The Nigeria start up bill that had its first draft in the month of june 2021 has finally been signed by the president on wednesday 19th of october, 2022.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, announced the signing after a meeting with the President at Aso Villa.He disclosed that the startup bill passed on July 20, 2022, was initiated by the executive arm and seeks to create an enabling environment for tech-based startups in Nigeria. It was further revealed by Pantami  that the law, which holds huge benefits for the Nigerian economy, adopted an approach to allow startups to identify business challenges and voice them out.The Federal Government plans to set up a 10 billion naira fund for startups in the country based on the provisions of the law. 

Startups will need a certification that will be obtained from the Nigerian startup bill secretariat to be able to enjoy the incentives that come with this act , to qualify for this certificate, you must have been running your registered Limited Liability company for not more than 10 years, you must also have at least one Nigerian co founder.

Some of the incentives include tax relief for founders, employees and even investors at the rate of 5%,35% and 30% respectively.The startup bill will also cater to the following; Training, capacity building and development, regulations support, council for digital innovation and entrepreneurship, startup support and engagement portal, startup labeling among other things mentioned.

We do hope the signed bill and the accompanying promises are implemented and upheld by the incoming government as this would encourage other potential startup founders.we are very positive this will help the economic development of the nation.

We also hope this would help reduce the harassment of youth in the public by the police for owning laptops and other gadgets.

In all, this is a huge win to the tech ecosystem in Nigeria.