Engr Patrick O. Nwosibe has beaten thousands of contestants Nationwide by winning the 2025 Engineering innovation price award.

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The innovation award was instituted by the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) Abeokuta Branch in honor of the 12th President of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and Past Vice President, of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Engr. Ven. Philip Bolude Oyebolu.

The competition was open to Engineers, Scientists and Innovators across the country and Engr. Nwosibe submission beat others to emerge the top after scoring 79 percent.

Engr. Nwosibe’s invention was Refillable White Board Ink known as Nobel Refill Ink which relates to the area of sustainable teaching materials is the first made in Nigeria non- toxic white Board marker Ink.

He revealed that the Key Features of the invention are refillable and reusable, Bio- resource based, Customizable colors and viscosity, Eco-friendly and cost-effective, Enhanced erasability with specialized additives, Compatible with various whiteboard surfaces among others.

Engr. Nwosibe outlined that this ink is the first made in Nigeria white board marker ink from local raw materials as all other ink in the market is imported from China and india.

According to him the Summary of Invention lies on the refillable non-toxic white board marker being produced entirely from locally sourced materials with vibrant pigment.

He explained that the ink is made especially for educational institutions, offices and home use.

“Our ink has the unique feature of using a toxic-free solvent (ethanol and methanol) to replace toxic ones like xylene and toluene which are harmful to the health of the users.

“The product is bio dependent as its major material gum arabic is obtained from a tree. It is available in different colors. It promotes the efficient use of local materials that have no health hazards and reduces plastic pollution around our environment by reusing the same Marker pen rather than a replacement.

“It is easy to refill into an exhausted marker pen or a new one. Its eligibility and erasability are top-notch . Our product was patented by the federal government of Nigeria in 2024.

“The Problem We are Solving
Over 4 billion white board marker pens used in Nigeria annually by educational institutions is imported (20 billion in Africa). The imported maker pens contain toxic chemicals like toluene and xylene which are injurious to the health of the users, the used marker pen contribute to environmental pollution due to disposal of the plastic waste and creates negative balance of trade to our economy.

In Nigeria, there are over 300,000 educational institutions. These institutions spends over 500billion annually on imported marker pen.

“Moreover, 100 million tons and 2.5 million tons of plastic waste are generated annually in Africa and Nigeria respectively. Our solution will focus on solving these two major problems of reducing plastic waste and reducing capital flight and negative balance of trade due to ink importation.”

“Our advantage over our competitors is that we are the only indigenous company producing marker ink in Nigeria and Africa. We also have direct access to educational institutions to create awareness of our product. Our business model will include direct bulk sales to schools, government and NGO, we will also supply to major distributors and provide after sales services. Our team is made up of seasoned Chemical and Process Engineers, business administrators and marketing experts with minimum of 15 years on the job experience.

He added that they are looking for partners and investors for full commercialization and deep market penetration.

The memorial lecture which was held on last week June 12th had in attendance the President of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Engr Magret Oguntala as the Chairman of the occasion, His Royalty Engr Otis Oliver Anyaji guest speaker and many notable dignitaries in the Engineering , Academia and political space.