The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), are co-launching a \$28 million impact innovation fund to provide finance for entrepreneurs and innovators in Nigeria.
The Government of Japan is providing $14 million, which has been matched by the NSIA with another $14 million.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NSIA, Aminu Umar-Sadiq, who disclosed this at the NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI) Demo Day 3.0, which held in Abuja at the weekend, explained that the fund will serve as a pool of long-term local currency capital to further offer growth capital to budding entrepreneurs that have ideas capable of transforming societies but are held back by funding.
He said: “This platform offers education, equity, and exposure to not only the 10 finalists that are presenting to a distinguished panel of judges today, but all 5,000 applicants who have taken the plunge for the programme. The second is that as a direct result of the success of this programme, the NSIA and JICA of Japan are now co-launching an impact innovation fund so that we have a pool of long-term local currency capital to further offer growth capital to a lot of these great ideas that we are seeing. We are very proud of the strategic partners that we have also mobilised towards this effort. What was a very humble prize for innovation a few years ago has now transformed into a much larger, much broader, and much more impactful proposition for Nigerian youth.”
Though the 2025 edition focused on agriculture, education, and health, Umar-Sadiq added that the programme is designed to cover all sectors.
He noted that a significant part of the prize would be equity for the top three chosen winners.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who graced the occasion physically, charged the NSIA to sustain the initiative, adding, “There should not be a situation where you have a breakage in the circle. This event must be an annual event. I say to the winners, and even the old winners, stick to your ideas. But the key is the implementation of those ideas.”
Edun explained how technology is not only helping reshape government finances but also boosting efficiency and time management.
“When the President came into office, the situation we had with the finances was opaque, it was manual. In terms of the financial operation, the day-to-day payments, all that was done manually. That we are now fully automated was achieved by young and smart Nigerians,” he stated.
The Minister, not wanting to scare the innovators, maintained that there will be obstacles on their way, but that they can be overcome by sheer determination and grit.
He added, “There will be obstacles along the way. It is one thing to have a plan on paper, and there is no such thing as a bad policy. What there is, is that if you do not have the will and the determination to see it through, that is when it becomes a problem.”
Addressing the innovators, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan, Kozaki Hitoshi, who confirmed the contribution of $14 million to the fund, lauded the enthusiasm displayed by the participants.
On his part, the National Coordinator, Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain (PIVAC), Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, stressed the urgent need to mobilise private sector resources and incentivise local manufacturing of healthcare products towards building an ecosystem for Nigerian entrepreneurs to participate in improving service delivery for healthcare.
He described health, education, and agriculture as key sectors that are central to human development in the country.
“When I travel across the country, I see a lot of innovative ideas in healthcare—from technology-driven care to care that focuses on primary healthcare to local manufacturing in healthcare to service delivery,” he stated.
The NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI) programme is a multi-year initiative designed to identify innovative solutions with the potential for transformative impact.
Its core objective is to identify, build, and finance early-stage innovative solutions to catalyse economic growth, enhance the nation’s productive capacity, and create jobs.
The objectives of NPI include recognising and rewarding Nigerian innovators and founders within the start-up ecosystem; catalysing early-stage investments for Nigerian innovators; mentoring and equipping founders with the requisite tools to improve product-market fit; connecting start-ups to potential investors; and enhancing networking and collaboration within the start-up ecosystem.
