Nigeria to provide up to ₦1 billion ($735,000) in funding for 100 startups through iDICE Startup Bridge
Nigeria’s iDICE programme has launched Startup Bridge to support early-stage founders, following its investment in Ventures Platform’s $64 million fund.
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The Nigerian government has launched the iDICE Startup Bridge programme to support startup founders across the country. The initiative operates under the broader Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) vehicle and targets both early-stage and growth-stage entrepreneurs through two tracks — Founders Lab and Growth Lab.<br />
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iDICE is a government-backed programme designed to catalyse investment in Nigeria’s digital and creative economy. Launched with funding support from development partners including the Bank of Industry (BOI), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the French Development Agency, and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the programme aims to mobilise hundreds of millions of dollars into Nigeria’s startup ecosystem while strengthening the pipeline of investable technology and creative ventures.<br />
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“This programme, created under the iDICE umbrella, gives young entrepreneurs across the country a real opportunity to build or scale, and we are confident in its ability to reshape early-stage enterprise development and innovation outcomes over time,” Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima and Chairman of the iDICE Steering Committee said in a statement. <br />
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Founders Lab, which the government says has now opened for applications, will run for 12 weeks and seeks to provide idea-stage and prototype founders with resources such as mentorship, funding, and learning materials. At the end of the programme, the best 100 founders will receive a ₦10 million grant each — amounting to up to ₦1 billion in total funding.<br />
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According to Cindy Ezerioha, Head of Startup School at iDICE Startup Bridge, founders will be taught how to validate the problems they choose to solve, structure their businesses, and develop a minimum viable product (MVP) during the 12-week programme.<br />
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“It targets very early-stage ideas and founders who do not yet meet the thresholds of a venture fund. The goal is to develop a stronger pipeline of investable Nigerian startups — including for the ...
