The House of Representatives passes the Nigeria Startup Bill

The Nigeria Startup Bill passed its third reading at the lower house of the country’s parliament, the House of Representatives yesterday 27th of July 2022. This follows the passage of the same bill by the Senate on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.

This was announced via the Twitter page of the House of Representatives. It was among the 10 bills that passed third reading. The Nigeria Startup Bill was described in the tweet as “A Bill for an Act to Establish National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Provide for the Creation and Development of an enabling Environment for Technology-Enabled Startups in Nigeria; and for Related Matters (HB.1886)”

The Nigeria Startup Bill project is a joint initiative by Nigeria’s tech startup ecosystem and the Presidency to harness the potential of its digital economy through co-created regulations. The Bill will ensure that Nigeria’s laws and regulations are clear, planned and work for the tech ecosystem. The Bill will replace the National Digital Innovation Entrepreneurship and Startup Policy, a proposal that was going to be Nigeria’s approach to digital innovation.

The next step is the onward transmission to the Presidency for Presidential assent after which it will become a law.

Speaking on the development, Stephen Edache, a volunteer on the NSB communications team said: “This is inspiring news for all of us on the team; a lot of hard work has gone into drafting the bill, generating support and just getting the word out there, and it’s great to see that all that effort is not a waste. I personally can’t wait until the final step where the president assents to the bill and startups begin to reap its benefits.”

The main objectives of the Nigeria Startup Bill

The objective of this Act is to provide a legal and institutional framework for the development of startups in Nigeria and to:

• Provide an enabling environment for the establishment, development and operation of startups in Nigeria;
• Foster the development and growth of technology-related talent and;
• Provide Nigeria’s startup ecosystem as the leading digital technology hub in Africa, having excellent innovators with cutting-edge skills and exportable capacity

A draft of the bill was created between June–September 2021 by the Nigerian presidency, in collaboration with 30 tech leaders including Ventures Platform founder Kola Aina and Future Africa founder Iyin Aboyeji, NITDA officials, and the minister of digital economy Isa Pantami.

A draft of the bill was submitted to the Presidency and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in October 2021 and was approved by Federal Executive Council (FEC) in December 2021.

Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, passed the bill to the National Assembly in February 2022

In support of the bill, Lagos state announced in June 2022 that the Nigeria Startup Bill will be enacted into law so that the startup ecosystem in Nigeria can flourish more quickly.

Click here to know more about the Nigeria Startup Bill