By 
By Christabel Ume
The new Nigeria Startup Law will drive innovation and entrepreneurship in Nigeria; and could redefine the entire economy in more ways than projected, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahi Pantami, has expressed.
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“We now have a Nigeria Startup Act, following Mr President’s signing of the Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB) on the 18th of October, 2022. The signing of the Nigeria Startup Act as a principal legislation is a major achievement that will significantly enhance the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nigeria,” the minister said at a media interaction Monday in Abuja to mark the third edition of Digital Nigeria Day and which also served as a pre-briefing on the Digital Nigeria coneference and expo holding October 25-27 and organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
“We collaborated with the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President to develop the NSB and I presented it at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on the 15th of December, 2021. It was approved and then sent to the National Assembly,” the minister added.
He said his ministry is focused on engendering the skill development and digital entrepreneurship within the framework of the digital economy.
His words: “We aim to create a pool of Innovation Driven Enterprises (IDEs) to accelerate the development of Nigeria’s digital economy. Through our efforts, 355,610 direct and indirect jobs were created.
“We have been very active in the emerging technology space and even established the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), the first of such centres in Africa.”
