The African Development Bank (AfDB) has finalised arrangements to disburse about $618 million to Nigeria under the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprise (i-DICE), programme.
AfDB’s Country Director-General for Nigeria, Lamin Barrow, who gave this hint on Sunday in Morocco, confirmed that the Federal Government had initiated the process of recruiting a fund manager for the project.
It would be recalled that the former Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, inaugurated a $618 million Technology Fund for young investors in the technology and creative sectors under the iDICE programme on March 14 this year
According to the finance deal, out of the $618-million Fund, Nigeria through the Bank of Industry (BoI) will provide $45 million the AfDB will contribute $170 million; Agence Francaise de Development will contribute $116 million, while the Islamic Development Bank will also provide $70 million.
Barrow said the implementation of the project was staggered because of Nigeria’s government transition.
He explained: “We were caught up by the transition of government and you have to allow the new government to settle in.
“The steering committee, chaired by the Vice-President with membership from the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Investments, Communication, Science and Technology, Information and Culture, met and received a briefing.
“We are now at the point of disbursement and the team has assembled the necessary procurement work.
“This has to do with the recruitment of the transaction adviser and the Expression of Interest for firms that want to manage the DICE funds,” he added.
The banker disclosed that a lot of work had been done on the disbursement with advanced meetings concluded on the first tranche of disbursement.
He clarified: “Last week, the French minister that visited Nigeria signed the agreement for the co-financing as DICE is being co-financed by the French Development Agency and the Islamic Development Bank. All the processes are now virtually completed.
“The important thing is that the fund and the recruitment processes for a fund manager will soon occur.
“The fund will be independently managed by the fund manager who will also contribute to the fund by supporting start-ups,’’ Barrow added.
