By John Ikani
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, signed the startup bill into law.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, announced this after a meeting with the President at the State House in Abuja.
The bill was created by the Federal Government, in collaboration with 30 tech leaders including Ventures Platform founder, Kola Aina and Future Africa founder, Iyin Aboyeji, and the Minister of Digital Economy, Isa Pantami.
The signing of the bill into law comes months after it was passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly.
About the Nigerian startup act 2022
The Nigeria Startup Act 2022 project is a joint initiative by Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem and the Presidency to harness the potential of the country’s digital economy through co-created regulations.
The act will ensure that Nigeria’s laws and regulations are clear, planned and work for the tech ecosystem. This will contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for growth, attraction and protection of investment in tech startups.
One of the major objectives of the act is to bridge the engagement gap between startups and regulators and ensure that regulations that harm Nigeria’s tech ecosystem are shut down.
The startup act, 2022, makes provision for “the development and growth of technology-related talent”.
With the document, companies will be required to obtain a certificate known as the ‘startup label’, before they can be regarded as a startup entity.
Under the provisions of the act, the Nigerian government is to set up N10 billion Investment Fund for young innovators and also make provision for incentives and tax holidays to encourage local innovators.
The fund will provide labelled startups with finance and also provide relief to technology laboratories, accelerators, incubators and hubs.
