NSIA Hunts for Manager to Run $50 Million Startup Fund
Quick Reads
- NSIA is searching for an asset manager to run its new $50 million Impact Innovation Fund, built with Japan’s JICA to back early-stage Nigerian startups.
- JICA is putting in $14 million as grant-based first-loss capital, while NSIA anchors with up to $20 million; the winning manager must raise the rest.
- The fund targets pre-seed to pre-Series A startups in agriculture, health, education, energy, and water/waste sectors, over a ten-year investment horizon.
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has opened its search for an asset manager to run its new $50 million startup fund, an onshore venture vehicle built to push early-stage capital into Nigerian founders. In a request for expressions of interest, NSIA invited qualified firms to oversee the NSIA-JICA Impact Innovation Fund, structured alongside Japan’s development agency, JICA.
The capital stack is a blended one. JICA has committed $14 million in grant funding, acting as first-loss capital, while NSIA anchors the vehicle with up to $20 million on a matching basis. The chosen manager will carry the heavier lift: raising the remaining balance from institutional and private investors to reach the full $50 million startup fund target, according to Launch Base Africa.
The Mandates
Beyond fundraising, the manager’s mandate covers building an investable pipeline, running due diligence, structuring deals, and reporting through the fund’s ten-year life, extendable by two years, with a five-year active investment window, per Africa Private Equity News.
Capital will target pre-seed to pre-Series A startups working in agriculture, healthcare, education, energy, and waste and water management sectors NSIA has flagged as central to Nigeria’s productivity and job-creation goals.
The search marks a shift from paperwork to execution. Months after NSIA and JICA signed their agreement in Abuja, the fund now needs a steward capable of turning sovereign and grant commitments into actual startup checks, testing whether Nigeria’s development-finance pledges can move at founder speed.
