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Startups Ecosystem Critical To The Future Of Nigeria – Osibanjo
The Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency Professor Yemi Osibanjo, said that startup ecosystem is one of the vital tools in finding solutions to Africa’s various challenges, according to him, these challenges will determine if the continent’s future as the next frontier for economic opportunities will fully be realised.
The VP, represented by Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said this at the Startup and Developer event organised by Google.
He stated the topic – The African Start-up Ecosystem Opportunity – is exciting because startup ecosystem is extremely critical to the future of Nigeria and Africa at large.
“Globally, the Startup ecosystem is the most viable platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to take their ideas from inception to impact.
“It brings relevant stakeholders together to collaborate and bring something new to the world or new to an industry.
“There will never be a more perfect time to strengthen the African startup ecosystem than now, on the verge of the 4th industrial revolution,” he said.
Osibanjo noted that the 3rd industrial revolution was pivotal to unprecedented global economic growth in the 21st century, as it disrupted traditional service delivery channels and accelerated the automation of factories and manufacturing processes, using electronics and information technologies to expand the reach and create prosperity but Africa hopped along and missed out.
“The countries that captured maximum value from the 3rd industrial revolution have become more prosperous and built solutions that improved service delivery in all aspects of lives, from education, healthcare and food production to efficiency and speed in manufacturing.
“Today, Africa is presented with another opportunity, the 4th industrial revolution, which is shaping and creating economic activities.
“It is proving to be the catalyst for future economic activities that will bridge the divide between rich and developing countries, and remove physical borders and barriers while maximising the utilisation of digital technologies as a source of inspiration across economic sectors,” he added.
“The African startup ecosystem opportunity is hinged on two key factors, which are anchored on the 4th industrial revolution and driven primarily by digital technologies. The first factor is innovation capacity, and the second one is entrepreneurial capacity.
“Both capacities depend on four key indicators, Human Capital, Infrastructure, Funding and Demand. Human capital being the first indicator means that African startups must realise that they are only as strong as the value of the human resources they have.
“Therefore, startups like Andela, Wootlab Innovations and Decagon are vital as they are involved in producing skilled talent.
“With this, Africa can become the next hotbed for professional talent that will provide local solutions and export their skills and solutions to a global market that actively seeks such value.
“This is why we highly valued Google Developer Space in Lagos. It is the first in Africa and speaks to the position of Nigeria as a leader in the digital skills and startup ecosystem in Africa. The investments attracted by our startups confirm the position.
“Recently, Flutterwave announced new funding of $170m, and Stripe acquired Paystack for more than $200m. Other Nigerian technology companies like Interswitch have raised funding in hundreds of millions of dollars,” he noted.
The VP stated that according to startup Genome report, Lagos is the most valuable startup ecosystem on the continent, having 400 to 700 active startups valued at over $2B with Fintech being the most prominent in the Lagos technology startups ecosystem.
However, other industries are emerging with startups like Flying Doctors, 54gene, Helium Health and Life Bank blazing the trail in the healthcare sector and Thrive Agric, Afex Commodities, and Probity Farms making waves in the agriculture and commodities exchange space.
He said the opportunities for investment and disruption remain very high in the continent; same as the opportunity for hubs and other innovation centres to serve as enablers and anchors for our promising startups.
“As Government, we are working with the relevant stakeholders in the public and private sector to ensure that startups receive every support they require to take their ideas from inception to impact.
“As part of our Ease of Doing Business Reforms, we instituted the Visa on Arrival Policy which allows any person outside ECOWAS to get a visa on arrival in Nigeria.
“This policy means all African startups and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their business into Nigeria will have a more straightforward process.
“We are also re-convening the Technology and Creativity Advisory Council, made up of public and private sector stakeholders in the ecosystem to advise Government on policies and programs to support the ecosystem.
“Through the work of this council, we are currently engaging with the African Development Bank to setup a $500million US Dollar Innovation Fund, which will provide support for the ecosystem across four pillars which include Infrastructure support, Finance, Skills Development and Technical Assistance.
“In 2019, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria as a sustainable roadmap to accelerate the development of the Digital Economy in Nigeria.
“The policy is designed to catalyse the digital ecosystem development in Nigeria and deepen innovation quality to promote innovation-driven enterprises that target the global market.
“We also have many initiatives to support the ecosystem through various agencies. In this regard, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been at the forefront of supporting Nigeria’s digital innovation ecosystem. Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc worldwide, NITDA engaged the ecosystem to devise strategies to aid business continuity for startups and developed schemes to support and sustain the ecosystem.
The engagement led to initiatives such as Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme, National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center etc, as sustainable programmes to continuously up-skill and supports the startup ecosystem.
“Secondly, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council introduced the Export Expansion Grant, which can be accessed by companies with a minimum annual export turnover of N5 million. This is particularly useful to Nigerian startups seeking an expansion into other African countries and those seeking to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“Other opportunities, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Creative Sector Loan in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee and the Bank of Industry’s Technology Fund, are designed to create different ways through which startups can access the value they need to keep expanding their businesses.
“I must further re-iterate that there is no exhaustive list of approaches to make sure our Government creates an enabling environment. For example, we are working through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to deepen digital identity through NIN registration and build broadband infrastructure backbone across the country, this is part of our National Broadband Plan, which is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, providing access to at least 90% of the population by 2025 at affordable prices.
“Broadband infrastructure and digital identity are two critical factors that accelerate the digital economy. These are all avenues aimed at inspiring our startups to disrupt the conventional ways of service delivery,” he concluded.
