Nigeria has taken a major step toward backing its fast-growing tech and creative sectors, launching a $170.6 million investment fund designed to reach entrepreneurs in every corner of the country — all 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory.
What the Fund Is
The fund blends public and private sector financing to expand access to capital for technology and creative businesses nationwide, and is considered one of the largest government-backed investment vehicles for tech and creative startups anywhere in Africa.
It was formally activated through an agreement signed in Abuja between the Bank of Industry and
Kuramo Capital Management, putting into motion Nigeria’s iDICE Programme (Investing in Digital and Creative Enterprises).
Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Hannatu Musa Musawa, has been a leading voice pushing this agenda, framing Nigeria’s creative and tech industries as central to the country’s economic diversification strategy.
Where the Money Goes
The fund is structured to actually reach entrepreneurs where they are:
Debt financing: The BOI/iDICE Debt Fund and the IsDB Murabaha Debt Fund together provide $110 million specifically for startups in tech and creative sectors.
Fund of funds model: The DICE Fund of Funds invests through selected venture capital and micro-venture capital firms, a structure meant to spread investment across the country rather than concentrating it in Lagos, Abuja, or a handful of major hubs.
De-risking private capital: Government money is structured as first-loss capital, absorbing more risk so private investors feel more comfortable putting money in.
Innovation hubs on campus: iDICE is also funding digital and creative innovation hubs across 66 higher institutions — 36 universities and 30 polytechnics — in partnership with the National Universities Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.
The Bigger Picture
This fund is part of a broader push by Musawa’s ministry to position Nigeria’s creative economy — spanning Nollywood, music, fashion, design, and tech — as a genuine engine of growth, with a stated ambition of reaching a $100 billion creative economy by 2030. The ministry has previously pointed to securing hundreds of millions in investment commitments and launching its own Creative Economy Development Fund (CEDF) as part of that same push.
Why It Matters
For years, Nigerian entrepreneurs in tech and the creative industries have cited the same obstacle again and again: access to affordable financing. A $170.6 million fund won’t solve that overnight, but the design will help to build something more structural than a one-off cash injection.
