“Nigeria Startup House” in San Francisco aims to raise awareness of nation’s innovation ecosystem

In order to increase the prominence and positioning of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem and draw in more foreign investment and knowledge, the Nigerian government established a “Nigeria Startup House” in San Francisco.

Launched in accordance with the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy’s aim to establish Nigeria as a major player in the global technology landscape, the Nigeria Startup House is owned by the Nigerian government but is run by a coalition of Nigerian digital technology companies that will provide non-public funding for operations.

The Nigerian minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, announced on LinkedIn that the government of Nigeria will be converting an existing property in San Francisco. The minister’s goal is to raise awareness of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem in order to draw in more funding and expertise from Silicon Valley and other sources.

“As we work towards achieving key elements of our Trade and IEC Strategic Blueprint Pillars, the Nigeria Startup House will play a critical role in promoting Nigeria’s economic interest, attracting foreign direct investment, and improving the visibility and positioning of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem to attract funding and expertise from global markets and organisations represented in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond,” said Tijani, the co-founder of the Lagos-based Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) who was appointed minister last August.

“The San Francisco Bay Area, and nearby Silicon Valley, is recognised globally as a major source of startup ecosystem funding, with a combined GDP value of just over US $929 billion, and is home to over 200 of the largest companies in the world by revenue. In addition, most of the US $1.3 billion funding sourced by Nigerian technology startups in 2023 alone came from venture capital funds in the Bay Area.”