President Muhammadu Buhari has given his assent to Nigeria Start-up Bill 2022, which now becomes an Act.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami revealed this to State House Correspondents, shortly after the President appended his signature on the bill.
He said the new Act will come into effect with so many economic benefits for the country.
BREAKING!
His Excellency, @MBuhari has just assented to Nigeria Start-up Bill. It has now become Nigeria Start-Up Act, 2022. It was an Executive Bill, initiated by both Office of the Chief of Staff & the Office of the Minister of Comms & Digital Economy. Congratulations to all! pic.twitter.com/3JEzpi4ciO
— Fed Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy (@FMoCDENigeria) October 19, 2022
Nigeria Startup Act 2022 is a big win for Nigeria’s Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem.#DigitalNigeria pic.twitter.com/E99srEwOSA
— Fed Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy (@FMoCDENigeria) October 19, 2022
“On behalf of my principal, the President of the Federal republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, I am here to brief you about his assent to the Nigeria Start –Up bill today being the 19th of October, 2022. The President has assented to the bill and also conveyed to the relevant institutions of government for gazetting. We are all excited knowing the benefits that our economy is going to generate from the Act,” the Minister stated.
Pantami explained that the bill, which emanated from the executive arm of government, was passed by the Senate on July 27 and the House of Representatives on July 28, 2022.
He said the bill was the outcome of engagements with young innovators and start-ups across the country.
“This bill was an executive bill that was initiated by the President through the office of his Chief of Staff in collaboration with the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The two offices coordinated and established the foundation for the Nigeria Start-up Act 2022.
“The approach we adopted was to allow our young start-ups, our young innovators all over the country to identify the challenges they were confronted with in regards to intellectual property, financing, regulation and incentives among others.
“So, young innovators were engaged across the country through their geo-political zones, where we encouraged them to voice out their challenges with regards to the ease of doing business and from their inputs, we discovered there was the need to have Nigeria start-up Act in place so that it will provide the enabling environment for them to continue to thrive and be successful,” he added.
The Minister noted that the digital economy sector has contributed a lot to the economy of Nigeria, adding that in the first quarter of 2020, the ICT sector contributed 14.72 percent to the nation’s GDP.
“In 2021, this administration set up a new record by contributing 17.92 percent to our GDP; this year in the second quarter of 2022, another record was set, with the ICT contributing 18.44 percent to our GDP. These are all new records,” he added.
The Minister said the new law will now provide the legal and strategic framework for the growth of the sector.
Giving further insight into the Act, the Minister said it provides for the establishment of as Presidential Council to be called the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council, to be chaired by the Nigerian President, with the Vice President of the country as Vice Chairman while the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy presides over the council in the absence of the President and Vice President.
He added that the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Industry, Trade and Investment, Science and Technology among others are members of the council.
Pantami also added that there are provisions for a minimum investment fund of N10 billion and other incentives that will be disbursed to start-ups, to encourage them.
He said the international community had since praised Nigeria’s effort of giving legal backing to the activities of start-ups as well as praised the giant strides the country is making in the ICT sector.
Reactions
Reacting to the new development, the body that generated, processed and pushed to the final stage the Bill now an Act, the Nigeria Start up Bill Group in a statement said it brought excitement and renewed hope that the country’s tech ecosystem can grow in leaps and bounds, ushering it to new heights.
“With the bill signed into law, industry stakeholders can expect that Nigeria’s laws and regulations for startups will be clear, planned and work for the tech ecosystem. This, we believe, will lead to an enabling environment for growth, attraction and protection of investment in tech startups.
“The Bill now an Act took on a big tent approach since its inception in 2021 and received overwhelming support from citizens and the government.
“There have been different focus groups and town halls across different regions. Learning series, engagements, state rallies, and roundtable discussions all aimed at getting the inputs of stakeholders from different regions across the country were also held.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital transformation and Lead for the Nigeria Startup Act, Mr Oswald Osaretin Guobadia, said “The states won’t be alone; they have the support of each one of us. This is because the main concern for all members, volunteers, and stakeholders is to ensure the full execution and adoption of the Act in order for all states to reap the advantages at a subnational level.”
The Nigeria Startup Act gives every state in the federation the opportunity to build a thriving tech ecosystem aligning with the vision of the Act towards entrepreneurship, innovation and economic growth whilst taking into account local nuances and context of the state.
The key to unlocking the opportunities and growth created by the Act lies in its adoption and implementation across all 36 states.
