BOI iDICE Fund of Funds: Kuramo Capital Lands $170.6m Mandate
Quick Reads
- BOI hands Kuramo Capital the reins of its $170.6m iDICE Fund of Funds.
- Federal Government commits $85.3m as the fund’s anchor investment.
- Kuramo must match that sum dollar-for-dollar from private investors.
- The fund chases a 20% net IRR and 2.4x money multiple.
- iDICE has already enrolled 185 founders through its Startup Bridge.
Nigeria’s biggest state-backed venture bet just got a manager. The BOI iDICE Fund of Funds now sits in Kuramo Capital Management’s hands, following a signing ceremony in Abuja this week. It is a bold move, and one that could reshape how Nigerian startups access serious capital.
To begin with, here’s the scale of it. The fund targets a minimum capitalisation of $170.6 million. The Federal Government is fronting $85.3 million as anchor money. Kuramo now has to raise an equal amount from private investors to match it. That dollar-for-dollar structure turns this into one of Africa’s most ambitious government-backed venture vehicles yet.
Meanwhile, the BOI iDICE Fund of Funds sits inside a wider programme, one built on joint financing from the African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, and the Islamic Development Bank. Their shared goal is straightforward: strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy and its fast-growing creative industries. According to the original Daily Trust report, implementation has already spread across all six geopolitical zones, with innovation hubs active in 66 tertiary institutions nationwide.
Against this backdrop, BOI Managing Director Olasupo Olusi did not undersell the moment. He called the appointment a historic investment milestone, one that deepens the Federal Government’s ambition to scale Nigeria’s tech and creative sectors. Kuramo CEO Wale Adeosun echoed that energy, describing the fund as a defining moment for African venture capital broadly.
Moreover, beyond the headline number, the programme is already moving on the ground. BOI’s Startup Bridge has enrolled 185 founders so far, and a Growth Lab is coming next, offering equity funding of up to $100,000 for growth-stage startups. As a result, the fund won’t just write big cheques to established players; it is building a pipeline from the ground up.
Finally, Kuramo will now deploy capital through selected venture and micro-venture funds across all 36 states and the FCT. That geographic spread matters. It signals an intentional push to widen access beyond Lagos and Nigeria’s other usual investment hubs. Ultimately, if it works as designed, the BOI iDICE Fund of Funds could meaningfully cut Nigerian founders’ reliance on foreign venture capital, one deal at a time.
