Innovation Will Power Nigeria’s Economic Future – Edun
By Patience Ikpeme
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, says innovation must drive Nigeria’s transition from economic potential to lasting prosperity.
He described innovation as the “bedrock of productivity” and stressed that scalable, locally developed solutions led by Nigeria’s youthful population are central to the country’s economic transformation.
Speaking at the NSIA Prize for Innovation (NPI) Demo Day 3.0 in Abuja over the weekend, Edun pointed to the energy and creativity of Nigeria’s young people—more than 65% of whom are under 30—as a critical national asset.
He said harnessing this demographic advantage through enterprise and innovation will shape the country’s post-oil growth.
“Nigeria’s transformation must be built on ideas,” the minister said. “Driven by our youth and anchored in inclusivity.” He added that the path to long-term growth depends heavily on private-sector-led investment in homegrown enterprises.
Edun explained that the Federal Government is putting in place the necessary tools to attract “patient capital” and support entrepreneurship at scale. These efforts include the N200 billion Presidential MSME Fund, regulatory reforms to ease doing business, and government support for emerging technologies.
He also announced a series of new policy measures aimed at deepening innovation across all sectors of the economy. These include the creation of National Innovation Hubs, Youth Innovation Trusts, and the introduction of coding into Nigeria’s basic education curriculum. According to Edun, these interventions will provide structure and scale to enterprise development and prepare young Nigerians for global competitiveness.
He commended the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for using its innovation prize to back startups in areas beyond traditional infrastructure, such as digital learning, health, and agriculture value chains. He described Demo Day as a strong signal of the depth of ideas being generated within the country and the potential for those ideas to deliver economic transformation.
“The boldest ideas that will define Nigeria’s economic future are only just beginning,” Edun said, closing his speech with a call for more support for early-stage enterprises.
He maintained that inclusive growth will only be possible when the government, private sector, and innovators work together to develop solutions that meet local needs and can scale globally.
The NSIA Prize for Innovation is an annual initiative designed to identify, support, and scale high-impact startups in Nigeria. Now in its third edition, the program awarded over $220,000 in cash prizes to ten promising startups this year and provided them with intensive training and exposure, including a fully sponsored five-week program at Draper University in Silicon Valley, USA.
