneurial development, saying over 500,000 Nigerians had benefited from FIIRO’s technologies.

    “As Anchor university works towards making their students imbibe the culture self-employment, FIIRO can bring in her technical know-how. Formalising this relationship, we hope to work together for staff exchange, sabbatical leaves, use Anchor laboratories, internships etc. All will be geared towards human capacity development that will help for first grade graduates from Anchor University,” she said.

    The visitors later embarked on a tour of FIIRO’s facilities.

  • NEPC: FIIRO key to govt’s non-oil sector strategy

    Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) Executive Director Olusegun Awolowo has said the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO) is central to the Federal Government’s strategy to boost the non-oil export sector.

    Speaking in Lagos when he led a delegation of the agency to FIIRO to identify its research findings that are commercialisable and exportable, Awolowo stressed the need to move the country from an import dependent to an export economy. He said to do this, there was the need to work with FIIRO, which has virtually all the resources and technologies that are exportable.

    He said the relevance of FIIRO to revamp the economy could not be over emphasised, adding that as the hub of indigenous technology, it is prepared to boost the nation’s export earnings.

    The NEPC chief frowned at the export of raw materials without adding any value to them through processing. He  lamented that the country was yet to harness her petrochemical potential as well as the agro allied areas to increase her  foreign exchange earnings.

    Awolowo said NEPC’s Zero Oil Plan would help boost the country’s forex. He however forwned at the ignorance of parastatals not knowing what their counterparts are doing.

    Awolowo said the agency would need FIIRO’s wealth of experience to ensure that Nigerians in the Diaspora have a pool of investment opportunities that abound in FIIRO.

    FIIRO Director-General/CEO, Prof Gloria Elemo expressed gratitude to NEPC for believing in the technologies fabricated by the institute, adding that this would  further strengthen the ties between the two parastatals.

    She noted that the relationship would help improve the lot of youths for job creation and poverty eradication.

    Elemo said FIIRO is the home of indigenous technologies that can compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.

    The guests had a feel of FIIROs CASSY bread, which is a 20 per cent inclusion of cassava flour in wheat.

     

  • Move FIIRO to next level, DG tells new Board

    The dream of Federal Institute for Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) to drive industrial and economic growth in the country received a boost recently in Lagos as the new Governing Board of Directors led by Ibrahim Gwarzo promises maximum support to grow the institution.

    While welcoming the board at the inaugural meeting held  in its corporate headquarters in Lagos, the Director General of FIIRO, Professor Gloria Elemo, pleaded with the new board to facilitate the achievements of the institute and help move it to the next level.

    Elemo expressed gladness over the constituting of FIIRO board, saying that it was long overdue knowing the importance of such board in articulating policy directions and the role it could play in improving the fortunes of the organization.

    “I must say also that my optimism was evidence-based, considering the pedigree of the board members and your individual resolve and interest to make positive and valuable contributions to the development of the institute.

    “I, therefore, have no iota of doubt in my mind that FIIRO is in for a great time. I am convinced than ever before that the future of the institute is bright, brighter than I have imagined.

    “The chairman sir, moving to the next level is a task that I would like this board to address so as to facilitate the achievement of FIIRO vision of becoming the foremost centre of excellence for industrial research and development in the country”, Elemo pleaded.

  • FIIRO eyes five million jobs yearly

    FIIRO eyes five million jobs yearly

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) has unveiled an action plan to fight unemployment. It aims to create over five million jobs yearly.

    Its Director-General, Prof Gloria Elemo told The Nation that the package was designed to stimulate economic activities through processing and value addition to raw materials of relative advantage in each of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    She said the institute carried out  a comprehensive study on raw materials of relative abundance in the LGAs and came up with technologies that suit the raw material for massive economic exploitation.

    She said: “We have carried out a comprehensive survey on raw materials of relative abundance in all the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. Equally, we have identified FIIRO technologies that are suitable for processing the raw materials in these LGAs for the establishment of micro, small, medium and large enterprises.

