Nigeria secures $1bn fund for maritime start-ups

Nigeria has secured a $1 billion innovation fund to support start-ups operating in the marine and blue economy sector.

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The Chief Executive Officer of the Maritime Innovations Hub, Ronke Kosoko, disclosed this at a media parley organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy on Monday in Abuja.

The event was attended by the Special Adviser to the President on Social Media, Olusegun Dada, as well as representatives of the National Inland Waterways Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, and other ministries and government agencies.

Mrs Kosoko said the fund would be officially launched at the Blue Economy Investment Summit, scheduled to hold from 9–11 March 2026 in Lagos.

She added that international funders are expected to meet with President Bola Tinubu and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, during the summit.

The chief executive officer explained that the $1 billion fund followed Nigeria’s earlier success in securing a $100 million training bid for capacity development in the maritime industry.

“When the $100 million offer came, I wasn’t looking for it because people trust me globally due to our track records, but we have rearranged another offer and it was in the process that the $1 billion offer came. So, we had to go back to the presidency again and that informed why you have been seeing me around the ministry in the last six months.

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“We’re now at the end because they will now be coming back into the country to meet with the Hon. Minister for Marine and Blue Economy, the Central Bank Governor as well as the president in March 2026 and they also plan to support some start ups in the sector with funding and international training. So, the stage is set,” she said.

She stressed that global investors are more interested in clear deliverables than politics.

“People and organisations have money in billions of Euros and Dollars but they are not interested in our dirty politicking and games. They are interested in the task to be achieved. So, when we are ready with that, they will flow in,” she added.

The development comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to diversify its economy away from oil dependence by tapping into the blue economy, which covers maritime transport, fisheries, coastal tourism, shipbuilding and ocean-based renewable energy.

Nigeria has one of the largest coastlines in West Africa and a strategic position along major global shipping routes

However, inadequate port infrastructure, policy bottlenecks, and limited access to financing have constrained growth in the sector, forcing shipping lines and investors to favour neighbouring countries.

The newly secured innovation fund is expected to address some of these gaps by supporting start-ups with capital, skills and international exposure

Summit to connect 370,000 youth

Mrs Kosoko disclosed that no fewer than 370,000 youth across the country will participate in the summit alongside 28 governors and 37 serving senators.

Nigeria losing billions to neighbours

Reflecting on the country’s maritime performance, Mrs Kosoko lamented that Nigeria continues to lose billions of naira to neighbouring countries such as Togo and Cote d I’voire, as vessels increasingly prefer to berth there rather than in Nigerian ports.

“It is also no longer news that Nigeria is losing billions to Lome, Togo, Cote d I’voire as vessels now prefer to berth in those countries rather than coming to Nigeria and those countries studied our weaknesses as a country and built a business around Nigeria’s failure,” she added.

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She noted that reclaiming these lost opportunities is a priority of the Technical Assistant to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, who will lead a dedicated session on the issue at the March 2026 summit.

Speaking at the event, Mr Dada called for simpler and more accessible policies, stressing that government initiatives should be communicated in ways that young people and the general public can easily understand, rather than through complex technical language.