Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami, has assured the technology community that he has forwarded the Nigeria Startup Bill to the Attorney General of the Federation, for onward transmission to the National Assembly as an Executive Bill.

The Minister, who gave the assurance while delivering a keynote speech at the virtual Nigeria Startup Bill National Stakeholders Roundtable, a pre-summit event of the 27th Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), further expressed his support for the proposed legislation, which he noted would advance the implementation of the core mandate of his ministry and entrench the overall goal of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to fast track employment generation and wealth creation by Nigeria’s effervescent youth filled with technology-driven innovative ideas.

“I have sent a letter to him officially on behalf of all the stakeholders here,” the Minister said, “and on Monday, I engaged him physically so that we will be able to facilitate the Bill and get its approval as soon as possible.”While highlighting the importance of the Startup Bill, Prof Pantami said that “the Nigeria Startup Bill is a step in the right direction towards supporting the scalability prospects of Nigerian Startups.”

He also emphasized the importance of the Bill to economic growth and development, saying, “Startups are not job seekers but job providers. As such, the country needs to find ways to create an enabling environment for them to grow and scale as this will encourage more people who are willing to think outside the box to come up with innovative solutions.

“We have people that can make this country very proud. What they need is for the government to provide an enabling environment for them, and we will do well to provide that support.”