    “FIIRO has developed over 250 technologies in its 61 years of existence and these technologies can be deployed in the 774 LGAs for massive job creation and economic stimulation through processing and value addition to raw materials of relative advantage in each of the LGA.

    “We have developed a blueprint on how this process could create about five million jobs annually through direct and multiplier effects. This will ensure economic independence through drastic reduction in imported goods thereby saving foreign exchange.”

    She said FIIRO is more prepared to deploy its technologies in support and realisation of the objectives of the government’s Change Agenda, stressing that the institute’s total technology package include the development of both process technologies and the machinery and equipment.

    “The institute is ensuring effective technology diffusion through effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including Nigeria Society of Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Fabricators Association of Nigeria (AMEFAN), National Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (NASME), National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN),” Elemo said.

    She noted that the institute had developed a high nutrient density biscuit and drink for the National School Feeding Programme, established industrial enzymes model plant and a  state-of-the-art molecular laboratory.

    Elemo pointed out that FIIRO had  driven the 20 per cent inclusion of cassava flour into wheat flour, which has saved the country billions in foreign exchange spent yearly on the importation of wheat flour.

  • FIIRO unveils product to manage sickle cell anaemia, others

    FIIRO unveils product to manage sickle cell anaemia, others

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Lagos has manufactured a product that will not only help fight malnutrition, but also manage sickle cell anaemia, its Director-General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Prof. Gloria Elemo, has said.

    She made this known during  FIIRO Day at the Technology and Innovation Week in Abuja.

    She said the product, Nutrocituca, is made from legumes and other local raw materials. It has been tested with children living with sickle cell disease and has been effective, she added.

    To tackle malnutrition, she said FIIRO manufactured some biscuits  that met the recommended dietary  needs of children from five to 12, adding that NASCO Biscuits is mass- producing them for the market.

    She said: “We are showing the automation of process technology and indigenous technologies that have been developed. We have the automation of the kunu plant, where you can have kunu that can stay off the shelf without refrigeration for about two years. It has export potential. We have automated it. So also is Zobo.

    “Our initiative is that all our processed technology will be automated to industrial large scale. It can be handled from the small scale, medium and large scale.

    “If you produce and you are unable to process for optimum utilisation, then you would have been making a mockery of agriculture. We play a core part in the agricultural value chain. We have R&D results that can handle all the agricultural raw materials, even waste management of agricultural products.

    “We have over 250 technologies that are ready for uptake. These are not those that are still coming up. This year and last year alone, we have about 20 patents registered in the name of FIIRO. We are working and ready to move this country from being a third world country to an industrialised one. Even in using casava alone, the casava value chain alone, in FIIRO, we have over 25 products for industrial development.

    “We have a large number of industrialists here, May and Baker, NASCO, and Honeywell that are our collaborators. The biscuits we are talking about meets one third of the recommended dietary allowance for children between ages five and 12, that is, we are totally eradicating and preventing malnutrition, we are looking at both macro and the micro nutrients, thus is the first time thag a pack of biscuits and snacks will have such high nutrients. It took about four years for development, all circles of Research and Development (R and D) have been done on it and NASCO biscuits in Jos has taken up the technology and today it is ready for full blast production.

    “We also have other products like Nutrocituca for the management of sickel cell anaemia, they are just two legumes, all Nigerian based raw materials and from our clinical studies and all the R and D results we have shown, we have been very successful, none of the children involved in clinical studies have actually gone into crises and May and Baker is here today and us also taking up such technology.”

  • FIIRO plans to create 5m jobs yearly

    FIIRO plans to create 5m jobs yearly

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) has unveiled an action plan to fight unemployment. It aims to create over five million jobs yearly.

    FIIRO Director-General Prof Gloria Elemo told The Nation that the package was designed to stimulate economic activities through processing and value addition to raw materials of relative advantage in each of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    She said the institute carried out  a comprehensive study on raw materials of relative abundance in the LGAs and came up with technologies that suit the raw material for massive economic exploitation.

