News Nigeria has announced plans to launch a Startup House in the San Francisco Bay Area to drive investment and boost the visibility of the country’s startup ecosystem.
While some Nigerian startups, like the leading fintech Flutterwave, maintain headquarters in San Francisco’s Bay Area, they operate across Africa.
The Bay Area isn’t just an address; it’s a global innovation hub. Housing tech giants such as Apple, Google and Facebook, as well as billion-dollar startups including Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart.
But the allure goes deeper than innovation. Venture capital firms in the Bay Area are major players on the global investment scene. Take Y Combinator (YC), for instance. Since its first African investment in 2012, YC has backed over 106 startups across the continent, with Nigerian ventures forming a significant chunk of their portfolio.
Beyond YC, numerous other Bay Area VCs contribute substantially to the total investment flowing into Nigerian tech companies each year. Flutterwave’s CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, himself highlighted this in a 2019 interview with TechCrunch: “We set up in San Francisco because of YC.”
Recognising this strategic importance, the country is taking a bold step. For over two decades, a 4,200-square-foot property owned by the Nigerian government sat unused in San Francisco. On Tuesday, Bosun Tijani, the country’s minister for communication, innovation and digital economy, announced that the Federal Executive Council has approved the conversion of this property into the “Nigerian Digital Technology Exchange Programme Hub” (Nigeria Startup House).
“This initiative is critical for promoting Nigeria’s economic interest,” Minister Tijani stated. He elaborated on the goals: attracting foreign direct investment and boosting the visibility of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem. The facility will be managed by a consortium of Nigerian digital technology companies, leveraging private funding to support its operations.
Opeyemi Awoyemi, the founder of Fast Forward Venture Studio, said: “If done well, we will see increased investments in and global emergence of Nigerian startups and talent.”
The minister has yet to disclose the proposed launch date.
This is a developing story.