Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called for urgent, coordinated action to translate the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) from a policy document into tangible benefits for entrepreneurs, investors and other players in the country’s innovation ecosystem.
The call was made at the NSA Incentives Activation Co-Creation Session in Abuja, organised by NITDA’s subsidiary, the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI).
Representing the NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, ONDI National Coordinator Victoria Fabunmi said the enactment of the Nigerian Startup Act was a historic milestone, but stressed that its real success would be determined by the benefits it delivers to startups and investors.
Inuwa said Nigeria must now move decisively from policy design to operational delivery, noting that initiatives such as the establishment of the Startup Consultative Forum and the launch of the digital startup portal had created important foundations for implementation.
He, however, stressed that the ultimate test was whether founders could easily access the incentives, reliefs and resources promised under the Act.
“We want to go to the next level. We want to be able to say that the actors in our ecosystem have been able to benefit significantly from the legislation that has been passed, and it wouldn’t happen without everyone sitting in this room,” he said.
The NITDA boss urged government agencies, private-sector actors and other ecosystem stakeholders to work together to remove institutional bottlenecks and ensure that startups can access the opportunities created by the legislation.
According to him, the various institutions involved in the implementation of the Act have different mandates, resources and policy instruments which, if properly coordinated, could significantly improve the operating environment for Nigerian startups.
He said implementation cuts across sectors including trade, finance, communications, innovation, digital economy, science and technology, making seamless inter-agency collaboration critical.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, represented by the National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Ms Victoria Fabunmi, in a group photograph with participants from various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) Incentives Activation Co-Creation Workshop in Abuja.
Inuwa urged participating institutions to identify gaps, clarify responsibilities and establish practical mechanisms for delivering the incentives to their intended beneficiaries.
He also called for continuous stakeholder engagement and feedback, noting that the startup ecosystem is constantly evolving and implementation must respond to emerging needs.
The NITDA DG said recommendations from the session would contribute to strengthening the implementation framework and creating an environment where Nigerian startups can scale, attract investment and compete effectively in global markets.
In a context-setting presentation titled “Operationalising the Incentive Provisions of the Nigerian Startup Act,” Acting Lead, Strategy, Research and Analytics at ONDI, Ms. Elma Andah, disclosed that the Act provides more than 31 incentives across six major categories.
She identified the categories as tax and fiscal incentives, regulatory support, funding access, exports and trade, ecosystem enablers, and training and capacity building.
Andah explained that implementation of the incentives requires the participation of more than 15 government institutions, making inter-agency coordination central to the success of the legislation.
“No single institution can deliver all these incentives alone. Implementation requires coordination across more than 15 MDAs,” she said.
She noted that the Nigerian Startup Act, signed into law on October 19, 2022, was designed to promote innovation, improve access to funding, strengthen collaboration and position Nigeria as a leading technology and innovation-driven economy in Africa.
According to Andah, Nigeria’s startup ecosystem has continued to demonstrate significant potential, with more than 3,000 startups and several globally recognised technology companies.
She added that Nigerian startups attracted approximately $410 million in funding in 2024, despite the challenging economic environment.
Andah highlighted several areas of progress under the Act, including engagements with states on adoption, the operational startup support engagement portal, improved startup labelling timelines, the Startup Consultative governance framework, the Startup Investment Seed Fund framework and ongoing efforts to operationalise the regulatory sandbox framework.
She, however, stressed that the interconnected nature of the incentives means that no institution can successfully deliver them in isolation.
Using practical examples, Andah explained that a startup seeking funding could simultaneously require tax incentives, while an enterprise seeking to export its products might need regulatory approvals.
Similarly, investors seeking tax credits could depend on access to the startup labelling system.
She consequently challenged participating institutions to clearly establish ownership of the incentives assigned to them, strengthen coordination, simplify access procedures and introduce effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
The co-creation session provided stakeholders with an opportunity to identify implementation gaps and develop practical approaches for ensuring that incentives contained in the Startup Act become accessible to startups, investors, innovation hubs and other beneficiaries.
Stakeholders noted that effective implementation of the framework would help unlock investment, stimulate innovation, support enterprise growth and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading technology and innovation hub in Africa.
The discussions ultimately reinforced a central message: Nigeria has the Startup Act; the next challenge is making it work.
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