By Daniel Tyokua
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has announced the commencement of $ 11.2 million innovation hub in the nation’s capital, Abuja.
He said the initiative is a move towards implementing the Presidential priority area of reforming the economy for sustained inclusive growth and accelerating diversification through industrialisation and digitisation.
Inuwa explained that the amount is in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
A statement from NITDA, said the collaboration is with the Chief Consultant, Consortium of Oriental Consultants Global Co. Ltd., Intem Consulting Inc., and Yachiyo Engineering Co. Ltd., was formalised with the signing of an agreement for the implementation of the Startup Hub Project.
The project is designed to significantly boost Nigeria’s innovation landscape by providing vital infrastructure and support for startups and serving as a centre for creativity, research, and technological development.
Earlier this year, the federal government entered into a $30 million grant agreement with JICA for the establishment of Startup Hubs in Abuja.
The project consists of two major components; the first, a $9.9 million initiative to be implemented by NITDA, focuses on the development of a dedicated Startup Hub; the second, valued at $21 million and to be executed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), aims to create a supportive environment for the growth of social startups across the country.
Inuwa revealed that the project began with the launch of the iHatch, an initiative designed to co-train and incubate startups, supported with seed funding by JICA.
“To strengthen this relationship, JICA decided to give us a grant to build an innovation hub, so that after training the startups, they can have access to a makerspace where they can turn their ideas into products and services, JICA is giving us a grant worth of $11.2 million to build this innovation hub,” he stated.
Inuwa also lauded the collaborative efforts aimed at deepening the relationship between the Nigerian and Japanese technology ecosystems.
