The Bank of Industry has signed a $170 million fund management agreement with Kuramo Capital under the federal government’s $617 million iDICE programme to boost investment in Nigeria’s technology and creative sectors.
The Bank of Industry (BOI) has signed a $170 million fund of funds management contract with Kuramo Capital to manage the federal government’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, the largest single funding component under the $617 million initiative.
A fund of funds is an investment strategy where a pool of capital is invested in a portfolio of other investment funds, rather than directly in individual stocks, bonds or securities.
In a statement on Wednesday, BOI Managing Director Olasupo Olusi said Kuramo Capital emerged as the preferred fund manager following a competitive selection process, and framed the deal as a continental milestone.
“With a minimum fund size of $170 million, the Fund of Funds is the largest fund under the programme,” Olusi said.
“Nigeria is setting a continental benchmark for sovereign commitment to the innovation and creative economy through this fund.”
Olusi added that the deal deepens the federal government’s broader strategy to develop Nigeria’s technology and creative sectors.
“By investing in Ventures Platform’s Fund II, and now by establishing the DICE Fund of Funds with Kuramo Capital, we are deepening the federal government’s objective of upscaling Nigeria’s technology and creative sectors by catalysing strategic investments in high-growth, technology-enabled enterprises.”
What the fund will do
According to Olusi, the fund of funds will help address the persistent shortage of venture capital for startups by investing in venture capital funds that, in turn, finance early-stage technology and creative businesses. He described the iDICE programme as one of Africa’s largest interventions in the technology and creative sectors, designed to stimulate innovation, create jobs and drive economic transformation.
The iDICE programme is jointly financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the BOI, which is also the implementing agency.
Olusi recalled that the programme made an initial $64 million investment in Ventures Platform Fund II in 2025 alongside co-investors, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Standard Bank of South Africa, Proparco and British International Investment.
Olusi used the signing to deliver a direct message to Kuramo Capital on execution.
“Every delayed close and missed milestone has a cost, not just financially but in the lives of entrepreneurs waiting for capital,” he said.
“The integrity of the fund is tied directly to Nigeria’s credibility in the global investor community.”
Kuramo Capital’s response
Wale Adeosun, founder and CEO of Kuramo Capital, described the appointment as a milestone for Africa’s venture capital ecosystem and pledged to use the firm’s network to attract additional private capital into the programme.
“Nigeria is demonstrating that a government can be both a serious anchor investor and a credible market-builder,” Adeosun said.
Adeosun said Kuramo Capital would leverage its capital-raising network to mobilise additional private investment under the programme.
The $170 million fund of funds contract represents the centrepiece of the broader iDICE programme, which targets technology-enabled businesses and creative enterprises. With multilateral financing from four development institutions and now a dedicated fund manager in place, the programme moves into its most critical implementation phase, deploying capital to the startups and creative businesses the initiative was designed to reach.
