The Lagos State Government, under the leadership of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has allocated N1 billion as a seed fund for startups to the Lagos State Science, Research, and Innovation Council (LASRIC).

This announcement was made during the inauguration of the newly reconstituted LASRIC members in Lagos.

Governor Sanwo-Olu emphasized the state’s commitment to fostering scientific innovation, positioning Lagos as a burgeoning hub for early-stage and unicorn startups.

He noted that Lagos’s startup ecosystem has outpaced many other African cities and countries in success metrics, foreign direct investment, and the number of innovative solutions and patents.

“We are committed to increasing these success metrics with the provision of LASRIC seed fund to the tune of N1,000,000,000 (one billion Naira) – in the first tranche funding to the council,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

“We believe this fund will continue to catalyse development in our dear state.

‘It is my expectation that the new LASRIC Board being inaugurated today will work assiduously towards ensuring the realisation of our collective goals and aspirations.

“Innovation is central to the governor’s THEMES Agenda, prompting the establishment of LASRIC to drive science and technology initiatives.”

The council includes experts from industry, academia, and the public sector, all dedicated to expanding innovation in Lagos.

Over the past four years, LASRIC has created over 500 jobs by supporting startups in sectors such as AgriTech, the circular economy, climate change, and construction tech. It has also backed more than 70 research and development initiatives in areas like biomass, biodiesel, and artificial intelligence for medical imaging, boosting innovation activity in Lagos by over 250%.

Sanwo-Olu highlighted LASRIC’s achievement in securing the government’s first patent through a multidisciplinary team from the University of Lagos, which developed the Ambubag Ventilator.

Several other patent-pending projects are underway, reinforcing the administration’s focus on value creation.

Olatunbosun Alake, the Commissioner for Innovation, Science, and Technology, introduced a structured assessment system called “POEM” for technology companies and startups applying for the seed funding.

POEM evaluates Proposition, Organisation, Economics, and Milestones to ensure viable and impactful projects.

“Startups or tech companies that are able to pass this assessment and access the seed funding should be able to solve problems in Lagos State and beyond,” Alake explained.

The newly appointed Chairman of LASRIC and Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University of Science & Technology, Prof. Olumuyiwa Odusanya, expressed enthusiasm about the initiative, describing it as “a call to duty and to work.”

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TECH DIGEST – Lagos State has opened discussions with technology giants, namely, Facebook and Google to deliver on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s vision to create Yaba Technology Cluster, called K.I.T.E.

The K.I.T.E project entails making the Yaba Technology cluster a free zone that would allow the growth of funding and financing for innovative ideas generated by entrepreneurs.

K.I.T.E. is an acronym for Knowledge, Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship.

The Governor said that in the State’s bid to ramp up its intervention in provision of technology infrastructure and expand the tech space to accommodate more startups, Lagos State Government is set to embark on the construction of the biggest technology cluster in West Africa.

The Governor spoke of the development on Wednesday when he toured two major innovation and technology hubs within the State.

Accompanied by members of the State’s Executive Council, including Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Hakeem Fahm, and Special Adviser on Innovation and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake, the Governor visited Venia Hub in Lekki and Impact Hub in Ikoyi, meeting scores of startups in the ecosystems for a roundtable discussion on expanding funding opportunities and infrastructure development.

Governor Sanwo-Olu in company of his Special Adviser on Innovation and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake during the tour of tech ecosystem in Lagos

Sanwo-Olu said the Yaba Technology Cluster, called K.I.T.E., would be a free zone that would allow the growth of funding and financing for innovative ideas generated by entrepreneurs in tech industry and FinTech space, adding that the ecosystem would also offer free labs for the use of startups to take their innovations to from ideation to the next level.

The Governor described technology as “the new oil” for Lagos, Africa’s largest megacity to exponentially generate wealth and jobs for its young population, while also leveraging it in raising the status of State to attain Fourth Industrial Revolution.

He said: “Technology is the new oil and the basic element for the Fourth Industrial Revolution globally. As a State with a massive population of young people, we need to play major role in the development of technology, which is an enabler to leapfrog into rapid socio-economic growth. We take technology as an important deliverable in our Government’s development agenda.

“For us to make lasting impact in tech industry, we said to ourselves we needed to build the infrastructure to support sector. We are building a tech campus on a 22,000 square meters land in Yaba, which we christen K.I.T.E. We are working with global brands in the tech space, such as Facebook and Google, to deliver this important technology hub.

“We are currently laying 3,000 kilometres metropolitan fibre optic cables across the State to drop reliable and fast Internet connectivity in homes and work places. These are part of the infrastructure required as backbone for the tech industry to flourish and empower our young people in the space to take their businesses and ideas to the level of stability.”

Aside the infrastructural initiatives, Sanwo-Olu said the State Government had been providing support for startups through the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) and Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC), which provide grant opportunities for innovators and tech researchers.

The Governor disclosed that two out of the 20 start-ups ideas supported through LASRIC last year had secured patents for their innovations and ready to transform into fully-fledged businesses that would create jobs.

Sanwo-Olu said the State Government’s intervention in the technology space was about creating opportunities for the future and providing platforms to make start-up businesses thrive.

He said: “The visit to your ecosystems today is for you to be assured that this Government is not sitting back in taking steps to ease access. We fully understand the role which technology plays in our lives and how technology is important to any society that wants to be relevant in coming decades. We are happy to be building the capability for Lagos, so that we can compete with other developed cities in the world.”

The Governor had a roundtable discussion with some of the startups to communicate the State’s effort and how better the Government could properly channel its interventions in the sector.

Some of the startups had the opportunity to present their business models and innovative solutions to the Government’s team. The engagement gave the Governor and his team the possible areas of intervention.

LSETF Executive Secretary, Mrs. Teju Abisoye, said the agency had been providing support for over 38 partner hubs across Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in the State, stressing that the objective of the funding was to support startups from idea to exit stages.

Venia Hub is an ecosystem housing Flutterwave and 100 other tech start-up companies. Impact Hub also has scores of startups operating in its ecosystem.

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TECH DIGEST – Out of the N250 million Tech Fund Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu unveiled at the first edition of the Art of Technology Lagos 2.0 last year, the Lagos State Science, Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) has disbursed N100 million, it was gathered on Thursday.

The state government said in line with its Smart City agenda of making Lagos a 21st century economy, it will through the Office of Innovation and Technology, organise the second edition of Art of Technology Lagos 2.0. curated by Eko Innovation Centre.

It said the two-day conference will bring together tech minds from across the world physically and virtually between Dec 3 and 4.

Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo will deliver the Presidential Address on: ‘Lagos, Driving a Smarter and Efficient Nigeria’ while the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Dr. Isah Pantami will speak on: ‘Nigeria in the Eyes of the World: The data approach.’

With ‘Smart Data, SMARTER Lagos,’ as theme, AoT Lagos 2.0 will facilitate multi-stakeholder discussions, exchanges and collaborations along the data value chain as an enabler of a Smarter Lagos.

The conversation will centre on the fundamental role data plays in connecting the city with its citizens.

Together, delegates will rub minds on how data can be collected, collated, analysed and deployed for governance, commerce and development.

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