Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has committed 10.4 million dollars to support the expansion of innovation hubs across Nigeria, including the Renewed Hope Startup Hub in Abuja, whose foundation stone the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, laid at a ceremony addressed by the technology regulator.
The National Information Technology Development Agency said the grant backs the Abuja facility, which is expected to offer incubation, hardware prototyping, research facilities and international business collaboration for young entrepreneurs. NITDA’s director-general, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said the agency wants at least two functioning innovation hubs in every state, a target that remains a plan rather than a completed rollout.
At the ceremony, Abdullahi also said JICA was working with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority to set up a 50-million-dollar seed-funding facility for startups. Japan’s ambassador to Nigeria, Hideo Suzuki, said Japan’s support rests on strengthening policies and institutions, backing early-stage investment and providing infrastructure.
NITDA said its digital-innovation office has so far supported more than 995 startups and helped create 7,596 jobs. Its iHatch programme, developed with JICA, trained 333 startups and 74 hub managers between 2025 and early 2026, while women-focused initiatives trained 224 women-owned enterprises and 12 founders were sponsored to Japan, one of whom secured a 500,000-dollar grant.
The commitment deepens a technology partnership built on more than six decades of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Sources: Nairametrics; Punch
Something we should clarify?
Contact the newsroom
