Nigeria presently occupied the first position with a total investment of US $747 Million investments from Venture Capitalists, which goes into its flourishing Technology Start-ups and Hubs.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mal. Kashifu Inuwa, who disclosed this in a recent interview, noted that Nigeria is closely followed by Kenya with a total investment of US $564 Million and Egypt that attracted a total investment of US $211 Million.
“Nigeria is indeed among the top three countries in Africa, attracting the largest investment from Venture Capitalists for its flourishing Technology Start-ups and Hubs,” a visibly excited NITDA DG said.
He said this is huge and a plus to Nigeria’s quest to wholly create a digital economy, which is currently being championed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy.
Asked what the Information Technology regulation agency is doing to create a more conducive environment and support for the Startup Ecosystem, Mal. Inuwa said in an effort to consolidate these efforts, NITDA has initiated a series of initiatives.
The initiatives, according to him include the NITDA Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme, targeting startups hub owners and youth with talent and building their skills in high-demand skills; Policies such as Tax Incentives for startups, incentives for investors and access to a market for innovation adoption and the establishment of Innovation and Research Fund to further catalyze the growth of startups.
Others are the development of an Innovation Portal to monitor the activities of the ecosystem; the innovation fund established by Government to reduce risk and attract FDI, and the establishment of the Tech4COVID19 Initiative to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups.