Why Nigeria and Japan are backing startups with a new $50m innovation fund

The fund follows agreements signed between the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) at a ceremony held on Friday at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning in Abuja.

The signing covered a grant contract for the “Project for the Development of Supporting Environment for Startups Addressing Social Challenges.” Under the arrangement, JICA will provide $14 million in grant support, while NSIA will contribute up to $20 million as matching funds as part of the wider $50 million initiative.

NSIA said the fund will operate as an onshore public vehicle and will combine financing with technical assistance, helping startups refine products, scale operations and expand into new markets.

NSIA Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Aminu Umar-Sadiq said the initiative is designed to strengthen early-stage ventures working in high-impact areas.

“The Fund represents a transformative step for Nigeria’s startup ecosystem,” he said. “By providing early-stage ventures in high-impact sectors with the capital and support they need to grow, we are enabling innovators to tackle some of Nigeria’s most pressing challenges.”

Japan’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Suzuki Hideo, said Japan sees the project as part of a broader cooperation package aligned with its foreign policy priorities.

“This initiative aims to achieve development goals by the ‘co-creation’ of social value through dialogue and collaboration with Japan’s partner countries, while mobilising private finance in combination with ODA,” he said.

Suzuki added that the project is Japan’s first implementation of this development model globally, involving a fund that incorporates private capital, and said interest in Tokyo is high.