Dr Abiodun Egbetokun

Abiodun Egbetokun is an expert in innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development. His work focuses on how people, ideas and institutions come together to drive positive change, especially in developing economies. He is passionate about making research useful for policy and practice, and his projects often explore how skills, technology and innovation can help build more resilient businesses and communities. 

Prior to joining DMU, he spent nearly two decades at the National Centre for Technology Management, Nigeria where he rose to become Deputy Director of Research. In that role, he was engaged in researching and teaching innovation, entrepreneurship, development and policy.

Abiodun has a strong record of international research fellowships and visiting appointments, all secured at the first attempt. His trajectory reflects sustained recognition for research excellence and global collaboration. His doctoral study was funded by a scholarship from the German Research Foundation and he held a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship under the South African Research Chair on Innovation at the Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa). He has also held prestigious fellowships and research visits at leading institutions including the University of Oxford, the United Nations University–MERIT (Netherlands), and the Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation Indicators at the Human Sciences Research Council (South Africa).  

Over the course of his career, he has gained a deep understanding of the microeconomic factors that shape entrepreneurship and innovation in the context of development. This is built upon a rich multidisciplinary background in Engineering, Technology Management and Economics. His expertise has been sought by several multilateral development organisations including UNIDO, GIZ and the African Union Commission. He was President (2019-2021) of the Nigerian Young Academy, and Science Advice Policy Fellow (2019) of the US National Science Foundation. As an AuthorAID and Development Studies Association (DSA) mentor, he supports early career researchers in developing countries. Abiodun is presently a member of the ESRC Peer Review College,  an Academic Adviser for the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and a member of the Anti-Racism Accelerator Award Committee of the Wellcome Trust.

Institute for Responsible Business and Social Justice

The Centre for Enterprise and Innovation (CEI)

• Kruss, G., Petersen, I. haam, Sanni, M., Adeyeye, D. & Egbetokun, A. (2025). Do we measure what should be measured? Towards a research and theoretical agenda for STI measurement in Africa. Innovation and Development, 1–25
• Muhammad, A., Egbetokun, A. A., Ibrahim, M. A., Okoli, P. C., Sogbanmu, T. O., Ehilen, O. E., Isah, M. B., Mohammed, I. Y., Animasaun, I. L., Anjorin, A. A., Kenechukwu, F. C., Ibrahim, M. B., Ibor, O. R., Adesiyan, I. M., Umeyor, C. E., Garba, Z. N., Anyanwu, G. O., & Ifeanyi-Obi, C. C. (2024). Response to Health Crises in Africa: Insight From Executing a 2-Year Project in Nigeria. Science Communication 47:444-465.
• Egbetokun, A., MacGlone, U., McKeon, E., Newman-Griffis, D., Sedgwick, C. and Tavoulari, A. (2025). The labour of thought: reflections on interdisciplinarity in practice. Exchanges: The Interdisciplinary Research Journal 12:33-50.
• Egbetokun, A. Olofinyehun, A. & Adelowo, C. (2024). Built to last? The long-term impact of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial attitude. Entrepreneurship Education 7:41–66 
• Owoseni, A., Kolade, O and Egbetokun, A. (2024). Generative AI in Higher Education: Innovation Strategies for Teaching and Learning. London: Palgrave Macmillan
• Muhammad, A., Egbetokun, A., Ibrahim, M. A., Okoli, P. C., Sogbanmu, T. O., Ehilen, O. E., Isah, M. B., Mohammed, I. Y., Animasaun, I. L., Anjorin, A. A., Kenechukwu, F. C., Ibrahim, M. B., Ibor, O. R., Adesiyan, I. M., Umeyor, C. E., Garba, Z. N., Anyanwu, G. O., & Ifeanyi-Obi, C. C. (2024). Response to Health Crises in Africa: Insight from Executing a 2-Year Project in Nigeria. Science Communication
• Kolade, O., Owoseni, A. and Egbetokun, A. (2024). Is AI changing learning and assessment as we know it? Evidence from a ChatGPT experiment and a conceptual framework. Heliyon 10(4). 
• Egbetokun, A. (2023) Business incubators and entrepreneurship development in Africa’s innovation systems: a bibliometric review. Innovation and Development.
  
