The African Development Bank
(AfDB) has finalized agreement to allocate $618 million to Nigeria through the
Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprise (i-DICE) initiative.
Its Country Director-General for
Nigeria, Mr Lamin Barrowshared in Marrakesh, Morocco, said the government is
currently in the stages of hiring a fund manager for the project.
Recall that Nigeria launched a
618 million-dollar technology fund for young investors under the iDICE
programme on March 14.
The AfDB plans to contribute $170
million, the Agence Francaise de Developpement is set to contribute $116
million, and the Islamic Development Bank will invest $70 million.
Barrow said the implementation of
the project was staggered because of Nigeria’s government transition.
“We were caught up by the transition of
government and you have to allow the new government to settle in. The steering
committee, chaired by the vice-president with membership from the Ministries of
Finance, Trade and Investments, Communication, Science and Technology,
Information and Culture, met and received a briefing.
“We are now at the point of
disbursement and the team has assembled the necessary procurement work. This
has to do with the recruitment of the transaction adviser and the Expression of
Interest for firms that want to manage the DICE funds,’’ he said.
In addition, the project also got
the French government’s approval, with a financial commitment of millions of
dollars.
Recall that the French Minister,
Catherine Colonnade, who visited Nigeria last week pledged support to the
programme, noting that it can create 65,000 startups in the country.
Barrow, the Country
Director-General for Nigeria at the AfDB, also agreed with the minister, saying
there is a collaborative effort between the bank and the French government in
investing in the project.
“Last week, the French minister
that visited Nigeria signed the agreement for the co-financing as DICE is being
co-financed by the French Development Agency and the Islamic Development Bank.
All the processes are now virtually completed.
“The important thing is that the
fund and the recruitment processes for a fund manager will soon occur.
“The fund will be independently
managed by the fund manager who will also contribute to the fund by supporting
start-ups,’’ Barrow said.
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