By Saminu Ibrahim
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, private-sector players and other stakeholders to translate the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) into tangible benefits for entrepreneurs and investors.
The call was made at the NSA Incentives Activation Co-Creation Session in Abuja, organised by the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), a subsidiary of NITDA.
Representing the NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, at the session, ONDI National Coordinator, Victoria Fabunmi, said Nigeria must move beyond policy formulation to effective implementation of the Act.
Inuwa noted that while the enactment of the NSA, the establishment of the Startup Consultative Forum and the launch of the digital startup portal represented significant milestones, the real measure of success would be the extent to which startups could easily access the incentives and opportunities provided by the legislation.
He therefore urged government institutions and ecosystem stakeholders to work collectively to eliminate institutional bottlenecks and create efficient mechanisms for delivering the incentives to beneficiaries.
“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 said effective implementation required collaboration among institutions responsible for trade, finance, communications, innovation, digital economy, science and technology, among other sectors.
He also called for continuous engagement and feedback among implementing institutions, stressing that the startup ecosystem was dynamic and required responsive policies and delivery mechanisms.
Earlier, the Acting Lead, Strategy, Research and Analytics at ONDI, Elma Andah, said the Nigerian Startup Act provides more than 31 incentives across six broad categories.
She listed the categories as tax and fiscal incentives, regulatory support, funding access, exports and trade, ecosystem enablers, and training and capacity building.
According to Andah, implementation of the incentives involves more than 15 government institutions, making inter-agency coordination critical to the success of the Act.
She said the NSA, which was 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.
Andah said Nigeria’s startup ecosystem currently boasts more than 3,000 startups and several globally recognised technology companies, adding that Nigerian startups attracted about $410 million in funding in 2024 despite prevailing economic challenges.
She highlighted progress recorded 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.
However, she stressed that the interconnected nature of the incentives made collaboration among implementing agencies essential.
“No single institution can deliver all these incentives alone. Implementation requires coordination across more than 15 MDAs,” Andah said.
She explained that a startup seeking funding could also 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.
Andah therefore urged participating institutions to clearly define ownership of the incentives assigned to them, strengthen coordination, simplify access procedures and establish effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
The session provided stakeholders with an opportunity to identify gaps in the implementation of the NSA and develop practical strategies for ensuring that its incentives become accessible to startups, investors, innovation hubs and other beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, Stakeholders expressed optimism that the outcome of the session would strengthen coordinated implementation of the Act and enhance its contribution to Nigeria’s innovation, investment and broader economic development.