Introduction
President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigeria Start-up Bill into law on the 19th of October 2022. The Nigeria Startup Act ("the Act") covers new companies and start-ups, whether modern, digital, technological or traditional. It aims to ensure that the laws and regulations applicable to the tech sector are clear and useful.
Summary
The main objectives of the Act are to:
- provide a legal and institutional framework for the development of start-ups in Nigeria;
- provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development and operation of start-ups in Nigeria;
- provide for the development and growth of technology-related talents; and
- position Nigeria's start-up ecosystem, as the leading digital technology centre in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity.
The Startup Act will cater to the following:
- The Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship - The Council will formulate and provide general policy guidelines for the realisation of the objectives of the Start-up Act, among other functions.
- The Start-up Support and Engagement Portal - The portal will allow start-ups to register with appropriate Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
- Start-up labelling - This will ensure innovation, development, production improvement, and commercialisation of digital technology innovative product or process.
- Start-up Investment Seed Fund - This fund will be managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and provide a labelled start-up with finance.
- Training, Capacity Building and Development - This makes provision for training and development of talents within the ecosystem.
- Tax and Fiscal Incentives - Reliefs and incentives for all labelled start-ups under the Pioneer Status Scheme, tax incentives for investors investing in labelled start-ups and external service providers.
- Regulations Support - To provide support to the various regulatory bodies connected with the technology sector.
- Accelerators and Incubators - To encourage and collaborate with existing accelerator and incubator programmes established by private organisations.
- Clusters, Hubs, Innovation Parks, and Technology Development Zones - To connect, foster collaboration and generate business between start-ups and large companies.
The Act is a product of the outcome of engagements between the Presidency and young innovators and start-ups across the country. The approach adopted was to allow start-ups all over the country to identify the challenges they confronted in relation to registration, ease of doing business, intellectual property, regulation, and funding, among others. From the coverage of the Act, it is clear that the challenges noted during the co-creation process were dealt with.
It is believed that the Act will contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for the growth of the tech ecosystem, as well as the attraction and protection of investment in tech startups.1 The success of start-ups is essential for the Nigerian economy to thrive. It is important for investors (local and foreign) to enjoy the ease of doing business in Nigeria, so that more investors look towards Nigeria as a place to invest and thrive2.
Click here to view the Act. To read more on the Act, visit https://nigeriastartupact.ng/.
Footnotes
1 Background available at https://nigeriastartupact.ng/. Accessed on 21st March 2023.
2 For a detailed review of the Bill, see, Maryam Abdulsalam and Olamide Iseyemi, "A Review of the Nigeria Startup Bill" available at https://spaajibade.com/a-review-of-the-nigeria-startup-bill-2021/ accessed 21st March 2023.
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