The Lagos State Government has said it will domesticate Nigeria Startup Bill in the state to fast-track the growth of the startup ecosystem in the country.
This was disclosed by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on Innovation & Technology, Tunbosun Alake at the Co-Create 2022 tech expo in Lagos who said that domesticating the law at the state level will help the country in its implementation.
He said that Lagos State is already addressing the challenge of funding faced by startups in the state by providing seed funding to leapfrog their ideas adding that the State Government through the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) has funded about 60 startups with cash ranging from $9000 to $12,000.
Alake said: “LASRIC, which started operation in February 2020 to drive innovation in Lagos and Nigeria, has supported about 60 startups with funding ranging from $9,000 to 12,000 and no strings attached money.
“We are doing this because we realized that many startups need that initial seed funding to give them that initial runway. Some venture capitals may not be willing to fund their ideas at that stage, but the government being an enabler, is able to look at your idea and give you that initial funding for you to prepare your business for a major funder to come in. We have been doing that in the last two years, and some of our startups have been able to raise much larger funds from private investors.”
“Currently, we are also trying to domesticate the Nigeria startup bill for Lagos state because going by the federal system we operate in Nigeria; each state is jurisdiction on its own. And for state actors to be able to implement some of the provisions of the law, they themselves have to domesticate,” he added.
The Nigeria Startup Bill project is a joint initiative by Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem and the Presidency to harness the potential of Nigeria’s digital economy through co-created regulations.
The Bill is expected to ensure that the Nigerian laws and regulations are clear, planned and work for the tech ecosystem.
The Bill which is currently being reviewed by the National Assembly was submitted to President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2021 for onward transmission to the National Assembly.
