The survival of many innovation hubs across Nigeria is under threat from persistent power outages, poor internet connectivity and weak funding, according to a new assessment report unveiled in Abuja on Thursday.
The Chairman of the Innovation Support Network, Hanson Johnson, who presented the findings of the Nigerian Innovation Hub Assessment Report, said innovation hubs remained vital vehicles for driving entrepreneurship, skills development and job creation across the country but required stronger policy support and enabling regulations to maximise their impact.
Johnson said while the Federal Government had taken an important step with the enactment of the Nigeria Startup Act, many states were yet to domesticate the legislation, limiting opportunities for innovators and startups at the sub-national level.
“The Federal Government has done well by making sure that the Startup Act is in place, but that’s at the national level. Some states have been smarter, some have failed to domesticate it at their own state level so that innovators at the sub-national level will be able to ride on that vehicle to connect to what is at the national level,” he said while ddressing journalists at a press conference for the report in Abuja.
He added that many innovators faced regulatory and institutional barriers that hindered product development and commercialisation.
“There are some products to build that we don’t have access to. It doesn’t make sense for you to have a N2bn licence before you come and build. There could be some sandboxes where you can try some things out because in tech-related spaces, you cannot test anything except you have access to data, information and some institutions,” Johnson stated.
According to him, innovation hubs could also play a significant role in reducing unemployment by equipping young Nigerians with relevant skills and linking them to employment opportunities.
“We want to train and connect 10,000 young Nigerians to opportunities by 2030. Not just training. The training is not the end game. Connecting them to opportunities and job creation is what matters,” he said.
Johnson noted that the programmes would be implemented through innovation hubs across the country using standardised curricula and quality benchmarks to ensure equal access to opportunities irrespective of location.
The comments came as the ISN officially released the Nigerian Innovation Hub Assessment Report, a nationwide study that mapped the country’s digital and industrial innovation ecosystem.
The report, funded by GIZ Digital Transformation Centre Nigeria and co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, surveyed more than 190 active innovation hubs from an ecosystem comprising over 250 active and partially active innovation spaces nationwide.
According to the report, despite the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem, most hubs remain financially fragile.
“Despite immense community impact, over 70 per cent of innovation hubs operate on modest budgets with annual revenues falling below $50,000,” a statement issued immediately after the press conference read.
It added that rising operating costs and infrastructure challenges were placing increasing pressure on innovation centres nationwide.
“Operational vulnerabilities are driven heavily by systemic infrastructure deficits, specifically skyrocketing overhead costs linked to recurrent power outages experienced by over 60 per cent of hubs, unstable internet connectivity, and a widening technical talent retention gap,” the statement added.
The findings showed that Lagos remained the country’s largest innovation cluster, accounting for 32 per cent of surveyed hubs, while Abuja represented 16 per cent. Other notable innovation clusters were identified in Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Rivers and Abia states, each accounting for about four per cent of respondents.
The report further revealed that 68.35 per cent of innovation hubs operated with fewer than 10 full-time employees, underscoring the largely grassroots nature of the ecosystem. Most of the hubs were established within the last five years, reflecting the relatively young but rapidly growing state of innovation activity across the country.
In terms of sectoral focus, Information and Communication Technology, AgriTech, FinTech and EdTech accounted for about 60 per cent of all hub specialisations nationwide.
The report also found that 90 per cent of hubs offered structured training programmes, while 60 per cent provided direct mentorship services to entrepreneurs and startups. Their primary beneficiaries include startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, followed by students, graduates, women, and youth.
Speaking at the press conference, the National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation, Victoria Fabunmi, described innovation hubs as a critical part of Nigeria’s digital economy ecosystem.
“Strengthening Innovation Support Organisations across Nigeria is central to ONDI’s mandate. We recognise that hubs are not peripheral to the ecosystem; they are the connective tissue between talent, capital and opportunity. NITDA’s broader agenda depends on a network of capable, well-resourced hubs functioning as true innovation intermediaries,” she said.
Also speaking, the Commission Manager of GIZ Digital Transformation Centre Nigeria, Dr Thuweba Diwani, said the report would provide a foundation for future capacity-building initiatives and certification frameworks for innovation hubs.
“This report is more than a document. It is a testament to the resilience, ambition and growing sophistication of Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem. This document is a good basis for developing and implementing capacity-building measures, including the hub audit and certification mechanism that is ready for piloting,” she said.
As part of the event, ISN also unveiled its 2026–2030 Strategic Direction and Ecosystem Outlook, which seeks to strengthen innovation hubs, deepen implementation of the Startup Act, improve investment readiness, facilitate funding for more than 60 hubs, 150 startups, and MSMEs, and promote digital inclusion initiatives across the country.
The organisation urged federal and state governments, development partners and private-sector stakeholders to invest more in innovation infrastructure, including renewable energy solutions for regional hubs, standardised impact measurement systems and stronger integration of grassroots innovation centres into national economic development programmes.
