Federal Government of Nigeria opens $110 million debt financing window for Tech & Creative Startups under the iDICE Programme

The Bank of Industry (BOI), the Implementing Agency for the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria, has launched two dedicated debt-financing windows to expand access to affordable growth capital for startups in Nigeria's technology and creative sectors.

The two facilities — the BOI-iDICE $45 million Debt Fund and the IsDB-iDICE $65 million Debt Fund — are now open to eligible enterprises across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The launch marks another significant step in the rollout of iDICE, Africa's most ambitious intervention in the digital and creative economy. Both funds address a persistent constraint facing innovative businesses in Nigeria: access to patient and affordable capital matched to where startups actually are, in their growth journey.

iDICE is a $617 million fund, which is one of the largest government-backed innovation programmes on the continent, bringing together three of the world's foremost development finance institutions — the African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) — as co-financiers, with the Bank of Industry (BOI) as Executing Agency and co-financier.

The programme rests on a simple premise: Nigeria has abundant talent, ideas, and ambition — what it needs is skills, markets, and capital to realise and commercialise them. The two windows that are launched today are targeted instruments within that architecture. Whilst they both provide debt financing opportunities, each operates under a distinct framework.

This fund is the $45 million counterpart funding from BOI, on behalf of the Federal Government, to the iDICE programme. This facility provides eligible businesses with financing between ₦10 million and ₦1 billion, at a maximum interest rate of 10% per annum, with repayment of up to five years and a moratorium of up to six months. It supports Tech and Creative enterprises with demonstrated traction to scale their operations and market reach.

Backed by the Islamic Development Bank's $65 million commitment to the iDICE Programme, this facility is structured as a Murabaha — a Sharia-compliant, cost-plus-markup model in which the financier purchases an asset for the business and resells it at an agreed price, inclusive of a disclosed profit margin. While it operates fully under the principles of Islamic finance, it is open to all Nigerians regardless of background or beliefs. The product is primarily designed for asset financing — supporting Tech and Creative startups with capital for equipment, technology or creative infrastructure, and other productive assets.

Commercial lending at prevailing rates is often inaccessible or unsustainable for early-stage enterprises; the iDICE debt windows were developed to bridge that gap, with rates, tenors, and structures calibrated to the cash-flow realities of technology and creative startups. These products complement iDICE's broader financing architecture, which provides equity and quasi-equity capital through the DICE Fund of Funds, DICE Technology Fund and DICE Creative Fund to meet startups’ financing needs at every stage of their life cycle - from first idea to full scale.

Startups should review the eligibility criteria and objectives of each window and apply for the facility that best fits their profile and preferences.

Full eligibility information and how to apply is available through the official iDICE portal, idice.ng

Applications for the BOI-iDICE Debt Fund and for the IsDB-iDICE Debt Fund can be submitted through idice.boi.ng

For enquiries, contact the Bank of Industry through its customer support channels: 0700 225 5264 or customercare@boi.ng.

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