President Bola Tinubu’s administration has approved the conversion of a government property in San Francisco, United States of America into the Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Program Hub.
The hub will be called Nigerian Startup House.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) during its meeting earlier in the day.
He said, “Another development from FEC today, which sits firmly in our desire as a Ministry to position Nigeria as a significant player in the global technology landscape, is the approval for the conversion of an existing property of the Federal Government in San Francisco, USA to a Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Programme Hub (Nigeria Startup House).
“As we work towards achieving key elements of our Trade and IEC Strategic Blueprint Pillars, the Nigerian Startup House will play a critical role in promoting Nigeria’s economic interest, attracting Foreign Direct Investment and improving the visibility and positioning of Nigeria’s Startup Ecosystem to attract funding and expertise from global markets and organisations represented in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
“The San Francisco Bay Area, and nearby Silicon Valley, is recognised globally as a major source of startup ecosystem funding, with a combined GDP value of just over $929 billion and is home to over 200 of the largest companies in the world by revenue. In addition, most of the $1.3 billion funding sourced by Nigerian technology startups in 2023 alone came from Venture Capital funds in the Bay Area.
“While the ownership of the Nigeria Startup House will remain with the Federal Government, represented by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it will be managed by a consortium of Nigerian digital technology companies who will provide non-public funding for the operations of the Startup House.”
