Nigeria Approves $268 Million to Back Entrepreneurs, Innovators

Nigeria approved disbursing $268 million in funding to support agricultural entrepreneurs and young technology innovators, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said.

One tranche of the funding, worth 90 billion naira ($248 million), will be dispensed by the central bank as “soft loans” for people building small-scale agricultural businesses, while another $20 million will provide funding support to young innovators in technology, according an emailed statement by the presidency.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest crude producer, is seeking to diversify its economy away from oil dependence by boosting productivity in non-oil industries.