Meet Khalil Halilu: From Family Business to African Innovation Leader

From the start, Khalil Halilu’s career journey has been consistently underlined by innovation, persistence, vulnerability, and growth. As the Chief Operating Officer of the family manufacturing business, the Kano-based Scirrocco Industries Limited, in his early 20s, Halilu, a business graduate and technology enthusiast, was eager to infuse modern technological advancements and spearhead a rebranding.

Naturally, his enthusiasm and ideas for transforming the business were met with mixed reactions. Within the close-knit and traditional environment of a northern Nigerian family, Halilu learned first-hand the complexities of familial power dynamics, and the intricacies of negotiating one’s way.

Khalil Suleiman Halilu has held significant roles across various companies, contributing to their growth and innovation. At Gongoni Company Ltd., a leading manufacturing company in Nigeria, he played a pivotal role, though the specific years of his tenure are not widely publicized. He has also been involved with Nuli Foods Company, a health-conscious food brand, where his influence in business strategy helped shape the company’s direction. Additionally, Halilu has been associated with Dantata Foods Ltd., where his expertise in business and technology likely supported their operational and strategic development.

Moreover, his involvement with Fata Tannery and Sudabelt Medical highlights his diverse experience across industries, from manufacturing to healthcare, indicating his broad skill set in managing and advising businesses across sectors.

The pushback he encountered, combined with his determination to advance his vision, provided him with invaluable lessons. These formative years in the family business served as a personal business school, shaping him into a better and wiser leader.

Halilu eventually ventured out on his own, seeking to carve a distinct path. He gained diverse experience working in various roles, from creative director and business developer to operations manager, and even an importer of vehicles.

In September 2023, Halilu was appointed as the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), a Nigerian government agency with the mandate to drive the nation’s industrial innovation and technology transfer. Halilu could not have asked for a more fitting assignment, one in full alignment with his passion for transforming abstract ideas into impactful realities.

In recent years, Khalil founded two companies close to his heart: The CANs Technology Park and ShapShap. The CANs Park is an eco-friendly tech hub and coworking space that fosters innovation and collaboration among startups and remote workers, in an environment that strives to balance work and lifestyle. ShapShap is an on-demand delivery platform that connects online retailers and customers to a network of riders. Halilu firmly believes that the future of Nigeria and Africa lies in the success of SMEs.

Alongside his leadership at NASENI, Khalil continues to run his personal non-profit organization; KSH Foundation, focusing on the development of young minds, especially women, and providing them with the tools and resources necessary for personal and professional growth.

Across both the public and private sectors, Halilu’s work is unified by a common thread: the opportunity to offer consistently great value that transforms lives.