E-Business
Funding Start-Ups to Enhance Economic & Technological Development
Getting a start-up, off from the idea stage, up and running in Nigeria, is by no means, an arduous task. This is because of a number of issues that goes we with running one in our clime.
As a start-up, you are faced with issues such as having to provide your own electricity through the purchase and daily fueling of generators, having to provide your own water through the digging of boreholes, etc, and these, coupled with having to deal with high cost of rent of office space, etc.
As an entrepreneur, I know much about failure, having made several mistakes myself and also noticed that, running a start-up involves a lot of risks.
I have gathered lots of insights on why many start-ups fail and why a few of them succeed and I can tell you, without mincing words that. One of the most important reasons why over 70% of new start-ups fail within the first 5 years in Nigeria, is due to lack of access to capital to run those businesses.
I have often heard it said that, money is not the most important thing when it comes to setting up a business but, having the best business idea. I have, however, in my brief journey in the realm of business, observed that business ideas remain stagnant or static and remain largely not achieved without adequate funding to activate and put actions to those ideas.
Funding is, therefore, a major reason why many start-ups fail in Nigeria. It is, however, pertinent to state that startups that survive and grow, lead to job creation and that Nigeria must cherish and work towards.
Sometime ago in Thailand, the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), Boss, Prof Umar Danbatta explained that the Nigerian government must be committed to developing technology startups in the country.
This is because, the idea to grow technology startups will, invariably, boost and accelerate Economic and National Development in Nigeria. “We would collaborate with the relevant agencies of government like the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), to provide the relevant funding that would enable them (The eight technology startups who showcased their solutions at ITU Telecoms World in Thailand) and make them commercially available within and outside Nigeria”, Professor Dambata stated. He was referring to the eight tech start-ups that presented their solutions at the ITU Telecoms World in Thailand recently.
This will definitely be a step in the right direction if the NCC and government agencies can fulfill this commitment. It will, then, be said to be following in the footsteps of some other countries that are helping out their start-ups and today, reaping the benefits of such moves.
At the World Economic Forum’s “Summer Davos” conference in Dalian, for instance, Professor Mariana Mazzucato, a Professor of Economics, stated how the United Kingdom spends more money on the funding of startups and startup programs than what they spend on teachers or universities annually, and this runs in excess of $8 billion. China is also not taking a back seat in this respect as it focuses a lot on entrepreneurial ecosystems within its territory as well as increasing the startup rate worldwide.
According to an insightful research report by EY, “in 2015, a total of 371 startups in Germany received Venture Capital. There were 205 new financing rounds in 2015, up by 85 % compared to 2014. Over 3 billion Euros were spent on startups in Germany, of which 2.1 billion went to the scene in Berlin. Almost 12 billion Euros were channeled into a total of 1433 investments in Europe in 2015. Of these, Germany gathered up 406.”
I met the Managing Director of Werk1 in Munich when I was in Germany sometime this year and he said that most of the funds for the outfit comes from the German government when I asked him about where the funding comes from. Werk1 is arguably, one of the biggest incubators which houses about 40 startups.
Said he, “half of the money comes from the state, but not enough. We collect rents from the startups. This is one primary source of the income because we have to pay the property owner. We run some affiliate programs for some companies, but more of the funds come from the state.”
From the examples stated above, little wonder that these countries that assist their start-ups are daily moving ahead technologically. We can and should replicate that in Nigeria to further boost our tech ecosystem. We need to learn the complexities of the tech ecosystem from global tech leaders and follow their foot steps to achieve our aims without having to reinvent the wheel.
There is also the need for Nigeria to invest massively in Research and Development as a prerequisite to startup development in Nigeria in order to galvanize start-up development. This is because it might do more harm than good to invest in start-ups in an environment that is not ready for it.
The creation of a sustainable ecosystem where innovation can flourish is vital, and it needs to be driven by the start-up community itself. Start-ups should endeavor to put together their team of like-minded people to help in the development and commercialization of their ideas. This will ensure that team members are not working at cross purposes. Start-ups need inspiration and help from people who know the game, its challenges, and potential investors.