Justice Kehinde Ogundare of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the final forfeiture of a parcel of land measuring 2348.072 square metres in Enugu State recovered from the duo of Babatunde Said Adeola and Kingsley Ifeanyi Adonu to the federal government.
Adeola and Adonu, owners of S. Mobile Netzone Limited, Biss Networks Nigeria Limited and Pristine Networks Mobile Networks Nigeria Limited, had presented themselves as telecommunications experts with flourishing businesses and joint ventures with MTN Nigeria and other companies.
The Commission, however, received a petition alleging a case of conspiracy and obtaining the sum of N510,000.000 (Five Hundred and Ten Million Nara) against S. Mobile Netzone Limited, Biss Networks Nigeria Limited and Pristine Networks Mobile Networks Nigeria Limited.
The funds, investigation revealed, were invested by the petitioners in the telecom businesses owned by the respondents.
Investigation further revealed that the respondents, rather than refund the petitioners or pay them interests on their investments, converted the funds into their personal use, acquired pieces of land across the country, including the property measuring 2348.072 square metres described in survey plan No. CSS/EM164/2005 along Enugu-Ezike/Obolo-Afor Road, Ogrute Enugu Ezike in Igboeze Local Government Area, Enugu State.
In view of this, the Commission, in a motion ex parte, had approached the court seeking an interim forfeiture of the property.
In a 16-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Adekunbi Mojisola, an investigator with the EFCC, the Commission prayed the court to grant the forfeiture of the property.
In granting the application, the Judge had, sometime in July, 2023, ordered the interim forfeiture of the property and also directed the publication of the same in a national newspaper.
Following the order, the Commission published the forfeiture order in the Punch newspaper of November 8, 2023 for interested parties to show cause why the property should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.
In the absence of any contestation, the court today ordered the final forfeiture of the property, sequel to the application filed by the EFCC on December 13, 2023.
Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) during its meeting earlier in the day.
President Bola Tinubu’s administration has approved the conversion of a government property in San Francisco, United States of America into the Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Program Hub.
The hub will be called Nigerian Startup House.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) during its meeting earlier in the day.
He said, “Another development from FEC today, which sits firmly in our desire as a Ministry to position Nigeria as a significant player in the global technology landscape, is the approval for the conversion of an existing property of the Federal Government in San Francisco, USA to a Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Programme Hub (Nigeria Startup House).
“As we work towards achieving key elements of our Trade and IEC Strategic Blueprint Pillars, the Nigerian 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.
“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 $929 billion and is home to over 200 of the largest companies in the world by revenue.
In addition, most of the $1.3 billion funding sourced by Nigerian technology startups in 2023 alone came from Venture Capital funds in the Bay Area.
“While the ownership of the Nigeria Startup House will remain with the Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it will be managed by a consortium of Nigerian digital technology companies who will provide non-public funding for the operations of the Startup House.”
ALX Nigeria, a tech accelerator has embarked on a dynamic journey across multiple universities in Nigeria fostering awareness and offering students unparalleled opportunities to enhance their tech skills and careers.
ALX Nigeria is part of a global organisation, ALX Africa, which is also present in South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, Morocco, Ghana, Egypt, Ethiopia, and other African countries and is actively building the #ALX9jaCommunity.
With successful events hosted at Babcock University, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Landmark University, and LAUTECH, with a final stop at Ibadan Polytechnic, ALX is setting the stage for a new era of engagement and intellectual discourse among students as well as inspiring them to take tech seriously.
As part of its mission to revolutionise learning and empower the next generation of leaders, ALX provides students with a transformative opportunity to connect with innovative tech courses and reach their full potential.
Seun Babajide-Duroshola, ALX Nigeria, Country Marketing Manager, stated, “We are strategically doing this to engage students through thought-provoking conversations, and this is happening across various universities.
“We want to inspire and push them to take charge of their life, and careers, and go all out on a tech-driven lifelong learning journey. Just imagine how powerful it will be for university graduates equipped with tech skills by the time they complete their degree.”
One of the highlights of ALX’s campus tour was the Inter-School Debate, where six universities—Thomas Adewumi University, Landmark University, Redeemers University, Afe Babalola University, University of Ilorin, and Obafemi Awolowo University—competed head-to-head in a battle of intellect and eloquence.
The event highlighted the intellectual prowess of the participating students and fostered friendly and healthy competition among universities.
After rounds of intense deliberation and passionate arguments, Alex Olafisoye, a 500-level student at the University of Ilorin, emerged victorious in the Inter-School Debate.
His team’s dedication, intellect, and rhetorical finesse captivated the audience and demonstrated the remarkable talent nurtured within university campuses. This victory earned his team a coveted cash prize and a brand-new laptop and provided Alex with a unique platform to network and share his ideas.
Alex Olasfisoye, the winner of the competition, expressed his joy as he stated, “This was a unique opportunity for me to network and talk about ideas that I have in mind for a while, and I’m grateful to ALX for providing a platform like this for me to unleash my skill.”
Regarding the Inter-School Debate Competition, Babajide-Duroshola expressed profound enthusiasm and gratitude, stating, “We are excited to witness the incredible response from students across universities.
“The energy and passion displayed during the Inter-School Debate competition were truly inspiring. It reaffirms our belief in the power of tech learning to transform lives and shape the future.” Events like these not only foster academic excellence but also nurture leadership qualities and teamwork skills essential for success in the modern world,” she added.
With its unwavering commitment, ALX Nigeria remains at the forefront of equipping the next generation with the necessary knowledge and skills to thrive in the digital sector. It does so by providing a diverse range of tech programmes and offerings designed to meet the evolving needs of the industry.
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