By Wole Ogunlade:
Are you ready to witness the rise of Nigeria’s economy? Building a robust startup ecosystem is the way to go.
As a startup operator with over 10 years of experience building high-growth startups, I can attest to the incredible benefits of building a thriving startup ecosystem in Nigeria. VoguePay, Flutterwave, MaxNG, Paystack, Opay are typical examples of the investment inflows that startup investment can bring to the economy. Infact,383 Nigerian tech startups have raised over $2 billion in seven years, according to the Disrupt Africa Report.
Today, when you look at developed economies technology companies have displaced energy, agric and utility companies in market values. Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (parent company of Google) have reached more than $1 Trillion USD each in market value and combined, they are bigger than the economies of all African countries.
While Nigeria is still a long distance away from having startups with this valuation, a 2020 report presented at UK-Africa Investment Summit in London noted that Nigeria’s technology sector would create three million jobs and generate £67.4billion for the economy by 2021.
While access to funding gap is key to this growth, beyond the funding, collaboration, knowledge-sharing, innovation, job creation, entrepreneurship education, and regulatory support are all benefits that a thriving startup ecosystem brings.
With more funding options available, multiple startups will secure funding and grow, leading to job creation and economic growth. The community of entrepreneurs created in a collaborative environment will collaborate and share knowledge, learning from each other’s experiences and avoiding costly mistakes.
The spirit of innovation in a thriving startup ecosystem leads to the creation of new products and services that solve pressing societal problems, leading to job creation, as revealed in a report by Startup Genome, which showed that startups in Lagos, Nigeria, created 9000 jobs in 2019, with a total of 94,000 jobs created since 2014.
Entrepreneurship education is critical to building a successful startup ecosystem. Entrepreneurs need to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to build and scale their businesses. The Nigerian government has taken steps to promote entrepreneurship education, including approving entrepreneurship courses as part of the general studies curriculum in Nigerian universities.
Regulatory support is critical to the success of startups. Entrepreneurs need a supportive regulatory environment that enables them to focus on growing their businesses without unnecessary regulatory hurdles. In a thriving startup ecosystem, the government should provide policies and incentives that encourage entrepreneurship. The recently passed Startup Act Bill is expected to encourage such while offering incentive to founders building in the ecosystem.
Private sector players have a crucial role to play in building a sustainable startup ecosystem in Nigeria. These players can provide seed funding, mentorship, and access to networks. They can also provide the expertise needed to help startups grow and succeed.
The time to act is now. As Nigeria continues to face challenges, building a thriving startup ecosystem is the solution to drive the economy forward. With the government’s support, private sector players’ involvement, and the collaboration of entrepreneurs, the future of Nigeria’s economy is looking brighter than ever. Let’s build a thriving startup ecosystem, create jobs, and drive economic growth in Nigeria!
*Wole Ogunlade is an ecosystem builder. His career has spanned working for fintech, mobility, B2B commerce and SaaS startups as a senior executive or founder where he has contributed to more than $200m in combined revenue. He provides mentoring for founders through Google, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Bincom, Seedstars and other notable platforms in addition to his writings which have been read by over 1 million readers across multiple leading technology blogs. Wole is managing director of Wesley (www. Wesley.ng) and until recently director of Global Partnerships for a UK based payment company.