In conclusion, there is no doubt that start-ups need adequate funding in order to scale up. Supporting innovation and providing commercial space for a startup working on concrete initiatives and development, such as the NCC and their government agencies are planning on the public side is one thing, this does not in any way, foreclose the fact that funding by private investors is also necessary.
Start-ups need better funding opportunities from a combination of business angels as well as public and private sources in order to survive and contribute their own quota to the economic and technological development of the country.
CFA is the Founder, www.CFAtech.ng & Co-producer/Presenter,Tech Trends on Channels Television
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over alleged violations of data protection laws involving students’ personal information.
The investigation follows public complaints alleging that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, processing, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the respective roles and responsibilities of UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella in the alleged processing of the data.
According to the Commission, the investigation will assess the data protection compliance obligations of the parties under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected data subjects.
The NDPC said the probe would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, and the use of automated decision-making systems.
It will also examine the adequacy of privacy notices, data-sharing arrangements, lawful bases for processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation.
Other areas include data retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational measures put in place to safeguard the rights and personal data of affected students.
The Commission reiterated that institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such information is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.
The NDPC therefore warned educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to take immediate steps to achieve compliance.
The Commission said it would continue to exercise its regulatory mandate to protect the privacy rights of Nigerians and ensure that organisations processing personal data comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform.
The social media company announced the changes at the weekend in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.
“Today, we’re introducing the Original Content Rewards Program, a new way to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.
X said it would stop accepting new enrolments into the Revenue Sharing programme from Friday, while existing participants would continue earning until September 7, 2026.
“Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new enrollments into Revenue Sharing,” it said.
According to the company, existing Revenue Sharing participants will receive three final payouts, with two scheduled for August 14 and August 28, while the final payment for earnings accrued through September 7 is expected around September 11.
X said existing Revenue Sharing participants would begin getting access to apply for the new programme from September 8, subject to meeting its eligibility requirements.
The first payout under the Original Content Rewards programme will be made on August 28, 2026, while existing Revenue Sharing creators who enrol in the new programme from September 8 will receive their first payment on September 25.
Under the new programme, eligible creators will earn from qualified impressions generated by their original content, with payments made every two weeks.
X defined qualified impressions as unique impressions from Premium users on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50 per cent of a post is visible.
On the other hand, “The following are excluded from qualified impressions: impressions from the same account counted more than once per post; paid, promoted, or artificially generated impressions; and fraudulent impressions,” it said.
To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, live in a country where the programme is available, maintain an account in good standing and have either a personal or vusiness account.
They must also subscribe to X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, have at least 500 verified followers and record at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users within the previous 90 days.
X said creators must also regularly post original content to remain eligible.
“We want to recognize creators who break news, share expertise, tell stories, create entertainment, and contribute meaningful perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.
The platform said original content could include threads, videos, memes, graphics, illustrations, reporting, analysis, commentary and reactions that add meaningful value to existing conversations.
It said creators who use content produced by others would need to add meaningful commentary, context, analysis, humour or creative transformation for such posts to qualify.
“Building on existing conversations is a core part of X, but simply reposting someone else’s content is not enough,” it said.
X said minor edits such as cropping, filters, borders, watermarks, speed adjustments or simple text overlays would generally not qualify as meaningful transformation on their own.
It also warned that content copied or substantially reproduced from another creator, content downloaded and re-uploaded from X or another platform without being the original author’s, automated content, disinformation and misleading content would be ineligible.
The company said accounts that violate the programme’s requirements could be temporarily or permanently removed from it, depending on the severity of the violation.
It added that creators would be responsible for ensuring they had the necessary rights, permissions or licences to use content created by others.
“Original content is content you personally create that reflects your own voice, perspective, expertise, or creativity,” X said.
The company said the new programme was intended to reward creators who make the platform more valuable by bringing original ideas and perspectives to its conversations.
“The Original Content Rewards Program is designed to reward the creators who start them, shape them, and move them forward,” it said.
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