As part of efforts to increase the number of tech startups in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Ogun State and benefit from the $34 billion innovation economy, the state government has agreed on a partnership with GetFundedAfrica.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Ogun State Governor, Kunle Somorin, the partnership was to enable Ogun benefit from the venture capital flows into Africa.

Somorin said the partnership by the state through its Bureau of Information Communication Technology (BICT) was to make Ogun State, starting with Abeokuta, an innovation state and destination of venture capital flows, which according to him is in the fulfilment of Governor Dapo Abiodun’s development initiatives and leveraging technology and innovation to build Nigeria’s first Silicon Valley.

He stated that GetFundedAfrica is a pan-African venture service platform that matches startups, investors, corporates, and governments, and helped African startups raise over $150m in 2021.

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Quoting the Head of BICT and the Special Adviser to the governor on ICT, Dayo Abiodun, the statement noted that Ogun as Nigeria’s industrial hub and home to the highest number of tertiary institutions in the country is focused on unlocking a $34 billion innovation economy and happy to partner with GetFundedAfrica to achieve the ICT objective set by the governor.

The statement that further quoted the Commissioner for Finance and  Chief Economic Adviser, Dapo Okubadejo, that the partnership is already yielding fruit as 20 startups are in the process of relocating to the Ogun Tech Hub in Abeokuta, also echoed the Chief Commercial Officer of GetFundedAfrica, Tunji Oke, that over the next 36 months, no fewer than 400 startups from across Africa would be brought and help Ogun to unlock billions of dollars in innovation.

“The first batch of 20 startups cut across verticals such as Fintech, Agritech, Healthtech, Software Development, Training and Talent Recruitment and are startups from Nigeria, Uganda, UAE, Kenya, and  Germany, will be helped by GetFundedAfrica with fundraising, mentors, coaching, corporates, media and more. The state will support with visa, insurance, office spaces, utilities, and more,” the statement added.

The Star