By Olasupo Olusi

A $617 million program is putting money, skills, and infrastructure directly in the hands of young Nigerian entrepreneurs. And it’s already underway.

Nigeria has produced some of Africa’s most celebrated technology and creative success stories. Yet for many founders across the country, the path from idea to investable business remains difficult. Early-stage capital, coordinated support, and clear pathways to growth have not existed at the level Nigeria’s digital and creative potential demands.

This is not a talent problem. According to the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nigeria’s digital economy contributes nearly 19 per cent to GDP. The creative industry, per research by Jobberman and the Mastercard Foundation, employs more than 4.2 million people. Both sectors have expanded considerably in recent times, demonstrating what Nigerian entrepreneurs can achieve even within difficult conditions. The real question is whether that growth can be institutionalised effectively and extended beyond a few major urban centres.

The answer requires deliberate public intervention. Data from the Bank of Industry’s 2025 Annual Development Impact Report, independently assured by KPMG and the Policy Innovation Centre, shows that 76 per cent of creative and digital businesses financed by the Bank either would not have proceeded at all, or would have been significantly scaled back, without development finance. That is not a market gap that growth alone will close. It is precisely the kind of structural gap that a deliberate, development-finance-backed intervention is designed to address.

iDICE, the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Program, is the Federal Government’s response to that need. Implemented by the Bank of Industry and financed by the African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Islamic Development Bank, the program has mobilized $617 million to support young Nigerian entrepreneurs through financing, skills development, mentorship, and enterprise support. It represents one of Africa’s largest innovation and enterprise development programs and one of Nigeria’s clearest commitments to building the infrastructure required for a globally competitive digital and creative economy. BOI brings to this mandate an active and growing track record: in 2025 alone, the Bank financed 2,017 creative and digital businesses, deploying N41.35 billion into the sector. iDICE is built on that foundation and designed to extend it at the national scale.

What iDICE is building
The program is built around three pillars: access to finance, capacity development, and ecosystem strengthening. Its financing architecture combines equity funding, startup-friendly debt, and catalytic funding structures designed to support founders at different stages of growth. For entrepreneurs not yet ready for equity investment, the iDICE Debt Fund provides affordable growth capital through the Bank of Industry. The program is also working with Nigeria’s six non-interest banks to expand access to Shariah-compliant financing, ensuring broader inclusion within the innovation ecosystem. BOI’s existing portfolio in this space already validates the approach: across its 2025 creative and digital investments, 62 per cent of financed firms achieved capacity increases above 20 per cent, average revenue grew by 14.3 per cent, and 13 per cent of businesses began exporting for the first time following BOI support.

The Startup Bridge Program, recently launched under iDICE, is designed to take founders from idea stage to investment readiness through structured training, mentorship, grants of up to N10 million, and pathways to equity investment of up to $100,000. The appetite for this kind of intervention was never in doubt. When iDICE launched its Founders Lab initiative in March 2025, more than 7,000 applications were received from across the country. Following a rigorous selection process, 185 founders were admitted into the inaugural cohort, representing all 36 states and the FCT. Female founders accounted for approximately 38 per cent of participants, surpassing the program’s own target. It was an early signal that the talent and ambition already existed. What had been missing was a credible platform to channel and grow them.

The next phase is already underway. Applications for Growth Lab, an accelerator program focused on growth-stage startups, are expected to open in Q3 2026, extending the pipeline from early-stage innovation to enterprise development.

Beyond financing, iDICE is also investing heavily in skills and infrastructure. The program aims to train more than one million Nigerians in globally competitive digital and creative skills over its lifetime. Sixty-six Innovation Hubs and Centres of Excellence are being established across universities and polytechnics nationwide, providing workspaces, mentorship, incubation support, and access to industry-relevant tools, designed to become active engines for enterprise creation and innovation across every part of the country. BOI’s support for Vatebra Tech Hub offers a preview of what this looks like in practice. With BOI support, Vatebra trained more than 5,300 entrepreneurs, incubated over 500 startups, and catalysed partnerships with Amazon, MTN, and Lagos Innovates. According to Vatebra’s Business Manager, without BOI support, the hub’s scale of training and community outreach “would have happened much more slowly, and we would have reached far fewer beneficiaries and startups.” The 66 hubs iDICE is establishing are designed to replicate and expand that model nationwide.

National in scope, not just in name
One of the program’s most deliberate design choices is its emphasis on decentralisation. State focal persons, nominated across all 36 states and the FCT, are embedded within the program to ensure that opportunities reach founders in Sokoto, Calabar, Maiduguri, and other underserved locations, not just entrepreneurs with proximity to Nigeria’s established technology hubs.

At the policy level, iDICE is backed by a high-level steering committee chaired by His Excellency, Vice President Kashim Shettima, bringing together ministries responsible for finance, digital economy, creative economy, and industry and trade. This level of coordination reflects a growing recognition that the digital and creative economy is no longer on the sidelines of Nigeria’s future growth story. It is increasingly central to it.

The scale of the opportunity
At its core, iDICE is also an industrial policy intervention, building the talent, capital, and enterprise infrastructure required for Nigeria’s next phase of economic growth.

By the end of 2026, iDICE is expected to establish 66 Innovation Hubs nationwide, train between 250,000 and 300,000 young Nigerians in market-relevant skills, support more than 200 technology startups, and provide financing for over 100 creative enterprises. Independent projections by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate that full implementation could generate more than 6.1 million jobs and contribute approximately $6.4 billion in economic value to Nigeria.

These are ambitious projections. But they are backed by a program that is more coordinated, better funded, and more institutionally supported than previous interventions in this space.

Building the Ecosystem for Growth
Nigeria’s digital and creative sectors have already demonstrated their potential. The challenge now is whether the country can build the systems that allow innovation to grow consistently, sustainably, and beyond a few concentrated hubs.

For the young founder with an idea but no capital, iDICE provides a pathway. For graduates with skills but limited opportunities, it creates access to training, mentorship, and enterprise support. For creative businesses that have built audiences but struggle to grow sustainably, it offers financing and institutional backing.

The program is live and the pipeline is growing. For Nigeria’s next generation of founders, developers, and creators, iDICE is not a distant policy commitment. It is an open door, and the moment to walk through it is now.
To stay updated on the iDICE programme, visit https://idice.ng.

Dr. Olasupo Olusi is the MD/CEO of the Bank of Industry.