Supporting innovative agricultural solutions in Nigeria
Connecting micro-agri business to support local economies and drive solutions to sustainable palm oil production.
In the bustling city of Kano, Habiba Umaru Sule Dalhatu was running a promising business producing palm oil – a product not normally made in Kano – but she was doing it alone. Despite her product’s popularity, she faced persistent challenges: sourcing reliable equipment, navigating regulatory hurdles, and accessing finance and broader markets. Her story is emblematic of many micro-entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s agricultural sector – determined, yet disconnected from the systems that could help them thrive. That changed when she joined CONESAM, a network designed to bridge the gap between research, innovation, and enterprise.
Habiba’s path to entrepreneurship wasn’t linear. A trained lawyer who later worked in telecommunications she found herself at a crossroads when her company folded in 2013. It was at this point she wanted to give back to her community and stumbled upon a business idea: sustainable palm oil production which led to a community empowerment initiative. Though not traditionally consumed in northern Nigeria, her cooking – flavoured with palm oil – was always met with praise. Sensing an opportunity, she began sourcing high-quality oil from Kogi State and selling it in Kano. With a government grant of ₦ 7.5 million, she built a processing facility at the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI) centre in Kano. But despite this progress, Habiba still faced the common struggles of micro-entrepreneurs: limited access to tailored equipment, high costs of imported machinery, and a lack of connections to regulatory bodies and suppliers. Like many others, she was operating in a silo and struggling to scale.
Coalition Network of Stakeholders for Agricultural Mechanisation (CONESAM), is a platform supported by the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) funded by the UK’s FCDO and managed by Chemonics UK and implemented with Adam Smith International. CONESAM was created to strengthen research and innovation ecosystems and address a systemic issue in Nigeria’s agricultural innovation landscape: disconnection between research institutions, fabricators, and end-users.
Through CONESAM, Habiba was introduced to local fabricators who, in partnership with research institutes, designed machinery specifically suited to her needs. These machines were not only more affordable than imported alternatives but also more efficient and reliable. She also gained access to regulatory support, significantly reducing the time and complexity of obtaining the relevant certification. What once took her 18 months to navigate alone was now streamlined through the network’s trusted relationships and access to equipment and expertise.
Habiba’s transformation didn’t stop at her own business. Recognising the potential to uplift others, she founded the Pelican Women Cooperative Society. Through this initiative, she lent CONESAM-fabricated machines to local women who had previously relied on traditional, labour-intensive methods to extract groundnut oil. These manual processes were slow, yielded low output, and limited market access.
With the new machinery, the women doubled their oil production, improved efficiency, and gained access to new markets. The machines also left enough residual oil in the groundnut mash to produce kuli kuli – groundnut crackers – creating an additional income stream. Habiba agreed to buy their oil for further processing, providing a guaranteed market and stable income. This allowed the women to invest in their families – paying for education, healthcare, and other essentials.
Habiba’s story is echoed across the CONESAM network. In Enugu, Chinyere Osuji, a catering lecturer turned entrepreneur, used the network to develop gluten-free flour alternatives and connect with fabricators to co-design a cutting machine. In rural communities, businesses like Labuk Agro are using CONESAM support to improve product quality and expand operations. These stories illustrate how micro-level interventions can drive macro-level change.
CONESAM now boasts nearly 1,200 members across 14 Nigerian states, including Lagos, Kano, Benue, and Ekiti. It serves as a hub for collaboration, offering members access to:
- Tailored machinery and fabrication services
- Regulatory support
- Capacity building in certification, bookkeeping, and export readiness
- Virtual exhibitions and deal-making through its online platform
- Strategic partnerships with research institutes and private sector actors
By aligning with national agricultural governance structures, CONESAM is helping to shape policy and practice from the ground up.
Yet challenges remain. Engaging universities – critical players in the research ecosystem – has been slow due to bureaucratic hurdles. And hurdles within and between business and entrepreneurs can still hinder collaboration.
What began as a pilot to encourage knowledge exchange has generated change and innovation across Nigeria’s agricultural sector. For Habiba, CONESAM turned a retirement project into a thriving business and a platform for community empowerment. For Nigeria, it represents a new model—where collaboration between research and innovation are supporting positive outcomes for livelihoods and market growth.