The Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB) which has been worked on by the Presidency and leaders of the Nigerian technology industry has now been approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and is being sent to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The landmark Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB) when passed into law will further deepen the country’s technology ecosystem and lead the sector on the way of exponential growth.
The Bill will ensure regulatory support as Nigeria continues to attract hundreds of millions of dollars of international investment and create an enabling environment for Nigerian startups to thrive.
This piece of legislation addresses challenges such as disruptive regulation, weak infrastructure and difficulties accessing capital, particularly for non-fintech businesses.
The NSB, whose key objectives include regulatory certainty, local content and providing an enabling business environment, also aims to provide a platform where startups can continuously engage regulators.
The bill will attract more support for local angel investors, funds and incubators, alongside national co-investment schemes and incentives for investing in early stage startups.
The Bill was made possible through a Big Tent Approach –partnership between the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, the Nigerian Export and Promotion Council, other government bodies with almost 300 volunteers and private sector players, including venture capital investors Future Africa and Ventures Platform, legal firms TLP Advisory and Aelex, policy advisors Advocacy for Policy And Innovation (API) and Innovation for Policy Foundation, and media organisations TechCabal and Wimbart.
Meanwhile, Google Nigeria and the UK-Government, through the West Africa Research and Innovation Hub and the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, have supported the bill.
Commenting on the Big Tent Approach, Adaeze Sokan, Country Director at the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub said the inclusive and collaborative process is laudable and can serve as a framework for policy formulation in the country.
Additionally, the policy which is designed to reduce currency constraints will have broad reaching impacts on the ability for startups to raise and expand internationally.
In the aspect of infrastructure, the Bill will lead to tech parks, subsidised local data facilities, better broadband connectivity and open-source data.
Currently, Nigeria ranks below countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Tunisia in terms of business friendliness despite having the highest number of startups on the continent, currently estimated at 750.
Meanwhile, Kenya and Tunisia have passed their Startup Bills into law and South Africa is in the process of passing theirs, in the quest to boost business friendliness.
Nigeria has also served as the potential market for five of the continent’s unicorns (Interswitch, Andela, Jumia, OPay and Flutterwave) and is the giant of African tech in terms of the country’s ability to attract foreign investment.
Nigeria has also in just two decades promoted two indigenous unicorns [companies valued at over $1Bn], despite the country’s infrastructure and regulation not keeping up with the pace of disruption by the tech sector.
Nigerian startups were the most funded on the continent between 2016 and 2020, raising $1.58 billion in venture capital and representing 27% of the overall deal volume, closely followed by Kenya.
The NSB therefore is expected to accelerate this progress and lead to many more Nigerian unicorns in years to come.
Oswald Osaretin Guobadia, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Digital Transformation and the NSB Lead said “The NSB is one among a series of key activities the Presidency is using to drive the building of a more sustainable ecosystem for young people in Nigeria to thrive and scale.”
The NSB, he said is aimed directly at fostering new talent in the growing technology and start-ups sectors, providing for regulation around startup registration, tax incentives, talent development, university-industry collaboration, and increased public tech procurement as well as ease barriers to entrepreneurship and innovation.
Kola Aina, Founder and General Partner of Ventures Platform Fund, explained that the bill is being proposed to provide an enabling environment for the growth of startups and guard against different challenges faced by startups.
According to him, the bill will address the seemingly disruptive regulations, lack of regulatory certainty and weak infrastructure like broadband, open data, and digital platforms that limit the optimization of the many benefits of the digital economy.
Consequently, the NSB will serve as common ground for the tech community and regulators, enabling founders to build with more confidence as well as providing regulators with the tools to ensure that consumers are adequately protected.

SOURCE: thejournalnigeria.com

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