At the Idea Hatch (iHatch) incubation programme’s Cohort II Demo Day and Cohort III opening ceremony, three Nigerian start-ups secured seed funding totaling $37,000 from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The initiative aims to foster innovative ideas, nurturing them into entrepreneurial ventures, aligning with Nigeria’s digital economy agenda.
Hosted in Abuja by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with JICA, the event saw the first, second, and third-placed start-ups receiving $15,000, $12,000, and $10,000, respectively.
Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director General of NITDA, noted that the iHatch programme offers a five-month intensive incubation, refining business ideas through coaching, lectures, and boot camps to generate scalable models, focusing on youth, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
The programme aims to identify and empower young individuals with business ideas, providing comprehensive training and mentorship to produce market-ready products. Last year’s winners, each receiving $15,000, have collectively raised $274,000 and created 179 jobs.
Abdullahi outlined plans to extend the training nationwide, covering the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), emphasising the impact of this initiative on job creation and Nigeria’s digital solutions.
