The FG has established a strategy to support startups in increasing their annual investment rounds to $5 billion by 2027 and increasing access in rural areas by at least 40%.
The Punch reported that three million Nigerians are expected to receive tech training from the federal government over the next four years.
In a document titled “Accelerating our collective prosperity through technical efficiency: A strategic plan for the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy,” the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, revealed this on Monday.
The minister emphasized that a vibrant digital economy requires innovation, entrepreneurship, and access to capital in the current global technology landscape.
He declared that the ministry’s main goal in this regard would be to promote the development and sustainability of startups, with a special emphasis on those working to create ground-breaking solutions for important economic sectors.
According to Tijani, “We are committed to improving the local availability of patient capital because we recognise the vital role that patient capital plays in the growth of businesses. Our goal is to foster the domestication of entrepreneurs in our country while providing an environment in which they may obtain the capital they need to prosper locally.
The minister continued, “Increase capital raised by Nigerian tech startups by 50% year-on-year from $1bn/yr in 2022 to $5bn/yr in 2027.” This is how the ministry would determine whether its plan was effective.
Nigerian companies raised $1.2 billion in 2022, according to Africa The Big Deal, an African fundraising data insight company. This was done in spite of a capital shortage. According to Briter Bridges, African companies raised $5.4 billion in 2022.
The minister stated that it is critical to provide talent with information that may impact the development of innovations and technologies that promote economic growth, increase the talent pool to promote competitiveness, boost productivity, and guide the formulation of evidence-based policy.
“Our dedication to talent development is unwavering,” he declared. Over the next four years, we have set an ambitious target of training three million early- to mid-career technical talent.
“These courses will address fundamental tech skills, advanced proficiencies, and tech-enabled and tech-adjacent abilities. This all-encompassing strategy aims to give our workers the tools they need to prosper in a technological environment that is always changing.”
According to Tijani, the government wanted to retain at least 1.5 million of skilled workers in its local talent pool and provide the other 1.5 million with possibilities to flourish in the world talent market, ideally through remote ones.
