PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu on Friday approved the appointment of Khalil Suleiman Halilu as the new Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI).
According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, by this appointment, Khalil Suleiman Halilu will serve for an initial term of five years in accordance with the relevant sections of the NASENI Act, 2014.
“Halilu, 32, is expected to bring his significant experience as an innovator and technology expert to bear in this important new national assignment.
”The tenure of Dr. Bashir Gwandu as EVC/CEO of NASENI is hereby terminated.
“By the directive of the President, this appointment takes immediate effect”, the statement read.
Who is Khalil Halilu?
Khalil Suleiman Halilu is a serial entrepreneur and technology enthusiast and a firm believer in the power of existing and emerging technologies to improve and transform lives and livelihood in developing countries.
He is the Founder and Chairman of The CANs Technology Hub, and CEO of ShapShap Technologies Limited, winner of the ‘Mobility and Smart Cities Innovator’ Prize in the Supernova Challenge Pitch Competition— one of the biggest pitch competitions in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia—at the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, GITEX, in Dubai, UAE, in October 2022.
In addition to founding ShapShap, a Nigerian logistics startup targeting the last-mile delivery market, Halilu is also the founder and CEO of OyaOya, Africa’s 1st on-demand commodity marketplace. The CANs Technology Hub, which he founded in 2020, in Abuja, Nigeria, is West Africa’s first eco-friendly Technology Hub.
Over the course of the last decade, Halilu has founded or invested in several technology companies and initiatives, cutting across logistics, agriculture, e-commerce, construction, recycling, citizen engagement, and electoral transparency; building on his passion for bridging the technology gap between Africa and the rest of the world.
He serves on or advises the boards of several companies, including Kuming Power China Group, Nuli Foods Company, CGC Construction, Dantata Foods, Gongoni Company Limited, Broadbased Connectivity Limited, and Fata Tannery, among others.
Halilu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, and a Master’s in International Business, both from the University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. He possesses over a decade of experience in project management, change management, systems design and architecture, and building effective and impactful organisations.
He is a member of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum (Kano Hub). A sports enthusiast, he’s also a member of the Kano, Lagos & Abuja Polo Clubs, and the Kano Golf Club.
The eldest of five children, Halilu was born in Kano, Nigeria, in 1990, into a family of pioneering entrepreneurs with extensive interests in manufacturing and retail.