President Muhammadu on Wednesday signed into law the Nigeria Startups Bills just as the government set up N10 billion Investment Fund for young innovators and also makes provision for incentives and tax holidays to encourage local innovators.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami said in recognition of the efforts of the Nigerian government in the Information Communication Technology, ICT, Microsoft has decided to train about five million Nigerians on high demands skills geared towards job creation.
The bill seeks to create and develop an enabling environment for technology-enabled startups in the country.
“His excellency, Muhammdau Buhari has just assented to Nigeria’s startup bill. It has now become the Nigeria startup act, 2022. It was an executive bill, initiated by both [the] office of the chief of staff, and the office of the minister of communication and digital economy. Congratulations to all,” Pantami stated.
The new legislation is aimed at providing a legal and institutional framework for the development of startups in Nigeria, and to “provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development and operation of startups in Nigeria”.
It also seeks to “position Nigeria’s startup ecosystem as the leading digital technology centre in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity”.
The startup act, 2022, makes provision for “the development and growth of technology-related talent”.
With the document, companies will be required to obtain a certificate known as the ‘startup label’, before they can be regarded as a startup entity.
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He said ICT contributed 18.42 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year alone, while the entire contribution of Communication and Digital Economy was 40 per cent to the domestic economy.
He explained that the new Act was an Executive Bill initiated by President Buhari through the collaboration of the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy and the Office of the Chief of Staff to the president.
He said that before the passage of the bill, young innovators from the six geo-political zones of the country were engaged, adding that the Act provides the legal and strategic framework for the innovators to make their contributions to the country.
He said that out of the seven unicorns in Africa, five are from Nigeria, adding that the market value of each unicorn is worth $ 1 billion.
A unicorn, he explained, is a privately held startup company valued at over $1 billion.
The Minister said there will be a Presidential Council on Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship to be chaired by the President, while the Vice President serves as the vice chairman.
The Council, he further said would have membership from the government and private sectors as well as representatives from the academia.
The Council under the chairmanship of the President would help to curb the incessant harassment of the youths with laptops and computers by the security agencies who are always tagged them as ‘yahoo yahoo boys,’ Pantami said.
