Open Innovation Playbook: A Strategic Guide to Deploying Open Innovation in Nigeria

Across Nigeria and much of Africa, the urgency to solve complex development and market challenges has never been greater. From agriculture and healthcare to climate resilience, digital inclusion and food systems, the scale and pace of change required cannot be achieved by any single institution working alone. Governments, private sector actors, startups, research institutions and development partners all hold important pieces of the solution. What is often missing, however, is a structured way to connect these capabilities, unlock collaboration and translate ideas into scalable solutions. This is where open innovation becomes particularly powerful. The purpose of this Open Innovation Playbook is to provide a practical guide for institutions seeking to deploy innovation challenges in a way that delivers real and lasting impact. This Playbook attempts to distil lessons from Innovate UK Global Alliance Africa’s Open Innovation Challenges implemented in Nigeria. It also offers clear frameworks for future challenge design and implementation and helps stakeholders avoid common pitfalls that often weaken otherwise promising initiatives. More importantly, it creates a shared reference point for ecosystem actors like public institutions, corporates, innovation hubs, development agencies and investors, who are increasingly interested in using open innovation challenges as a tool for growth and problem solving.