FG seeks to put relatively $617m in digital, creative enterprises programme

President Bola Tinubu is set to launch a $617.7 million investment through the digital and creative enterprises (i-DICE) programme.

The i-DICE plan is a federal government programme aimed at promoting investment in information and communications technology (ICT) and creative industries as part of efforts to build better, more inclusive, and more sustainable jobs.

While speaking On Friday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing the president, tasked members of the i-DICE steering committee to ensure that the programme starts before the end of November this year.

“The peculiarity of the challenges we face in the country demands that we have to create jobs for our teeming youths to address the crises associated with youth unemployment,” Shettima said.

“I want to appeal to all of us here to unite and see that this programme takes off latest by the end of November this year.

“I am interested in getting a weekly update on what is being done to kick-start this programme.

“We also need to spread out to cover the whole country so that there is inclusivity. If we judiciously utilise these funds, the target impact and anticipated benefits will be immense.

The minister of finance Wale Edun, said the project would “go a long way to achieving the president’s priorities on job creation and economic growth”.

Similarly, the minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani explained that the investment would strengthen Nigeria’s market and build solutions in the technology sector of the country.

“The government is putting its skin in the game to say ‘we want to support; we want to see more local confidence building’. And there’s no other way to show that than by putting money in some of the startups,” he said.