Nigeria has launched an ambitious national programme aimed at tackling one of Africa’s most persistent economic challenges, the gap between entrepreneurial potential and access to early-stage capital as the iDICE Startup Bridge Programme opens applications across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The initiative, operating under the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Programme (iDICE), is part of a broader federal strategy to accelerate job creation and deepen innovation in Africa’s largest economy. It is implemented by the Bank of Industry (BOI) and financed by a consortium of global development institutions, including the African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement and the Islamic Development Bank.
The programme introduces what policymakers describe as a structured pipeline for nurturing early-stage startups, addressing a long-standing bottleneck in Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem, the lack of coordinated support from idea stage to scale.
According to the scheme’s promoters, the iDICE Startup Bridge is designed to “unlock job creation, strengthen enterprise development and expand access to capital within Nigeria’s digital and creative sectors,” industries increasingly viewed as critical to diversifying an oil-dependent economy.
The model reflects a growing shift across Africa towards state-backed innovation ecosystems, where governments collaborate with development finance institutions to de-risk early-stage ventures and crowd in private investment.
At its core, the programme is divided into two distinct pathways tailored to different stages of business maturity. The first, Founders Lab, is already open to applications and targets idea-stage entrepreneurs and early prototype founders. Structured as a 12-week intensive, it focuses on business validation, model development and minimum viable product (MVP) creation, delivered through a curriculum led by expert facilitators.
Each year, 250 participants will receive training and mentorship, with 100 high-performing founders eligible for grants of up to N10 million to support product development or launch.
A second track, Growth Lab, scheduled for a later phase, will target startups that have moved beyond the MVP stage and demonstrate traction, revenue potential and operational readiness. These ventures will receive significantly larger backing, including $100,000 in equity investment, alongside support to scale operations, strengthen governance structures and refine fundraising strategies.
The programme is also designed to function as a gateway to institutional capital. Startups that attract external investment from qualified investors will be eligible for match funding, effectively leveraging public and development finance to crowd in private capital.
Over multiple cohorts, the iDICE Startup Bridge is expected to support more than 500 Nigerian tech startups, a scale that positions it among the most structured early-stage funding pipelines on the continent.
For policymakers, the initiative is as much about employment as it is about innovation. Nigeria, with a population exceeding 200 million and a median age below 20, faces mounting pressure to create jobs at scale. Digital and creative industries from fintech and e-commerce to media and entertainment, are increasingly seen as high-growth sectors capable of absorbing this workforce.
Kashim Shettima, Nigeria’s Vice President and Chairman of the iDICE Steering Committee, framed the programme in those terms: “iDICE was created to unlock sustainable jobs and economic inclusion for Nigeria’s youthful population. This programme, created under the iDICE umbrella, gives young entrepreneurs across the country a real opportunity to build or scale, and we are confident in its ability to reshape early-stage enterprise development and innovation outcomes over time.”
The Bank of Industry, which is implementing the programme, is positioning itself at the centre of this transformation. Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Olasupo Olusi, pointed to the institution’s expanding role in financing enterprise growth.
“As the implementing agency of the iDICE Programme, the Bank of Industry is proud to support the iDICE Startup Bridge through which we are creating clear pathways for ideas to become enterprises, and enterprises to become engines of growth,” he said.
Olusi added that the bank had achieved a record N636 billion disbursement in 2025, the largest in its history, reinforcing its position as Nigeria’s leading development finance institution. Of that total, N43 billion was channelled into the digital and creative sectors, signalling a strategic pivot towards industries driving innovation.
Programme architects argue that the structured approach addresses a fundamental weakness in many African startup ecosystems, which is fragmentation. Entrepreneurs often face disjointed support systems, limited mentorship and inconsistent access to capital, particularly in the early stages when risk is highest.
Cindy Ezerioha, Head of Founders Lab, described the programme as a critical bridge in that journey. “Founders Lab is a bridge that connects potential to proof, and proof to capital. Each cohort will support 125 aspiring entrepreneurs, with a clear target of ensuring progress from concept to validated business models. This programme is built for people with innovative ideas, early prototypes, or unanswered questions about how to take their first real step.”
Her remarks reflect a broader continental trend: the emergence of structured innovation pipelines designed to convert ideas into scalable ventures.
Across Africa, venture capital investment has grown significantly over the past decade, yet funding remains heavily concentrated in a handful of mature startups, leaving early-stage founders underserved. Initiatives such as iDICE aim to correct that imbalance by building a stronger pipeline of investment-ready businesses.
For Nigeria, the stakes are particularly high. The country has produced some of Africa’s most prominent tech firms, yet sustaining that momentum requires a continuous flow of new ventures capable of scaling.
By combining public funding, development finance and private capital pathways, the iDICE Startup Bridge represents a deliberate attempt to institutionalise that pipeline.
If successful, it could redefine how Africa’s largest economy nurtures innovation, shifting from sporadic startup success stories to a more predictable, system-driven model of entrepreneurial growth.
