Lagos Venture Capital Inflow Increases By 120% In 3 Years

Venture capital investment into Lagos state has increased to over 120 per cent within three years, resulting to about $1.5 billion in investment from different Start-ups in the state.

The special advisor on Innovation and Technology, Lagos state, Olatubosun Alake, who disclosed this at the Art OF Technology (AOT) Lagos 4.0, with the Theme “Talent Acceleration and a Smarter Lagos”, in Lagos, said this achievement has made Lagos state to emerge as the number one Start-Up investment capital in Africa, in terms of volume, adding that the state is the key economic driver for Nigeria.

Alake disclosed that about 107 technology Start-ups have raised funding in Lagos to the tune of $750 million in 2022, adding that between 20,000 and 50,000 people are employed by different Start-ups across the innovation sector.

The special advisor attributed this success to the hub and co-working spaces that have been put in place by the state government to incubate and accelerate the Start-ups in the sector. “We also have the university initiatives, local and foreign investment which have been driving growth in the ecosystem,” he added.

In the same vein, the deputy governor of Lagos state, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, disclosed that the state recorded over 2000 Start-ups creating and contributing value across Fintech, Agritech, Construction and Health among others, adding that all these point to an open and enabling environment for the growth and proliferation of entrepreneurial activity within the technology ecosystem.