The President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday, signed the startup bill into law.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, disclosed this on Wednesday via a post on his verified Twitter handle.
The bill seeks to create and develop an enabling environment for technology-enabled startups in the country.
“His excellency, Muhammad Buhari has just assented to Nigeria’s startup bill. It has now become the Nigeria startup act, 2022. It was an executive bill, initiated by both [the] office of the chief of staff, and the office of the minister of communication and digital economy. Congratulations to all,” the tweet reads.
See the tweet below:
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!— Prof. Isa Ali Pantami (@ProfIsaPantami) October 19, 2022
The law which holds huge benefits for the Nigerian economy, adopted an approach to allow startups to identify business challenges and voice them out.
Based on the provisions of the law, the Federal Government plans to set up a 10 billion naira fund for startups in the country.
The Information and Communications Technology sector has so far contributed 18.42 percent in 2022.
The new legislation is aimed at providing a legal and institutional framework for the development of startups in Nigeria, and to “provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development, and operation of startups in Nigeria”.
It also seeks to “position Nigeria’s startup ecosystem as the leading digital technology center in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting edge skills and exportable capacity”.
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.
According to the document, startups can also access a special seed fund created under the law. The fund will provide labeled startups with finance and also provide relief to technology laboratories, accelerators, incubators, and hubs.
In July 2022, the Senate passed the Nigerian startup bill 2022, after a report by its committee on ICT and cyber security.
Presenting the report, Oseni Yakubu, chairman of the committee, said that the bill sought to establish the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
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