The Abia State Government, through its Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Abia State Public and Private Partnership and Intellectual Property Office, have unveiled the Abia Startup Investors Network (ASIN).
The ASIN, which was launched during the Abia Startup & Angel Investment Summit in Aba, is a private-sector-led platform designed to connect potential investors with credible startup opportunities and enable members to participate in investments on a deal-by-deal basis.
The summit, which was held under the theme “Unlocking Local Capital for High-Growth Startups”, formed part of activities marking the 35th anniversary of the creation of Abia State and builds on the state government’s growing focus on technology, innovation and entrepreneurship as drivers of economic growth.
The one-day summit combined a concise introduction to angel investing with conversations on the Abia investment opportunity, interaction with selected founders, goodwill messages from ecosystem leaders and the formal unveiling of ASIN.
According to the organisers, the summit complements ongoing efforts by the Abia State government to strengthen the state’s startup ecosystem, including the domestication of the Nigeria Startup Act and other measures aimed at improving access to support, capital and opportunities for innovation-driven businesses.
Hon. David Kalu, Abia State Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, said the initiative represents an important step in connecting the state’s entrepreneurial capacity with the capital and networks required to build scalable businesses, as it is all about bringing investment into startups in Abia State.
“We’ve always had ideas here in Abia, and what we’ve failed to do in the past is to get these ideas to form into companies and from companies into corporations. You cannot do that without investment. The government is a partner in investing but also a partner in what we’ve tried to do here: to bring in investors.
“Here you can hardly get an individual coming as an investor with millions, so what we’re trying to do is to organise that investment together by bringing in a network of investors so that the lump sum they’ll bring will be quite substantial and make a big impact in the ecosystem.
“So, what we’ve done here is to bring investors. I’ve learnt a lot about Angel Investment today. Likewise, the investors must have learnt a lot as well, and I hope it helps us to build a good network that will help these startups to become big corporations.”
He said that they have succeeded in educating investors during the summit and expressed high optimism that the education will manifest.
Kalu said that Abia already domesticated the Startup Act, and in the Startup Act, the government has set aside money for itss interventions into startups
“Yes, it has not started flowing yet, but hopefully by next year, the money will start flowing and there’ll be a start-up board. The point of this is that government will bring interventions into start-ups.
“There will be a very robust board that will find out the best interventions. It may not all be financial capital. It may be infrastructure. It may be equity, but the most important thing is that the money will be used for government interventions in startups.
“What we see in Abia State is amazing transformation. None of these existed before. If you go back four years, these opportunities were not there.
“What the government of Dr Alex Otti is bringing are opportunities to the youths. I’ll say to them, don’t waste these opportunities. A lot of them are learning. Come and learn how to grab these opportunities and don’t miss them.”
Uche Aniche, Lead Organiser of the Summit, said the long-term objective is to build a community of informed local investors capable of backing promising founders.
Aniche, who is equally the convener of “StartupSouth”, an ecosystem development organisation working to strengthen startup formation, investment readiness and innovation ecosystems across Nigeria, particularly in the South-South and South-East, said that the enormous talent that Aba possesses and the new environment created by the government necessitated the decision to take the current step in the state.
He explained that there were previous efforts around 2017 and 2018 to get the then government to see their vision, understand it and support it, but they struggled to get a breakthrough
“We know Aba and Abia State as a place that has enormous talent and opportunity for innovation to grow, but it requires capital. It has been a conversation that has been in the ecosystem for a while. So, this is just the right time.
“However, this time around, it’s easier now from what we’re doing because of the kind of environment the current government has provided. Aba has enormous opportunity and is talented, and if supported, they can go far, and angel investing provides opportunity for that to happen.”
He called on the experienced businesspeople in Abia to get involved and to understand that the future of business is being built now in the state, and it fully needs their support.
“They’re not the ones that will build the future businesses, but whatever business they’re building today will be disrupted by innovations-centred businesses somewhere. So, they don’t have what it takes to build it, but with their money they can support those that can build it, and they’ll still be part of it.
“That way, they’ll wedge against being disrupted. The government is already providing support with the setting up of start-up acts and sponsoring this programme. What’s left now is for the individuals to key in.”
