A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE NIGERIA STARTUP ACT 2022: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

The startup ecosystem in Nigeria has experienced a exponential growth in recent years. Leaving  the generic concept of business and entrepreneurship to the very womb of incubation where it  belongs. Added to this is a specified Act (The Nigeria Startup Act 2022) to aid properly this  incubation. The provision of this Act comes with strength especially in the arear of comprehensive  regulatory framework to support and structure Nigeria’s fast-growing startup ecosystem, it also  established a Startup Investment Fund aimed at financing startups, incubators, accelerators, and  tech hubs, which promotes innovation and offers incentives including tax breaks and financial  support for labeled startups, investors, and venture capitalists among many other strengths. With  this also comes the weaknesses especially in awareness of the Act been limited primarily to major  cities (Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt), leaving large parts of Nigeria. Also, the process for obtaining  the startup label is slow, causing delays that hurt startups’ ability to access promised benefits  quickly. Lastly, regulatory overlap, with multiple agencies involved (NITDA, NOTAP, CAC,  NDPC, etc.), creates confusion and bureaucracy, hindering ease of doing business among many  others.