Nigeria has made its first direct government investment in the technology sector, targeting startups in a bid to strengthen Lagos as a leading African tech hub.

The Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE), a 618 million US dollars government-backed fund, acted as the anchor investor in a 75 million US dollars capital raise by Lagos-based Ventures Platform, according to Ventures’ founding partner Kola Aina. The fund co-invested alongside the International Finance Corporation, British International Investment, France’s Proparco and Standard Bank Group during a first funding round that closed at 64 million US dollars.

Until now, Nigeria’s tech ecosystem has attracted significant private capital, producing several unicorns with valuations above 1 billion US dollars, but direct government support has been limited. iDICE is designed to fill that gap by providing strategic investments in early-stage, technology-enabled enterprises.

“The fund will boost the Nigerian technology and creative sectors by catalysing strategic investments in high-growth companies,” said Olasupo Olusi, chief executive of the Bank of Industry, which manages iDICE on behalf of the government. Ventures Platform will act as the technology equity investment partner.

Co-financed by the Bank of Industry, African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement and Islamic Development Bank, iDICE targets Nigerians aged 15 to 35. It plans to invest up to 137 million US dollars in equity and 110 million US dollars in debt, mainly through fund-of-funds arrangements, with a requirement that private managers match government capital at least one-to-one. Private sector partners have pledged an additional 217 million US dollars.