NSIA launches Prize for Innovation initiative to boost Nigeria’s digital economy
By Onome Amuge
Recognising the need to make projects in the digital economy bankable, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has launched the Prize for Innovation (NPIP) as an initiative to identify, build, and channel the country’s latent potential in innovation and technology to catalyse economic growth, enhance the nation’s productive capacity, create jobs, and optimise resource sustainability.
Ikemefuna Isiekwena, non-executive director,NSIA, made this known during the maiden edition of the NSIA Prize for Innovation Programme held recently in Lagos.
Speaking on behalf of the board and management of the Authority, Isiekwena said the NSIA is committed to bringing its decade long experience in investments to the digital industry in Nigeria.
“We see significant gaps in the digital ecosystem in Nigeria and we are determined to serve as an enabler to fill those voids. We believe in the ingenuity and creativity of Nigerians,” he said.
The chairman of the NPIP launch further noted that the NSIA board and management aim to help in developing the digital ecosystems such that it will be robust enough to attract domestic and foreign capital, improve access to talent and shared resources, and afford a system for knowledge sharing, training, and mentoring.
He expressed optimism that the programme will inspire ingenuity, creativity, and inventiveness amongst the teeming youths which will result in ideas that become scalable businesses and in so doing, cause positive economic shifts in the country as it diversifies from traditional businesses.
Emphasising the market potential of the tech industry,Isiekwena noted that as of November 2022, only four companies in the world have market capitalization in excess of $1 trillion, including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Amazon. Tesla, he added, recently dropped from the exclusive list, with all five companies including Tesla having a combined market cap of $7.15 trillion.
“You would note that all these companies are tech corporations, and each one is a disruptor in its category. All five of them have strong track records of leading cutting-edge innovation to remain relevant while they also leverage innovation as an integral part of their growth strategy. Think about it, not too long ago, these tech companies were all startups. Today, they are industry giants.
“I would like us to picture any one of these companies as a Nigerian entity. Imagine a Google of Nigerian origin or an Apple of Nigerian extraction. Is it possible? I say yes, it is! All we need is one big idea in the digital economy that will put our country on the global map. At NSIA, we believe that the seeds to make this a reality is being sown today,” he said.
According to the NSIA non-executive director, the NSIA Innovation Fund was established in 2020 with $25 million of the organisation’s capital to expand its presence in innovation and emerging technologies and replicate the success achieved in other focus sectors.
The Prize, he explained, is expected to catalyze the growth and development of the Nigerian technology ecosystem over time by identifying aspiring technopreneurs and innovators, developing their skills, and providing them with a platform to showcase Nigerian technological solutions globally.
He further disclosed that the goal will be achieved in partnership with key operators and stakeholders within the digital ecosystem, a subset of which is heavily represented in the “audience today”.
“As we launch the Prize today, the Authority is making a different kind of commitment to Nigeria; we are saying that we are willing to put in place a system that will support and enable the emergence of digital powerhouses in the country,” he concluded.
The Prize for Innovation is a strategy-based initiative of the NSIA board which would run for at least three years and is expected to enhance the Authority’s commitment to contribute significantly towards cultivating a pipeline of investible companies.