The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has warned Nigerians to beware of a fraudulent website claiming to be the National Startup Investment Fund Scheme and soliciting applications.
The site claims that the alleged program was being supervised by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Bank of Industry (BoI).
To mislead many Nigerians, the site also featured the Nigerian Start-up Act, which was recently signed by President Buhari, to paint the picture that the “program” is the start-up fund that the Act mandated that the government established.
Not from the government: While distancing the federal government from the website and its vaunted program, NITDA warned Nigerians not to divulge personal information on the website. The agency said:
- “The attention of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been drawn to an Investment Fund Program called “National Investment Fund Program for Startups”.“, accessible through (https://nationalstartupinvestmentfund.com) purportedly from the federal government and requesting that individuals and startups in Nigeria apply.
- “NITDA notifies the general public that the federal government has nothing to do with this program that the site intends. Also. NITDA advises the general public to avoid and desist from disclosing personal information on this website and urges unsuspecting Nigerians to visit only official government agency websites to confirm the authenticity of any grant schemes or investment fund programs ”.
Announcing the signing of the Nigerian Start-up Act by President Buhari in October, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, revealed that the president has also approved the creation of a N10 thousand investment fund. millions for young innovators. However, the fund that the fraudulent site claims to represent has not been established, according to NITDA.