• Egbetokun A. (2022). Conducting Surveys in Africa: Reflections from National Surveys in Nigeria. In: Kolade O., Rae D., Obembe D., Woldesenbet Beta K. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of African Entrepreneurship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
• Hassan, S. S., Egbetokun, A. and Bzhalava, L. (2022). “Frenemies” of innovation: understanding the role of coopetition in service innovation in emerging markets. Open Research Europe 2022, 2:25.
• Olofinyehun, A., Egbetokun, A., Sanni, M., Ayo-Lawal, A., Oluwatope, O. and Yusuff, U. (2022). Diffusion of social science research in Nigeria. International Social Science Journal 72(246).
• Egbetokun, A., Olofinyehun, A., Sanni, M., Ayo-Lawal, A., Oluwatope, O. and Yusuff, U. (2022). The production of social science research in Nigeria: status and systemic determinants. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 9(1).
• Olofinyehun, A., Egbetokun, A. and Adelowo, C. (2022). Pooled dataset on entrepreneurial characteristics of undergraduates in selected universities in Nigeria. Data in Brief, 40 (107718).
• Egbetokun, A. and Olofinyehun, A. (2021). Dataset on the production, dissemination and uptake of social science research in Nigeria. Data in Brief, 35 (106932).
• Egbetokun, A., Olofinyehun, A., Oluwatope, O., Olotu, S. and Ejim-Eze, E. (2021) Role of social protection in mitigating the impact of coronavirus disease on household welfare: panel data evidence from Nigeria. Journal of African Transformation: Reflections on Policy and Practice, 6 (1/2), pp.116-140
• Kolade, O., Egbetokun, A. and Obembe, D. (2020). Skilled hands in turbulent winds: entrepreneurial skills and new venture performance in conflict-ridden Northern Nigeria. Journal of international Business Education, 15
• Fu, X., Muchie, M. and Egbetokun, A. (2020). Women entrepreneurs and innovation in Ghana In: Fu, X. Innovation under the radar: the nature and sources of innovation in Africa. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Kolade, O., Egbetokun, A., Rae, D. and Hussain, J. (2020). Entrepreneurial resilience in turbulent environments: the role of spiritual capital (chapter 18), in: Scott, J. M., Sinha, P., Gibb, J. & Akoorie, M., ed. Research Handbook on Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham.
• Egbetokun, A., Oluwatope, O., Adeyeye, D. and Sanni, M. (2019). The role of industry and economic context in open innovation: Evidence from Nigeria (chapter 5), pp. 67—87 in: Rexhepi, G.; Hisrich, R. & Ramadani, V., ed., (2019), Open Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Impetus of Growth and Competitive Advantages, Springer, Cham.
• Akerlof, K., Tyler, C., Foxen, S.E and Egbetokun A. A. et al. (2019). A collaboratively derived international research agenda on legislative science advice. Palgrave Communications 5, 108
• Adeyeye, D., Egbetokun, A., Oluwatope, O., and Sanni, M. (2019). The determinants and complementarity of organizational innovation practices among Nigerian manufacturing and service firms. African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 11(2):243-251
• Yun, J. J., Egbetokun, A. A. and Zhao, X. (2019). How does a social open innovation succeed? Learning from Burro Battery and Grassroots Innovation Festival of India. Science, Technology and Society DOI: 10.1177/0971721818806101

• Innovation and Technology Management
• Policy analysis and impact evaluation
• SMEs and entrepreneurship
• International development
• Innovation and entrepreneurship systems/ecosystems

• Technology and innovation management
• Operations Management
• Strategic Management

• PhD in Economics, specialisation in economics of innovation (Friderich Schiller University)
• Certificate in Academic Teaching (Friderich Schiller University, Germany)
• MSc in Technology Management (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria)
• BSc in Mechanical Engineering (Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria)

UG: Research Methods; PG: Operations and Service Quality Management; Technology and Innovation Management; Strategic Management; Development Theory and Planning; Technological Entrepreneurship; Management of R&D and Innovation Systems; Empirical Research Methods

• Finalist – Africa Evidence Leaders Award (Evidence Producer)
• DMU SDG Fellow (since November 2024)
• Nominated – Individual Research Excellence, Faculty of Business and Law, De Montfort University (2024)
• Nominated – De Montfort University Climate Awards (2024)
• Highly Commended – Climate Action Engagement Champion, De Montfort University (2024)
• Best Paper, Inclusive Economies Track, Faculty of Business and Law Research Conference, De Montfort University (2023)
• Science Advice for Policy Fellowship (2019)
• Africa-Oxford Visiting Research Grant, University of Oxford (2018)
• Open Innovation and Technology Best Paper Award (2018)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, South African Research Chair Initiative (2015)
• Visiting Research Fellowship, UNU-MERIT, the Netherlands (2014)
• German Research Foundation (DFG) Doctoral Research Fellowship (2010-2013)
• DAAD Short-term Fellowship for Foreign PhDs (2013-2014)
• Best Course Coordinator, National Centre for Technology Management, Nigeria (2009)

Member, Anti-Racism Accelerator Awards Committee, Wellcome Trust

Member, ESRC Peer Review College

Member, BAM Peer Review College

Academic Adviser, Commonwealth Scholarship Commission

Trustee, Centre Project

• Chartered Management Institute (since 2024)
• British Academy of Management (since 2023)
• IEEE Technology and Engineering Management Society (since 2023)
• Development Studies Association (since 2018)
• African Academy of Management (since 2012)
• International Schumpeter Society (since 2012)
• Nigerian Young Academy (2017 - 2022)

Member, Chartered Management Institute

Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE)

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)

DMU Learning and Teaching Conference (September 2025)

DMU Learning and Teaching Conference (January 2024)

