Interested Nigerians can now register for Startups, Angel Investors, Venture Capitalists, and Accelerators following the launch of Startup Support and Engagement Portal by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.
The Minister, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who made the announcement said the portal is a key requirement for the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act.
The portal which is available at startup.gov.ng is expected to drive the identification and aggregation of Nigerian startups, venture capital companies, hubs, and innovation centres in order to facilitate engagement and support for ecosystem players.
The portal is designed to allow the ministry to initiate the process of setting up the startup consultative forums to select representatives to the National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship in order to facilitate discourse and consensus among Nigerian ecosystem players.
The Requirements:
For all Nigerian startups venture capital companies, hubs and innovation centres that want to register should check the following requirements to get on board.
Requirements for Startups
- Your business must be incorporated as a limited liability company with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
- Your company must not be older than 10 years from the date of incorporation.
- Have objects that are focused on innovation, development, production, improvement, and commercialization of a digital technology innovative product or process.
- Be a holder or repository of a product or process of digital technology or the owner or author of a registered software.
- Have at least one-third of local shareholding held by one or more Nigerians as founder or co-founder of the startup.
- You must satisfy the conditions set out in the Act, in the case of a sole proprietorship or partnership. You can download the Startup Act here.
- Be a tech-enabled business that uses existing tools, platforms, libraries, and frameworks to make a company or a solution more efficient or effective.
Requirements for Accelerators, Innovation Hubs & Incubators
1) For an incubator, you must be a company, partnership, non-governmental organisation or limited liability partnership, whose principal object is to support the establishment and development of a tech start-up, promotion of innovation, and related activities through the offer of dedicated physical spaces and services
2) For the accelerator, you must demonstrate experience in developing and implementing a fixed-term, cohort-based programme which provides start-ups with mentorship and educational assistance to aid its growth
3) For the innovation hub, you must provide or demonstrate proof possession of physical or virtual space where innovators, entrepreneurs, and technology enthusiasts come together to collaborate, exchange ideas, and work on innovative projects
Requirements for Investors
The aim of the angel investors is to provide early-stage funding and mentorship to catalyze innovation and help startups attract larger funding rounds, with the following criteria:
- Be a high net worth individual or company which provides funding to an early-stage startup, typically in exchange for equity in the startup company.
- Provide proof of investments
- Provide proof of membership of an Angel Network
- Provide proof of Investment Syndicate.
Venture Capitalist
The objective of this is for the Venture Capitalists is to foster innovation and drive economic growth by providing essential funding and strategic support to Nigeria startups, but must fulfil the following criteria:
- You must be a partnership or company that provides capital to a Startup that is exhibiting high growth potential in exchange for equity.
- You must have at least one fund with investments in a Nigerian Start-up.
Registration process
To begin the registration process, head straight to the sections at https://startup.gov.ng/#users-section, and click the category that applies to you or your company.
As for Startups, fill in the following details:
- RC Number
- Your company name
- Year of incorporation
- Industry
- Startup Description
- Means of ID etc
