Monday, February 25, 2013

Nigeria To Launch $15m Venture Capital Fund For Software Developers In April?

This is exciting news for software developers in Nigeria.

As part of an effort to support the growth of more tech entrepreneurs in the country, the government has announced plans to launch the much awaited $15 million venture capital fund for software developers by April 2013.

This was made known by Mrs Omobolaji Johnson, the minister of communication technology, during her presentation at the just concluded Social Media Week in Lagos.

“We are going through the process of selecting the fund managers,” she says, during a session tagged “Showcase: Technology in Governance,” held at Lagos e-learning centre last week Friday.

According to the honourable minister of communication technology, the $5million venture capital fund is expected to launch this April after the selection of fund managers who will serve on the investment committee.

“There’ll be money available for software developers, not only those that are in government inspired hubs but those that are actually developing software,” she says. “They can actually apply for this fund…and if the investment committee thinks they are worthy then they get the fund.”

It can be recalled that the plan to launch the ICT venture capital fund was first announced August last year.

Watch the Video of the announcement



This report first appeared on Ventures Africa, where I serve as a frequent contributor.

I'm currently reporting on health and development in Nigeria with a grant from the International Reporting Project in Washington, D.C. Follow on Twitter @IRPChirps.


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