The National Information Technology Development Agency and its subsidiary, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, are set to launch iHatch, a startup incubation programme aimed at increasing the number of innovation-driven enterprises by Nigerian youths.
The programme, which will be launched this month in partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is expected to provide an excellent opportunity for startups that have innovative business ideas along with a prototype of their products or services.
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“iHatch is a 5-month free intensive incubation program designed to help Nigerian entrepreneurs perfect their business ideas through a series of coaching, lectures, and boot camps, to generate viable and scalable business models. iHatch focuses on youth, innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology”, NITDA’s spokesperson, Hadiza Umar said in a statement on Thursday.
Hadiza said participating startups wills receive free offline and online interactive training from experienced coaches and mentors from over the world.
Other benefits, she said, include free co-working space for the duration of the programme and investment opportunities.
“iHatch seeks to establish a programme that will accelerate the process of taking ideas to impact, hence providing the much-needed jobs for our teeming youths, and also nurturing that entrepreneurial spirit in them, which will catalyses the Nigerian digital economy to the next level,” said Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director-General/CEO of NITDA.
