Nigeria unveiled a $618 million fund to start-ups and small and medium enterprises on 14th March. The $618 million Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) fund was officially inaugurated by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, the nation’s capital, according to a statement from the presidency.
The $618 million project will provide non-financial services to about 450 digital technology, small and medium enterprises and draw direct investments in over 200 technology and creative start-ups. iDICE is anticipated to add 6 million new employment for young Nigerians and have the potential to bring in $6.4 billion to the country’s economy.
The fund, which caters to individuals between the ages of 15 and 35, arrives at a time when locals are worried about the collapse of US startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group, which supported startups in Nigeria.
Only one cross-border payments company, Chipper Cash, has so far claimed to have $1 million in SVB. Some of the biggest startups, including the e-commerce company Jumia and the fintech company Flutterwave with an emphasis on Africa, told British news agency Reuters they had no contact with the bank.
According to the administration, the African Development Bank will contribute $170 million, Agence Française de Développement will contribute $116 million, and the Islamic Development Bank will contribute another $70 million.
The Bank of Industry Nigeria, on behalf of the government, will give $45 million and the private sector committed $217 million.
At the fund’s launch, Osinbajo said, “iDICE is a government initiative to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital tech and creative industries and especially targeted at job creation.”
The majority of the tech and fintech startups in Nigeria, which has the most in Africa, have received financing from foreign banks and venture capital firms.
But the majority of startups still have trouble getting financing because banks require collateral, which they do not have.
