The Federal Government of Nigeria’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme has announced plans to launch two additional funds for the technology and creative sectors in 2026, targeting investments in Nigerian start-ups across the country.
The announcement comes as the Chair of the iDICE Steering Committee, Vice President Kashim Shettima, described the formal kick-off, featuring an anchor investment in a new venture fund by Ventures Platform, a pan-African seed-stage fund, as an exciting milestone that will leverage the potential of Nigerian youth.
The new funding achieved a $64 million first-round close based on investor commitments last Thursday.
Ventures Platform was appointed as the Fund Manager for the technology component of iDICE in August 2025, following a competitive bidding process supervised by the funding partners.
With this development, iDICE joins other institutional investors, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Standard Bank of South Africa, and British International Investment (BII) in the new fund, which has achieved a $64 million first close and targets a final close of $75 million.
Shettima emphasised earlier that “the commencement of investing by iDICE is an exciting milestone and a leap forward in the determined efforts of the Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to deliver on our vision of unleashing the full potential of Nigeria’s young people, in line with the Renewed Hope agenda.”
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