Nigeria’s start-up investment deals in 2018 increased by 300 percent, an indication that the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is gaining momentum.
A recent Venture Capital report by WeeTracker, a global tech media platform that monitors start-up ecosystem across countries, shows that investment deals in Nigeria increased to 136 in 2018 from 34 deals recorded in 2017.
The report also states that the country moved two places to overtake South Africa and Kenya as the fastest growing economy in Africa in terms of start-up investment deals in 2018.
The report identifies the growth of entrepreneurship on the continent. “During our multiple conversations with the stakeholders of the ecosystem last year, it turns out that Africa is fertile for any kind of business to prosper. The demand for traditional business is as high as technology-driven enterprise, but when both are combined, what we get is an exceptional business,” the report says.
According to experts, Nigeria is gradually becoming a major tech hub in terms of start-ups generation and entrepreneurs’ preferred location for investments.
“Digital companies in Nigeria have created thousands of jobs and activities within the ecosystem and this is striving to consolidate the nation’s status as a top-notch international hub by attracting investors and stimulate entrepreneurship in the country,” Oo Nwoye, executive director, Tech Circle says.
Nwoye says that Nigeria is transitioning into a dynamic ecosystem offering start-ups a platform to potentially grow into million- dollar businesses.
“Last year, tech companies such as Paystack and FlutterWave received huge funding from abroad to strengthen their mobile payment solutions,” he says.
Also, Kola Aina, co-founder, Venture Platform, says that Nigeria is going to witness the emergence of numerous fintech start-ups, with investments coming in from both public and private investors.
He explains that there are growing opportunities in IT, biotech and other fields, drawing young, educated professionals to become entrepreneurs.
Ibrahim Tajudeen, head of research, Chapel Hill Denham, in his own opinion, says that the demography of Nigeria is what is really attracting such start-up investments.
Uche Aniche, convener of StartupSouth, believes that the Nigerian eco system has undergone transformation in recent years.
“Thanks to the wave of fresh young talents. Lots of start-ups and small businesses have taken off, creating a surge of co-working spaces and a collaborative spirit that is vital for the success of innovation hubs,” Aniche says.
He says investments in Nigerian companies have grown steadily over the past one year, pointing to a relative improvement of the investment in the ecosystem and a huge amount of money available to invest in start-ups.
Josephine Okojie and Bunmi Bailey
