On Tuesday, March 14, 2023, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), under the leadership of the Vice President, along with the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), launched the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) program. 

The program will drive funding for Nigeria’s digital and creative industries and create sustainable jobs for the country’s youth population.
 
You can watch a video of the launch event here.
 
The i-DICE program is co-financed by the ADB, the IDB, and AFD. The FGN is providing counterpart finance through the Bank of Industry, which will serve as the executing agency. The DICE Fund, a venture capital outfit to be created under the program, will draw additional funding from institutional and other private investors.
 
The program is part of Nigeria’s efforts to build a more resilient, inclusive and modern economy and will likely consolidate the country’s position as Africa’s leading start-up investment destination and youth entrepreneurship hub.
 
The program aims to achieve the following outcomes:


•    849,970 direct and indirect jobs created (i.e. 77,270 direct and 772,700 indirect)
•    77,110 young women and men skilled to secure employment or create their own businesses
•    US$ 216.7 million additional financing raised and made available to early-stage growth and high impact technology and tech-enabled ventures and creative businesses through DICE Funds investment
•    US$ 10.4 million financing made available to investee companies whose actions reduce Green House Gas emissions or reduce vulnerability to climate change; and DICE Funds reached the target capitalization of US$ 433.3m through the participation of various types of investors.


The i-DICE program will focus on entrepreneurs aged 35 and under, to the exclusion of many seasoned entrepreneurs over the age of 35. We are sure smart entrepreneurs will find a way around this or that the Fund will exercise some discretion in this regard. 
 
Given our work in the ESG investing space, OWF is particularly pleased to see some emphasis being placed on start-ups that address the issues of environment and emission as part of the funds criteria for investment.