NITDA Moves to Accelerate Startup Act Incentives, Pushes for Practical Implementation

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), through its subsidiary, the Office of Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), has called for stronger collaboration among government agencies, private-sector players and other stakeholders to accelerate the implementation of incentives provided under the Nigeria Startup Act.

The agency made the call at a Nigeria Startup Act Incentive Activation Co-Creation Session held in Abuja, where stakeholders examined ways to ensure that startups and businesses within Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem can effectively benefit from the legislation.

Representing NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, the National Coordinator of ONDI, Ms Victoria Fabunmi, said Nigeria had made important progress since the enactment of the Startup Act but needed to move into a phase focused more strongly on delivering measurable outcomes.

She said the establishment of the Startup Consultative Forum and its governance structures had created an important platform for sustained engagement among stakeholders. However, she stressed that the real measure of the legislation would be its impact on businesses operating within the innovation ecosystem.

According to her, government agencies, private-sector actors and other stakeholders must work collectively to remove institutional bottlenecks and ensure that startups can access the opportunities created by the Act.

Inuwa said participating institutions had different mandates, resources and policy instruments which, if properly coordinated, could significantly improve the operating environment for Nigerian startups.

“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 urged stakeholders to shift their focus from simply having the Startup Act in place to ensuring its practical implementation, particularly the activation of incentives designed to promote investment, innovation and enterprise growth.