The Federal Government is intensifying efforts to expand technological innovation beyond Nigeria’s major hubs, Lagos and Abuja, by empowering grassroots communities to develop solutions to real-world challenges.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa, underscored this commitment during the iHatch Cohort 4 Onsite Training for Hub Managers in Abuja last week.
Lagos dominates Nigeria’s startup landscape, hosting nearly 88 per cent of the country’s startups, according to a 2023 global startup ecosystem report by Startup Genome.
Abuja follows with approximately nine per cent, as reported by StartupBlink. However, the government aims to decentralise innovation and foster a more inclusive tech ecosystem across the country.
According to a statement on Monday, the NITDA chief reiterated the government’s vision of leveraging digital technology at the grassroots level to drive economic growth, job creation, and local problem-solving.
The training, organised in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation, brought together 37 hub managers from 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The training was designed to strengthen local incubation systems, enhance mentorship capacity, foster regional partnerships, and provide global exposure for Nigerian entrepreneurs.
Inuwa emphasised that the expansion aligns with the administration’s priority of reforming the economy for inclusive growth by equipping innovation hubs with the necessary skills to nurture startups.
“We don’t want technological innovation to be concentrated only in Lagos and Abuja. We want to take it to the grassroots and use it to solve real-life problems. That is why we designed the iHatch initiative,” he noted.
Inuwa disclosed that the pilot phase of the iHatch, which was conducted in Abuja, successfully trained 50 startups, which led to the creation of 179 direct jobs and over 1,500 indirect jobs.
He said, “This initiative will domesticate innovation in states and enable start-ups to solve real-life problems in areas of agriculture, healthcare, transportation, and other sectors that are peculiar to their different states.”
While stressing that innovation thrives in clusters where critical stakeholders can exchange ideas and incubate solutions, the NITDA DG underscored the importance of collaboration, networking, and ecosystem development in driving innovation.
“To sustain this initiative, we must build a strong community where startups, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders can continuously share ideas and collaborate. We don’t want startups to just pass through the programme; we want them to remain within the iHatch ecosystem because we want this initiative to expand to all the 774 local governments of the country.” Inuwa explained.