As part of Nigeria’s participation at the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, held high-level talks with senior officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Tokyo to advance collaboration on innovation and entrepreneurship.
The discussions centred on two landmark initiatives: the $11.2 million Startup Hub in Abuja, designed as a centre of excellence for innovation and enterprise, and JICA’s $20 million early-stage technology startup fund. The fund, to be matched by an additional $20 million from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), is part of the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act. Both projects aim to equip startups with the resources to scale, create jobs, and accelerate economic transformation.
Abdullahi commended JICA for its consistent support of Nigeria’s innovation journey and reaffirmed the Federal Government’s determination to strengthen partnerships that open new opportunities for young Nigerians.
In a separate engagement, the NITDA chief met with Nikkei Senior Writer Satoshi Shimoda, where discussions focused on Nigeria’s startup landscape, policy reforms such as the Nigeria Startup Act, and the immense potential of its youth-driven innovation ecosystem.
He also visited the Tokyo Innovation Base to explore avenues for knowledge transfer and cross-border collaboration between Nigerian and Japanese startups.
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