Nigeria Startup Act implementation includes the launch of new startup support platform
One of the most important prerequisites for the execution of the Nigeria Startup Act is the establishment of a Startup Support and Engagement Portal in Nigeria.
The Nigeria Startup Act was launched in May 2021 by the Nigerian government and a group of prominent figures in the country’s technology sector. Its purpose is to establish guidelines and procedures for the cooperation of startups, governmental agencies, and regulatory authorities, with the goal of promoting the nation’s expanding technological ecosystem.
The Federal Executive Council gave it its blessing in December 2021, the Senate ratified it in July 2022, and President Muhammadu Buhari, who was in office at the time, signed it into law last October. The bill aims to establish Nigeria as the premier startup ecosystem in Africa.
The new startup site, which will drive the identification and aggregation of Nigerian startups, venture capital companies, hubs, and innovation centers to allow engagement and support for ecosystem actors, is a crucial component of the ongoing implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act.
“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,” said the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Registration on the portal is open to all Nigerian hubs, innovation centers, venture capital firms, and startups. The public can view the entire bill here, and a summary is available here.
The first two African nations to implement dedicated startup laws were Senegal and Tunisia, with Italy passing the first such law in 2012. Numerous nations, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Mali, are at different phases of enactment.
