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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called for stronger collaboration among government institutions, private-sector players and other ecosystem stakeholders to translate the Nigerian Startup Act (NSA) into tangible benefits for startups, investors and innovators.
RELATED: NITDA inaugurates Startup Labelling Committee to implement Nigeria Startup Act
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, made the call at the NSA Incentives Activation Co-Creation Session in Abuja, organised by NITDA’s subsidiary, the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI).
The session focused on moving the implementation of the Nigerian Startup Act beyond policy and legislation to the practical delivery of incentives designed to support innovation, investment and enterprise growth.
NITDA: Startup Act Must Deliver Tangible Benefits
Delivering remarks on behalf of the NITDA Director-General, ONDI National Coordinator Victoria Fabunmi said Nigeria must now move decisively from policy design to operational implementation.
Abdullahi said the enactment of the Nigerian Startup Act represented a significant milestone, but stressed that its ultimate success would be determined by its impact on startups operating within the country’s innovation ecosystem.
According to him, the establishment of the Startup Consultative Forum and its governance structures, alongside the launch of the digital startup portal, had created important channels for stakeholder engagement.
However, he said the next phase should focus on ensuring that founders can easily access the reliefs, incentives and resources provided under the legislation.
“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,” Abdullahi said.
More Than 15 Government Institutions Involved
The NITDA chief said implementing the Nigerian Startup Act requires collaboration across several sectors, including trade, finance, communications, innovation, the digital economy, science and technology.
He said government agencies and private-sector stakeholders have different mandates, resources and policy instruments that could collectively improve the operating environment for Nigerian startups if properly coordinated.
Bringing the institutions together, he added, would help identify implementation gaps, clarify responsibilities and establish practical mechanisms for delivering the Act’s incentives to their intended beneficiaries.
Abdullahi also called for continuous engagement and feedback, noting that the startup ecosystem is constantly evolving and implementation agencies must be responsive to emerging needs.
Nigerian Startup Act Offers More Than 31 Incentives
In a presentation titled “Operationalising the Incentive Provisions of the Nigerian Startup Act,” Acting Lead, Strategy, Research and Analytics at ONDI, Elma Andah, said the Act provides more than 31 incentives grouped into six broad categories.
These include:
- Tax and fiscal incentives
- Regulatory support
- Funding access
- Exports and trade
- Ecosystem enablers
- Training and capacity building
Andah said the incentives cut across the mandates of more than 15 government institutions, making inter-agency coordination critical to effective implementation.
“No single institution can deliver all these incentives alone. Implementation requires coordination across more than 15 MDAs,” she said.
Startup Act Implementation Requires Coordinated Action
Andah explained that the interconnected nature of the incentives means startups and investors may have to interact with multiple institutions to access the benefits provided under the legislation.
For example, a startup seeking funding could simultaneously require access to tax incentives, while a business seeking to export products could require regulatory approvals.
Similarly, investors seeking applicable tax credits could depend on access to the startup labelling system.
She therefore urged participating institutions to clearly establish ownership of the incentives assigned to them, improve coordination, simplify access procedures and introduce effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms.
Nigerian Startup Act Signed Into Law in 2022
The Nigerian Startup Act was signed into law on October 19, 2022, with the objective of creating a more supportive environment for innovation, improving access to funding, strengthening collaboration and positioning 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 said Nigerian startups attracted approximately $410 million in funding in 2024 despite the challenging economic environment.
Progress Recorded Under Startup Act
Andah highlighted several areas where implementation of the Act has progressed.
These include engagements with state governments on adoption, the operational startup support engagement portal, improvements in startup labelling timelines and the establishment of the Startup Consultative governance framework.
Other areas of progress include the Startup Investment Seed Fund framework and ongoing efforts to operationalise the regulatory sandbox framework.
She said these developments had established important foundations for implementing the Act but stressed that stronger coordination would be necessary to ensure startups can fully benefit from the available incentives.
From Legislation to Practical Benefits
The Abuja co-creation session provided government institutions and other stakeholders with an opportunity to identify implementation gaps and develop practical approaches for making the Nigerian Startup Act more accessible.
The discussions focused on how incentives can be delivered more efficiently to startups, investors, innovation hubs and other eligible beneficiaries.
For NITDA, the exercise represents a shift in emphasis from simply having a startup legislation in place to ensuring that its provisions translate into measurable economic and business outcomes.
The agency said recommendations emerging from the session would contribute to efforts to strengthen the implementation framework and create an environment in which Nigerian startups can scale, attract investment and compete more effectively in global markets.
The success of the Nigerian Startup Act, stakeholders noted, will ultimately depend not only on the quality of the legislation but also on the ability of the institutions responsible for its implementation to work together and remove barriers between startups and the opportunities the law was designed to provide.
