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Startup Bill will Grow Nigeria’s Tech Ecosystem – DG NITDA
As Nigeria moves to harness the potential of its digital economy through co-created regulations and provide enabling environment for growth, attraction and protection of investment in the sector, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, has said that the recently passed Nigeria Startup Bill by National Assembly will help institutionalize legal frameworks that will enhance the growth of startups easily, quickly and conveniently in the country.
Inuwa stated this while delivering a Keynote address at the Google Black Founders Fund in Africa 2022 launch event, which took place at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja
The DG noted that part of the challenge being faced by startups especially in Africa is legal backing. According to him, starting and growing businesses in Africa used to be a big challenge, but with such Bill in place, it will be easier to start a business.
Speaking on the importance of the event, Inuwa said the gathering is an opportunity for startups to get funding and start a business. Also, it is coming with other incentives like the training Google offers which can be accessed via their Cloud.
While affirming government’s commitment to the growth of digital economy in Nigeria, Inuwa said “we believe our own responsibility is to come up with policies that can enable a level playing field, and the government has been doing a lot in this area, starting with expanding the mandate of our ministry to cover digital economy, and the ongoing implementation of National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a digital Nigeria, which outlined its strategic pillars that are key to the ecosystem.”
“We are currently working on a project called “Talent Gap Assessment”, because we believe talent is the people side of technology. In Africa, we cannot compete with the rest of the world in terms of hardware and any technology infrastructure, but when it comes to talent, we have a competitive edge over the rest of the world.
Advising the Startups to have it in mind that technology is making things easier, Inuwa noted that customers’ demand is changing rapidly, so they should envisage how human lives will be tomorrow and come up with innovative products that will be sellable in the future market.
“Don’t waste your time on what is happening today, the problem of today may be irrelevant tomorrow. Focus on Emerging Technologies and change the way we do things in this world. What helps you to succeed today may not help you succeed tomorrow.”
“Try and turn your products into services because the world is moving to a service platform markets. You will make more money in service than in products. It is easier to provide a service in Africa because of our challenging infrastructure. Let us explore that, that will help us to excel,” he added.
He assured that the government is ready to partner with people or organizations like Google and the ecosystem in general, especially five key critical stakeholders needed on board to build a strong ecosystem; Entrepreneurs, Higher Institution, Corporate Organisations, Multi-national and Government.
“Entrepreneurs brings ideas, higher institutions provide human capital development, corporate organisations absorb products, and government’s role is basically in the policy-making and intervenes in a situation whereby there is shortage in unserved and underserved areas. This is why the government came up the start-up bill which is also going to come up with a seed funding that can help with early-stage funding as well,” he noted.
Inuwa thanked Google for the opportunity provided to African startups and also encouraged other multi-nationals to look at how they can help the African startups ecosystem with funding, adding that it is going to be a win-win situation, the more startups in Africa, the more digital offerings, the more market they will create for the multi-nationals.
On his part, Mr Adewolu Adene, Government Affairs and Policy Manager, Google Nigeria, applauded the Nigerian Government for the support it provides on easy system, and contributing to their data in terms of physical incentives and the registration process of Corporate Affairs Commission.
He said, “We are really grateful for the support that we have been getting from policy-makers and all the forces behind. We have done a lot to get to this point and we hope that we can continue to do even more to take us further such that we are able to deliver to the respective mandate.”
Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has alerted its customers to a fraudulent message circulating on social media, falsely claiming that electricity consumers can receive an additional 20 per cent bonus units when recharging their prepaid meters through unofficial channels.
In a statement issued by the company’s management on Monday, YEDC described the claim as false and urged customers to disregard the misleading information, stressing that it did not originate from the company.
According to the statement, YEDC does not offer bonus electricity units through individuals, agents, personal bank accounts, phone numbers, or social media contacts.
The company advised customers to purchase electricity tokens only through approved cashless payment platforms, including the YEDC Pay App, OPay, Interswitch, and other authorised vending channels, or to visit the nearest YEDC office for assistance.
YEDC also cautioned customers against sharing their meter details or personal information, or making payments to unauthorised persons claiming to represent the company.
The company further urged customers to rely exclusively on information disseminated through its official communication channels to avoid falling victim to fraud.
The management thanked customers for their continued cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to serving them.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that two foreign currency accounts opened in connection with the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) have remained inactive since their creation, with no funds deposited and no transactions recorded.
The revelation emerged on Monday during the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing the circumstances surrounding the establishment and operations of the council.
Lawmakers are investigating allegations that the PFIPC was created and operated without a valid legal framework and outside the established procedures required for government agencies and institutions.
Appearing before the committee, representatives of both the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) distanced their institutions from the establishment of the council.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation stated that it neither created the council nor possessed the constitutional authority to establish federal agencies.
Representing the office, officials explained that the OHCSF is only responsible for approving administrative structures of government agencies after all necessary requirements have been fulfilled.
According to the office, records showed that the council submitted a request on August 6, 2025, seeking approval for its organisational structure.
However, the application was not approved because the required supporting documents were not attached.
The committee heard that despite the rejection of the request, officials linked to the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC)/PFIPC later appeared during the 2025 manpower budget defence exercise and sought approval for staffing and recruitment arrangements.
