President Muhammadu Buhari has signed Nigeria’s Startups Bills into law, with the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami announcing that the government has earmarked N10 billion start-up funding for startups and innovators to draw from.
After the low-key signing ceremony of the Nigeria Startups Act 2022 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami said that the new Act would be establishing the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council.
He explained that the new law was born out of the government’s desire to provide the required enabling environments for Nigerian young startups and innovators to address the various challenges facing, including those of intellectual property, financing, regulation, and incentive.
The Minister said that President Buhari, through his Ministry and the Office of the Chief of Staff, broached the bill.
In recognition of the efforts of the Nigerian government in Information Communication Technology, the Minister said that Microsoft would train about five million Nigerians on high demands skills geared towards job creation.
He said the ICT contributed 18.42 percent to the Gross Domestic Product this year alone, while the entire contribution of Communication and Digital Economy was 40 percent.
Pantami further said that, before the passage of the bill, young innovators from the six geo-political zones of the country were engaged, adding that the Act provides the legal and strategic framework for the innovators to make their contributions to the country.
He said that out of the seven unicorns in Africa, five are Nigerians, adding that the market value of each unicorn is worth $ 1 billion.
A unicorn, he explained, is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion.
