Following the government’s concerted improvement of the nation’s business environment, Nigeria locked over $1.4 Billion out of $4billion in funding raised by over 564 start-ups across Africa last year, accounting for 35% of total funds raised.
Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of the Bankers’ House of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Abuja, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stated that the rise of Nigerian unicorns in recent years across the continent is solving critical problems in almost every sector.
“Nigeria today has six unicorns, tech companies valued at over 1 billion dollars.
“All of them started after 2015, and have grown between two recessions.”
Osinbajo said that the Federal Government understands the critical role the private sector plays in delivering value to the Nigerian economy, and is, therefore, focused on leveraging collaboration opportunities to usher Nigeria into a more prosperous new decade.
He noted that Nigeria is set for great heights, not only because it is “a nation of great dreamers and great doers,” but also for the resilience of its people and their great potential.
“With a population constituting the largest market on the continent, a swelling demography of ambitious, tech-savvy young people, accelerating regional integration and connection to new markets, Nigeria has been presented with an unprecedented opportunity to launch the country into a new decade of sustained prosperity.
“An opportunity we are fully committed, as a government, to translating into lived realities for millions of Nigerians across the country,” the Vice President declared.
He added: “every time Nigeria has been expected to sink, we have soared and risen beyond our troubles. We have drawn joy from the depths of despair and found the courage to keep going, even in the most daunting of challenges. The Nigerian spirit remains unfazed and persistently bankable.”
The vice president observed that “the realisation of our country’s potential, at this crucial moment, will require the careful choreography of government policies that remove every impediment in the way of those determined to pursue their dreams and build businesses.”
Osinbajo highlighted the impact of government policies in this regard, including the work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) towards improving Nigeria’s business environment and economy.
He said the PEBEC, has “aggressively pursued the creation of an environment that allows Nigerian businesses, at every level, operate without the bottlenecks and drawbacks that have come to characterize their interface with agencies and regulators.”
He added that the Administration is also “building on the progress of these reforms and aggregating lessons from some of the setbacks in its implementation,” with the launch of PEBEC’s 7th 60-day National Action Plan (NAP 7.0) on the Ease of Doing Business.
The NAP 7.0, which started on February 7, is programmed to run until April 7, 2022.