Nigeria and Japan have recently sealed an agreement to establish a $50 million joint fund aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s startup ecosystem and boosting entrepreneurship in the country.
The mechanism, which will be administered by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), seeks to support young entrepreneurs at every stage of their projects’ development and to encourage the emergence of startups in strategic sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, education, and energy, according to local media reports.
In an initial phase, JICA will provide $14 million in funding, while the NSIA plans to contribute up to $20 million. Additional resources will be mobilized to reach the overall target of $50 million.
Beyond financial support, the initiative will also offer technical assistance to help startups strengthen their business models, scale their operations, and access new markets. Investments will be made in local currency in order to reduce beneficiaries’ exposure to exchange rate fluctuations.
