On May 22, 2025, the Intellectual Property (IP) Labs 2.0 project formally concluded with a Demo Exhibition Day event at the United Nations House, Abuja. The event marked the culmination of a seven-month journey of learning and growth in the strategic use of Intellectual Property as a tool for business growth for 300 early-stage Nigerian startups.
The IP Labs 2.0 program, organized in collaboration with the Japan Patent Office, officially launched in October 2024 to empower Nigerian startups, entrepreneurs, and innovators to harness intellectual property as a business development and financing tool. Through a combination of acceleration training modules and mentorship through the IP Management Clinic, participants were equipped to understand the intricacies of intellectual property and apply it to grow their businesses.
The Demo Exhibition Day marked the formal conclusion of the project. In attendance at the event were notable stakeholders from the Nigerian Government, including Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, Honorable Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology represented by Dr. Patrick Oghuma, Special Adviser to the Minister; Mr. Charles Odii, Director General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN); Engr. Kazeem Kolawole Raji, Director General/CEO, Nigerian Board for Technological Incubation (NBTI) represented by Ms. Sefinatu Abubakar Jibril, Acting Director, Legal Services Department, NBTI; Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, NITDA represented by Mr. Lukman Lamid, Special Adviser on Innovation and Research to the DG of NITDA; and Ms. Jane Igwe, Registrar, Patents and Designs Registry represented by Mr. Onyebinanma Chimezie Bright. The event was anchored by Ms. Dorkong Rimdan, on-air personality at Cool FM Nigeria.
Mr. Oluwatobiloba Moody, Director of the WIPO Nigeria Office kicked off the event with a broad overview of the IP Labs 2.0 program, including the journey to arriving at the top 12 finalists in the program, from a total of 300 participants. He also highlighted Nigeria’s promising economic landscape and dynamic startup ecosystem as creating a greater need for intellectual property learning and capacity-building, which WIPO seeks to meet. Ms. Olaronke Famuyiwa, Program Officer at the WIPO Nigeria Office, went on to describe the structure of the program, highlighting the progression of 300 onboarded entrepreneurs from an initial business acceleration training phase to 50 selected for the IP Management Clinic stage, culminating in the emergence of 12 finalists.
The Demo Exhibition Day also featured presentations by the 12 finalists, showcasing a wide range of solutions to real-world challenges across different sectors, including agriculture, health, education and finance. The entrepreneurs also demonstrated how they have integrated IP into their business models to drive growth and sustainability. Some of the mentors in the project, as well as well as industry experts were present to give feedback to the entrepreneurs. These included Mr. Ololade Otayemi, Founder, the Orbra Company; Ms. Damilola Anwo-ade, Lead Project Manager; Mr. Boluwatife Sanya, Managing Partner, Paddle Solicitors; Dr. Kayode Femi, Founder & CEO, Farm Alert; Ms. Aisha Shuaibu, President, SWA Sports; Ms. Sikemi Tayo, Chief Technology and Operations Officer, KITWorks Innovations; Mr. Tomi Walker, Director, Internova Digital Limited; Mr. Francis Sani, Programme Director, 3MTT, Technical Adviser, HM FMCIDE; Mr. Folarin Mosuro, Founder, Flymos Farms Limited; and Mr. Deji Ige, Deputy General Manager, Innov8 Hub.
The achievements of the innovators in the IP Labs 2.0 program underscores the potential of IP to support the growth of creativity and entrepreneurship within the Nigerian economic landscape. By continuing to provide platforms for capacity building and learning in intellectual property, WIPO aims to collaborate with the Nigerian Government to catalyze innovation and economic development in Nigeria.