    She said: “We have carried out a comprehensive survey on raw materials of relative abundance in all the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. Equally, we have identified FIIRO technologies that are suitable for processing the raw materials in these LGAs for the establishment of micro, small, medium and large enterprises.

    “FIIRO has developed over 250 technologies in its 61 years of existence and these technologies can be deployed in the 774 LGAs for massive job creation and economic stimulation through processing and value addition to raw materials of relative advantage in each of the LGA.

    “We have developed a Blueprint on how this process could create about five million jobs annually through direct and multiplier effects. This will ensure economic independence through drastic reduction in imported goods thereby saving foreign exchange.”

    She said FIIRO is more prepared to deploy its technologies in support and realisation of the objectives of the government’s Change Agenda, stressing that the institute’s total technology package include the development of both process technologies and the machinery and equipment.

    “The institute is ensuring effective technology diffusion through effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including Nigeria Society of Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Fabricators Association of Nigeria (AMEFAN), National Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (NASME), National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN),” Elemo said.

    She noted that the institute had developed a high nutrient density biscuit and drink for the National School Feeding Programme, established industrial enzymes model plant and a  state-of-the-art molecular laboratory.

    Elemo pointed out that FIIRO had  driven the 20 per cent inclusion of cassava flour into wheat flour, which has saved the country billions in foreign exchange spent yearly on the importation of wheat flour.

  • FG to save N43 trillion from importation

    FG to save N43 trillion from importation

    The Federal Government has disclosed that it would be saving about N43 trillion in five years, from the importation of raw materials.

    Minister of Science and Technology Dr, Ogbonnaya Onu made the revelation at the weekend in Lagos at the interactive session on the National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap (2017-2030) with staff of the agencies of the Ministry in the South West geopolitical zone held at the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO).

    Deputy Director Press AbdulGaniyu Aminu in a press statement, stated that Dr Onu said that the ministry is embarking on a silent revolution.

    He stated, “The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has put in place a mechanism that would save Nigeria about N43 trillion in five years from the importation of raw materials

    “The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr, Ogbonnaya Onu disclosed that the ministry is embarking on silent revolution that will put Nigeria in a position to create jobs and fight poverty, adding that the big countries in the world do not have natural resources but her endowed with knowledge-economy.

    “The revolution, he added, would also ensure that Nigeria utilised her resources and intellectual capacity to add value to our Gross Domestic Products(GDP).

    “He said that the Ministry had already identified those raw materials and products that Nigeria can produce and also provide guidelines involving programmes and designs to ensure that Nigerians processionals are given preference in execution of contracts in Nigeria.

    “According to Dr.Onu, in the next 20 years we want Nigeria Firms to compete with Americans firms for jobs ,adding that the interest of Nigeria must first be considered above that of any expatriate.

    “The Minister appealed to members of Academic Union of Research Institutes (ASURI) to reconsider their on-going strike action while urging them to educate their members about the Road Map.

    “We are committed to making sure that the welfare of our workers is

    given top priority in the Ministry” he added

    “We are working to form a policy framework that will move our country from resource-based to Knowledge-based innovation driven economy where professionals can help to create jobs” the Minister added.

    “Dr.Onu further said that more two hundred organised private and manufacturing sectors were fully involved in the preparation and final drafting of the National Strategy for Competitiveness in Raw materials which made it all-inclusive.

    “Earlier, in his opening remark,the Director of Science and Technology Promotion, in the Ministry, MR Ekanem Udo said that the Roadmap will stimulate Researchactivities and ensure the commercialization of research results for economic development.

    “According to him, it is also intended to provide a long-term science and Technology Framework as well as facilitate the creation of knowledge while creating the platform to change the mindset of Nigerians to Science and Technology.

    “In her remarks, the Director-General, Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Professor Gloria Elemo said that the institute is 75% ready to face the assignment as contained in the Roadmap.”