In its drive to unlock the country’s potential in innovation and technology, the Nigerian government has announced the launch of a Startup Support and Engagement Portal.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, made the announcement on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of the Startup Support and Engagement Portal, startup.gov.ng, a key requirement for the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act,” the Minister wrote in a post on his official X (formely Twitter) account.
According to him, the startup portal will drive the identification and aggregation of Nigerian startups, venture capital companies, hubs and innovation centres in order to facilitate engagement and support for ecosystem players.
He stated that, “The launch of the portal will allow us to initiate the process of setting up the startup consultative forums to select representatives to the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, in order to facilitate discourse and consensus among Nigerian ecosystem players.”
Inviting all Nigerian startups venture capital companies, hubs and innovation centres to register at the portal, the Minister added, “I look forward to working with all industry stakeholders to ensure that we fully implement the Startup Act for the benefit of our innovation ecosystem.”
The portal will facilitate the labelling of Nigerian Startups and the registration of Venture Capitalists, Angel Investors, Accelerators, Incubators & Innovation Hubs (A.I.I.), and Civil Society Organisations involved in advancement of Technology and Innovation.
It would be recalled that in October, the Federal Government launched the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, designed to build Nigeria’s technical talent backbone to power its digital economy and position Nigeria as a net talent exporter.
In conjunction with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the programme’s first phase is expected to involve multiple stakeholders including fellows, training providers, partners, and placement organisations.
Similarly, the Nigeria Startup Act 2022, which was signed into law by former president Muhammadu Buhari in October 2022, provides incentives, structures and programmes for Nigerian startups to catalyse growth, create value and build a foundation to export tech-enabled services.
The Act also establishes the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship whose primary mandate is to align national policies for the development of startups and establish programmes to support tech-enabled startups in Nigeria.
