Anambra State Government Reassures Youths Of Support In ICT Entrepreneurship

Anambra State Government has expressed readiness to adopt and localize the Nigeria startup act aimed at providing legal framework for the tech industry in the State.

It will also assist youths in the ICT sector develop entrepreneurship with their innovations.

The Nigeria Startup Act is a national legal and policy framework that seeks to create an enabling environment for technology-enabled startups and entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

The Act also provides for establishing innovation hubs, startup fund, technology parks, and other support structures that will help startups thrive in the Nigerian economy.

In line with this, is the Solution Innovation District organized an ecosystem stakeholder engagement in Awka targeted at unbundling the many prospects of the act.

The engagement drew stakeholders from startups, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, tech hubs, academia, government and others who gathered the SID Centre for a collaborative discussion on the domestication of the act.

Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budgeted, Mrs Chiamaka Nnake challenged the stakeholders to ensure that the Act domesticates thrives and not just to exist for the existing sake and pointed out that for ICT sector in Anambra State to achieve great strides among the comity of states in the country, there will be need to key into the Nigeria startup initiative.

For the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency, ANSIPPA, Mr. Mark Okoye and the Managing Director, Anambra State ICT Agency, Mr. Fred Agbata, the Startup Act has the potential to stimulate the digital economy, promote economic growth, and reduce unemployment by creating new jobs, saying that its ultimate success hinges in its implementation at the state level.

The convener of the event and Special Adviser to the Governor on Innovation and Business Incubation, Ms Chinwe Okoli said that the State Government through the SID is championing the domestication of the Act in the State thus is committed to ensure that the eventual law when the act is domesticated will reflect the peculiarities of Anambra State and serve to build a stronger innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.