ABUJA, Nigeria — The Japanese government, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has committed $10.4 million to expand innovation hubs across Nigeria, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said at the foundation-laying ceremony of the Renewed Hope Startup Hub in Abuja.
Abdullahi said JICA is also working with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to set up a $50 million seed-funding facility for startups. The aim is to strengthen entrepreneurship, create jobs in the digital economy and widen opportunities for young Nigerians.
Japan’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Hideo Suzuki, said Japan’s support for the startup ecosystem rests on three pillars: strengthening policies and institutions, backing early-stage investment, and building infrastructure through the Renewed Hope Startup Hub. He said Japan’s approach focuses on developing businesses over the long term rather than pursuing quick financial exits.
Abdullahi said NITDA’s Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI) has supported more than 995 startups and created 7,596 jobs. Around 300 companies have received training through a digital export acceleration programme over the past three years.
The iHatch programme, which NITDA and JICA developed through ONDI in 2023, trained 333 startups across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory between 2025 and early 2026, along with 74 innovation hub managers. Two other initiatives, We Elevate and IgniteHatch, target women entrepreneurs. They have trained 224 women-owned enterprises, sponsored 12 founders to Japan, and helped one beneficiary secure a grant worth $500,000.
NITDA aims to ensure that every state has at least two functioning innovation hubs, so young entrepreneurs can access incubation programmes outside the major technology centres.
The Renewed Hope Startup Hub is expected to serve as a national centre for incubation, hardware prototyping, research and international business collaboration. First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who laid the foundation stone, urged NITDA to make sure young people can use the facility regardless of where they live or their background. She said the hub should offer practical opportunities, not remain a physical building. The hub, she said, should allow innovators to leave with a working prototype that can reach international markets.
