Overview
On October 19, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Nigeria Startup Bill into law. Now known as the Nigeria Startup Act 2022, it is targeted at growing the country's tech ecosystem. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, described it as a joint initiative between the tech startup community and the Presidency to harness the digital economy through co-created regulation.
The Act is divided into 11 parts and 48 sections, covering its objectives through to miscellaneous provisions. For the first time, it removes much of the legal uncertainty that had trailed the startup industry. It also establishes the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council.
Under the Act, a startup is a company in existence for no more than 10 years, with the objective of creating, innovating, producing, developing or adopting a unique digital technology, product, service or process.
This paper examines the sections of the Act to give a holistic view of its implementation and the position of startups in Nigeria.