The office disclosed that the council informed government officials that its activities were being carried out largely through personnel seconded or deployed from other institutions.
Lawmakers were told that the council requested approval for a total of 314 positions. The figure consisted of 14 existing officers and an additional 300 proposed positions.
The Office of the Head of the Civil Service further revealed that concerns later arose regarding documents presented by the council as evidence of its legal backing.
Officials told the committee that upon examination, the documents failed to display essential features expected of an enabling law or valid legal instrument establishing a government body.
Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, head of the Civil Service of the Federation, also rejected claims that her office deployed civil servants to work for the council.
She maintained that the office did not assign personnel to the body and did not provide office accommodation for its operations.
According to her, matters relating to the creation, supervision and oversight of government agencies fall under the responsibilities of other relevant institutions, including the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The Central Bank of Nigeria also provided details regarding accounts linked to the council.Nigerian current events
Hamisu Abdullahi, director at the apex bank, who represented the CBN Governor before the committee, explained that the bank opened two foreign currency accounts following a formal request from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He told lawmakers that the request was received on July 30, 2025, and instructed the bank to create a United States dollar domiciliary account and a Pound Sterling domiciliary account.
Abdullahi stressed that the CBN only opens accounts for government agencies after receiving official authorisation from the Accountant-General’s office.
However, he disclosed that the accounts never became operational because the council failed to provide authorised signatories required for activation.
As a result, both accounts remained dormant from the day they were opened.
He informed the committee that neither account had received deposits nor processed withdrawals. The accounts also recorded no foreign exchange allocations, remittances, inflows or outflows.Governor election news
According to him, the balances in both accounts remain at zero.
The CBN official further stated that the council did not engage directly with the apex bank regarding the management or operation of the accounts after they were created.
Following the submissions, members of the committee demanded more information as part of efforts to determine the full scope of the council’s activities.
Hon. Abdulmalik Danga, chairman of the committee, directed the Central Bank to submit comprehensive records relating to both the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.
The committee requested details covering the opening of the accounts, their operational history and any information connected to related banking activities.
Lawmakers also instructed the CBN to work with commercial banks to identify and provide records of any accounts linked to the entities under investigation.
However, the committee is expected to continue its hearings as more government agencies and officials appear before lawmakers to provide explanations on the controversial council and the circumstances surrounding its operations.
STEM Africa Fest, an annual science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education event designed to expose children to hands-on learning, returned to Lagos, with organisers urging greater integration of practical STEM education into Nigeria’s school curriculum to prepare young people for future careers.
The organisers said the initiative has reached over 25,000 children across Africa in six years, renewing calls for greater integration of practical STEM education into Nigeria’s school curriculum.
The festival, which began in 2021 during the COVID-19 lockdown, has expanded beyond Nigeria to Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Zambia, Rwanda and Kenya, promoting experiential learning through science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). The sixth edition which held in Lagos, attracted about 3,500 children and parents from all over.
Conveners, Titi Adewusi and Jadesola Adedeji, said the initiative was conceived to address the gap between classroom theory and practical learning, giving children opportunities to build, experiment and interact with emerging technologies.
According to Adewusi, this year’s theme, “Building Future Innovators”, reflects the organisers’ vision of nurturing Africa’s next generation of innovators, problem-solvers and creative thinkers.
“Children are learning the theories and we wanted to bring the real thing, hands-on. If you’re teaching a child about 3D printing, we want them to actually experience it. If you’re teaching a child about building robots or AI, we wanted them to experience it,” she said.
Adedeji, said the idea for the festival emerged from a shared desire to make science education more engaging after discussions between the founders several years ago.
She said the maiden edition, held during the pandemic, attracted over 1,000 participants globally, while the first physical edition recorded over 6,000 attendees.
They identified funding, stakeholder mobilisation and expanding the festival to other locations as some of the challenges encountered since its inception. They noted that increasing demand from different states and African countries had prompted them to adopt a partnership model that allows collaborators replicate the programme using an established framework.
They also urged governments at all levels to strengthen support for STEM education by integrating practical learning into school curricula and partnering with private organisations to improve access to science and technology education.
Adewusi said they have developed a STEM curriculum that is being implemented in some schools and expressed readiness to collaborate with the government to expand its adoption in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on quality education.
Adedeji added that government support should go beyond funding to include curriculum development, teacher training and institutional backing for STEM-focused initiatives.
Representing Access Holdings, Programme Manager for Sustainability, Ikechukwu Iheagwam, said the company’s continued support for the festival aligns with its commitment to advancing education and technology.
He said exposing children to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics would better prepare them for the future, adding that private sector participation should complement government efforts in improving STEM education.
Some pupils who attended the festival said the practical sessions strengthened their interest in science and technology.
A student of Court Hill College, Opebi, Jason Lawal, said he participated in activities including a Rubik’s Cube challenge and an artificial intelligence masterclass where participants created short AI-generated animations.
Another student of Greater Ecstasy High School, Iyana-Ipaja, Fatima Namama said attending the festival over the years had deepened her interest in laboratory science and technology. She called for wider integration of STEM education into the school curriculum and more opportunities for pupils to participate in similar learning events.
The organisers said the festival’s impact extends beyond attendance figures, noting that some former participants have returned in recent years as exhibitors in coding and robotics, reflecting its contribution to nurturing future innovators.
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