Nigeria startup portal and the promise of tomorrow, By Fatimah Yusuf Usman

…this is not just about tech. It is about jobs, dignity, national identity, and the belief that your zip code should not determine the size of your ambition. If we stay intentional — not just in policy but in follow-through — then this portal may well become a pipeline for building a country where innovation thrives, not in spite of the system, but because of it.

It began without fanfare. No confetti. No grand press conference. Just a quiet upload on a government website — startup.gov.ng — yet within that single link lies what might become one of the most significant bridges ever built between Nigerian innovators and the government meant to serve them.

To some, it is just another government platform. But for thousands of young Nigerians building software from cafes, testing prototypes in backyard sheds, or pitching investors from their phones, this is hope — finally documented.

The Startup Support and Engagement Portal is the latest offering under the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA), steered by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). On paper, it looks like a registry.

But for those who have long cried for structure, visibility, and government backing, it is so much more: a signal that their dreams are no longer fringe or invisible — but valid, recognised, and worth investing in.

Nigeria’s startup culture has always been resilient — sprouting from underfunded schools, unstable power supplies, and sometimes, unsupportive policies. Our innovators have built apps without accelerators, created platforms without protection, and scaled ideas without systemic support.

But now, a small shift has begun — not in the pages of another white paper, but in real-time, through a portal that promises to bring structure to the hustle.

Behind this quiet evolution is a man whose leadership is slowly but steadily becoming a benchmark in Nigeria’s public sector: Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director general of NITDA.

For those who watch closely, his work ethic speaks louder than press releases. He does not just announce ideas; he builds pathways. His stewardship of the Nigeria Startup Act and this new portal is another chapter in his growing record of action.

Inuwa is not perfect — no public servant is — but his track record suggests a rare sincerity of purpose. He listens. He acts. He iterates. And in an ecosystem where bureaucracy often stifles dreams, his approach feels different: practical, hands-on, and refreshingly inclusive.

Still, the road ahead is not paved with ease. Will this portal become a living system, alive to the needs of a 17-year-old coder in Maiduguri, or the woman running a fintech startup out of Port Harcourt?

Will it stay agile enough to support real growth, or become another digital relic updated only during conferences? What NITDA has done is lay a foundation. But what Nigeria needs is a structure — with doors that open and support that stays consistent.

Because this is not just about tech. It is about jobs, dignity, national identity, and the belief that your zip code should not determine the size of your ambition. If we stay intentional — not just in policy but in follow-through — then this portal may well become a pipeline for building a country where innovation thrives, not in spite of the system, but because of it.

And perhaps, someday soon, when the world asks where Africa’s next tech miracle is coming from, someone will say: “It began with a quiet link. A bold idea. And the resolve to finally do things differently.”

Fatimah Yusuf Usman writes from Wuye District, Abuja. [email protected].