Tech Hive Advisory, a tech policy advisory and research organisation with competencies that cut across law, technology, and business, is set to release a new report titled, ‘State of Tech Policy in Nigeria: Report on Legislations, Regulations, Directives, Orders, Policies, Strategies, and Announcements Impacting the Information Technology Ecosystem’. This was done in collaboration with Ikigai Innovation Initiative, a research and advocacy non-profit focused on tech policy. The Report provides a series of snapshots about events that have defined the development of the Nigerian tech ecosystem from Q1 2020 – Q4 2021.

Nigeria is Africa’s leading startup investment destination, a trend that has not gone unnoticed by regulators and operators in the technology industry. In some cases, investments have gone into activities that exploit loopholes in existing regulations or are not covered by existing laws. Innovation always outpaces regulation. How policymakers react to it however, goes a long way in determining the continued spate of innovation and investment. This Report shows that in this respect, the Nigerian experience is a mixed bag of the good, bad, and the in-betweens.

The Report is divided into three parts. The first part is composed of sector-by-sector reports, chronicling events under each sector, such as financial services, emerging technology, data protection, digital health, and platform regulation, to name a few. This part provides a concise view of notable happenings across all the listed sectors, such as regulations issued, new announcements, with commentary on their potential impact.

The second part reports on legislative & policy challenges for the tech ecosystem, proposed bills and policies, and a legislative levy and licensing tracker. It reports on proposed and existing policies that militate against the growth of the Nigerian technology ecosystem, and those that promise to accelerate the growth of the tech ecosystem. It also introduces an innovative and easy-to-understand tracker that shows the progress of all pending legislations relevant to the tech sector.

Building on the discussions in the first and second part, the third part provides recommendations on how to foster regulatory certainty and a more investor-friendly tech ecosystem in Nigeria. It also provides projections on what to expect in 2022 as well as stakeholder perspectives from startup founders, investors, and regulators.

The aim of this Report is to provide readers with a quick understanding of the evolution of Africa’s most vibrant tech ecosystem over the past two years. It is also hoped that this Report will help policymakers and other stakeholders access alternative perspectives that inform decision-making going forward.

‍