{"id":1459,"date":"2026-07-02T20:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1459"},"modified":"2026-07-02T21:23:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T21:23:45","slug":"nigeria-seals-170m-idice-initiative-as-largest-ever-investments-in-tech-creative-startups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1459","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria seals $170m iDICE initiative as largest ever investments in tech, creative startups"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>*<strong><em>The Federal Government of Nigeria appoints Kuramo Capital to manage $170 million DICE Fund of Funds under the iDICE Programme, making the transaction the largest government-anchored investment in technology and creative startups ever made by any African country<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n<p>The Nigerian Government has taken a historic step as part of its commitment advancing technology and creative economy by appointing Kuramo Capital Management as Fund Manager of the DICE Fund of Funds under the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme.<\/p>\n<p><em>ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports the government inked the contract Tuesday, June 30, 2026, in Abuja, FCT, between the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Chief Executive of Kuramo Capital.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"DlU472FZq1\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1480\">Konga marks 14th Anniversary with improved consumer experience, flexible payment, exciting awards<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201cKonga marks 14th Anniversary with improved consumer experience, flexible payment, exciting awards\u201d \u2014 Consumer Experience Is A Top Priority\" src=\"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=1480&amp;embed=true#?secret=ron4KJPpq3#?secret=DlU472FZq1\" data-secret=\"DlU472FZq1\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The DICE Fund of Funds is structured with a target capitalisation of $170 million, with the Federal Government contributing an anchor commitment of $85 million through the iDICE Programme and Kuramo Capital mandated to raise equivalent matching capital from private sector investors.<\/p>\n<p>The government also disclosed the development has made the DICE Fund of Funds the largest government-anchored investment in technology and creative startups ever made by any African country<\/p>\n<p>The transaction between the government-owned BoI and Kuramo Capital was said to be a statement of national intent that signalled a decisive shift in how Nigeria is currently backing innovators and entrepreneurs in the economy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Shettima: Announcement of DICE Fund of Funds a defining moment for Nigerian youths<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking on the development, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, GCON, Chair of the iDICE Steering Committee, described the Fund of Funds announcement as a defining moment for Nigerian youths.<\/p>\n<p>Shettima was quoted to have stated: \u201cThe commencement of investing by iDICE is an exciting milestone and a leap forward in the determined efforts of the Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to deliver on our vision of unleashing the full potential of Nigeria\u2019s young people, in line with the Renewed Hope agenda.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Nigerian Vice-President also congratulated BoI and Kuramo Capital on achieving the milestone.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About iDICE Programme<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The iDICE Programme is co-financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Fran\u00e7aise de D\u00e9veloppement (AFD), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). Targeting young Nigerians aged 15\u201335, iDICE invests in skills and talent development, access to finance, and an enabling ecosystem for innovation and enterprise across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.<\/p>\n<p>The Fund of Funds announcement builds on the momentum of iDICE\u2019s first direct venture investment, made in November 2025, when the Programme committed capital to Ventures Platform\u2019s VP Pan-African Fund II \u2014 the first time in Nigeria\u2019s history that the federal government had directly invested in a private venture capital fund.<\/p>\n<p>That fund attracted co-investors including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), British International Investment (BII), Standard Bank of South Africa, and Proparco, demonstrating that government capital, strategically deployed, catalyses international institutional confidence.<\/p>\n<p>The Bank of Industry (BoI), as the Executing Agency for iDICE, has been central to translating the Programme\u2019s ambition into delivery.<\/p>\n<p>The Bank&#8217;s institutional credibility, its compliance with the standards of three multilateral co-financiers, and deep understanding of Nigeria\u2019s enterprise landscape have been critical in positioning Nigeria as a serious, accountable implementer of development finance at scale.<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting the significance of the occasion, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director\/CEO of the Bank of Industry, said: \u201cBy investing in Ventures Platform\u2019s Fund II and now establishing the DICE Fund of Funds with Kuramo Capital, we are deepening the Federal Government\u2019s objective of upscaling Nigeria\u2019s technology and creative sectors by catalysing strategic investments in high-growth, technology-enabled enterprises.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Bank of Industry is proud to be the executing agency driving this historic investment into the hands of Nigeria\u2019s innovators.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kuramo Capital Management is one of Africa\u2019s most experienced investment firms. Founded 2010, with offices in New York, Lagos, and Nairobi, the firm has catalysed over $3.5 billion into African businesses and fund managers, supported more than 350,000 jobs, and invested directly and indirectly in over 130 companies across the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Wale Adeosun, Founder and CEO of Kuramo Capital, expressed the firm\u2019s resolve: \u201cThe DICE Fund of Funds represents a landmark moment for Africa\u2019s venture capital ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Nigeria is demonstrating that a government can be both a serious anchor investor and a credible market-builder.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are honoured to be entrusted with this mandate and committed to deploying every resource at our disposal to raise the matching capital, invest wisely, and deliver returns that justify this historic confidence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Fund\u2019s geographic mandate ensures capital reaches founders across all six geopolitical zones \u2014 not only in Lagos and Abuja but in Kano, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Maiduguri, Plateau, and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>It targets a net IRR of 20 percent and a net money multiple of 2.4x, structured with government capital as a 30 percent first-loss junior tranche to de-risk the structure and crowd in private co-investment.<\/p>\n<p>Together, iDICE\u2019s investments through Ventures Platform and the DICE Fund of Funds represent a structural transformation in Nigeria\u2019s venture capital landscape \u2014 shifting the country from a market where early-stage founders depended almost entirely on foreign capital to one where the Federal Government is itself an active, committed investor in the ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>For the technology and creative entrepreneurs building across Nigeria today, this is a government that is not just speaking about innovation but putting capital behind it.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>*The Federal Government of Nigeria appoints Kuramo Capital to manage $170 million DICE Fund of Funds under the iDICE Programme, making the transaction the largest&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Photo: State 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rel=\"category\">Regulators<\/a>","tag_info":"Regulators","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1459"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1495,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1459\/revisions\/1495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}