Business Incubation Platform
IITA’s Business Incubation Platform (BIP) takes innovations and accelerates them into commercial enterprises for public benefit. Agribusinesses such as GoSeed, NoduMax, and aflasafe™, turn research into results, giving farmers access to better agricultural products such as high quality seeds, efficient bioinoculants, and improved biocontrol methods.
In terms of agribusiness, the new GoSeed initiative from IITA’s Business Incubation Platform is producing and marketing quality breeder and foundation cowpea seeds to private seed companies for distribution and sale to farmers. Awareness and use of quality certified seeds of improved IITA cowpea varieties, is expected to improve farmers’ yields, livelihoods, and food and income security.
Mission and purpose
The core mission of IITA-BIP is to:
- Create jobs and build youth-focused agribusinesses.
- Boost income, nutrition, and health of poor rural women and men.
- Improve access to improved agricultural technologies, products, and services that enhance productivity while sustaining natural resources.
IITA-BIP was created to provide a platform for establishing full-scale production facilities, supply chain models, and value-added crop processing units that can be adopted or replicated by the private sector.
History and structure
- The platform was founded in 2013 and is headquartered at the IITA Headquarters in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
- It operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of IITA, and its financials are consolidated in IITA’s group reporting.
- The organization is led by a CEO responsible for strategic repositioning and enhancing its commercial impact.
Key functions and services
IITA-BIP supports the agriculture value chain through a wide range of services, including:
- Commercialization and technology delivery
- Transform research innovations from IITA into commercial agricultural products and services.
- Develop and scale products that meet market demand and agribusiness viability.
- Entrepreneurship and business support
- Provide agribusiness advisory services and technical expertise.
- Offer capacity development and training for agripreneurs on business planning, farm management, and commercial operations.
- Run incubation programs such as Insects4Feed Entrepreneurship Program, which develops entrepreneurs in the insect-based protein and feed value chain.
- Product and service commercialization
IITA-BIP has created and supported several business entities, including:
- IITA GoSeed – Production and commercialization of improved seed varieties.
- NoduMax – A legume inoculant that increases nitrogen fixation and crop yields.
- Cropnut (in partnership) – Soil, water, and fertilizer laboratory services.
- AgriServe, Agri Frontier, Contec Global Agro (joint ventures) – Agribusiness service providers that support production, advisory, and value chain development.
Other services include:
- Soil suitability mapping
- End-to-end farm management support
- Food processing services
- Tissue culture and improved seed provision
- Financial agribusiness modelling
- Sale of small farm and processing equipment.
Impact and outreach
IITA-BIP’s work is designed to stimulate product development, market expansion, and job creation in agriculture, especially among youth and women in rural areas.
Through programs like the Insects4Feed incubation initiative, it empowers entrepreneurs to develop new value chains (e.g., insect protein for animal feed), supporting sustainable and affordable alternatives to traditional feed sources.
Partnerships and collaboration
IITA-BIP collaborates with public and private partners, including governmental agencies, research institutions, international development partners, and venture partners — bridging scientific innovations with commercial execution.
This multi-stakeholder model enhances the potential for investment, scaling, and broader impact across the agricultural sector.
Strategic importance
The Business Incubation Platform plays a critical role in linking research with real-world agricultural transformation by:
- Promoting commercial adoption of agricultural innovations.
- Supporting value chain development and entrepreneurship.
- Enhancing youth employment, livelihood generation, and economic growth.
- Fostering public-private partnerships and investment in agribusiness.