Decolonising DMU Conference (November 2023)

International Growth Centre (IGC)/Economic Growth Centre (EGC) Conference (October 2023)

British Academy of Management Conference (September, 2023)

1st Nigerialics Conference (February, 2023)

• Policy analysis
• Impact evaluation
• Quantitative research design/analysis
• Research systems
• Executive/researcher training

Julia Taibi-Voigts (1st supervisor)

Zhaoyu Ma  (1st supervisor)

Nandan Sharma (1st supervisor)

 Betty Kinoti (2nd supervisor)

• Development of an AI-powered solution for customer relationship management for a Leicestershire business – a Knowledge Transfer Project (KTP) - £270,793 by Innovate UK, UKRI (Co-Principal Investigator, 2025-2027)
• Venture to adapt? Entrepreneurship as a coping mechanism for immigrants in the UK - £100,000 by the Economoic and Social Research Council, ESRC (Co-Principal Investigator, 2025-2028)
• Evaluating the impact of entrepreneurship education on youth entrepreneurship: A comprehensive study of young Nigerians  - £8,430 by British Academy, BA (Principal Investigator, 2024-2025)
• Business in Global Citizenship: Creating Innovative and Responsive Collaboration for Lifelong Learning (BIG CIRCLE) - £2,500 by International Network of Universities, INU (Team member, 2023-2024)
• Origins of the mammoth: Emergence and evolution of large high-growth firms in Nigeria - £14,025 by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, CEPR and the FCDO (Principal Investigator, 2021-2023)
• Evaluating and enhancing the impact of business incubators in developing countries: evidence from Nigeria - £8,540 by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, CEPR and the FCDO (Principal Investigator, 2020-2021)
• The Design and Impact of Apprenticeship-based Entrepreneurship Intervention for Promoting Youth Employment in Nigeria - CA$378,800 by the International Development Research Centre, IDRC (co-Principal Investigator, 2019-2022)
• Doing Research in Nigeria: Assessing Social Science Research Systems in a Global Perspective - US$44,650 by the Global Development Network, GDN (Principal Investigator, 2019-2021)
• GCRF - Conflict and Private Economic activity: an analysis of new harmonised household data from sub-Saharan Africa (COPE) - £163,533 by the Economic and Social Research Council, ESRC (co-Investigator, 2017-2019)
• The Supply of High Quality Entrepreneurs in Developing Countries: evidence from Nigeria - £24,850 by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, CEPR and the FCDO (co-Investigator, 2014-2016)
• Creating a Micro-Level Dataset on Innovation in Nigeria - £17,450 by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, CEPR and the FCDO (Principal Investigator, 2014-2015)

• The responsible and ethical use of artificial intelligence (AI) by small businesses in resource-constrained contexts. £1,300 from the Faculty of Business and Law (Principal Investigator, 2025)
• resilience and digital transformation of informal sector firms in a developing country. £789 from the Faculty of Business and Law (Co-investigator, 2024)
• “Hard pressed, pressing hard”: social capital, spiritual capital and entrepreneurial strategies in turbulent environments. £5,000 from the Faculty of Business and Law Seedcorn funding (Co-investigator, 2018)

Associate Editor, Innovation and Development

Associate Editor, IEEE Engineering Management Review

Associate Editor, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Management and Complexity

Editorial Board, International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management

0000-0002-2069-7648

• The lecturers learning to spot AI misconduct (BBC, October 20, 2025)
• Experts advocate curriculum re-design for entrepreneurial education (Leadership, October 16, 2025)
• Scholars call for redesign of university curriculum in Nigeria (Nigerian Tribune, October 16, 2025)
• ‘Metrics Don’t Tell Africa’s Story’: Scholar Calls for New Innovation Measures (Sputnik Africa, September 16, 2025)
• Visible but Unrecognized: How Global Innovation Indexes Fail to Capture Africa’s Creativity (Sputnik Africa, September 13, 2025)
• Africa’s innovations are overlooked because global measures don’t fit: what needs to change (The Conversation, July 29, 2025)
• Experts advocate entrepreneurship education as catalyst for economic dev’t (April 22, 2025)
• Entrepreneurship education, catalyst for economic development — Experts (Nigerian Tribune, April 22, 2025)
• Nigeria's universities need to revamp their entrepreneurship courses - they're not meeting student needs (The Conversation, October 31, 2024)
• Despite the drawbacks, Chinese investments in Africa are worth it. Just. (LSE Blog, July 31, 2024)
• Why we are changing false narrative on ‘education is scam’ — PYO (Nigerian Tribune, March 13, 2024)

• 'Government has no business in business' is fallacious (The Guardian Newspapers, October 16, 2023)
• Using Matthew effect to unlock Nigerian universities' potential (The Guardian Newspapers, October 3, 2023)
• Dear next president, this is the Nigeria you will lead (The Guardian Newspapers, March 20, 2023)
• On industrial development, the long term is sacred (The Guardian Newsppers, April 11, 2023)