Lagos State is advancing a proposed Innovation Bill that would reserve at least 20% of innovation grants for women and youth-led businesses and initiatives.
The plan, disclosed by Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology Olatunbosun Alake at the Lagos Innovates LaunchPad 2.0 Idea Hub Pitch Day and Ecosystem Showcase, forms part of a broader push to institutionalise support for the state’s technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem and double technology and innovation’s contribution to the state economy by 2030.
The draft Lagos State Innovation Bill also referred to as the Lagos Innovation Bill aims to create a permanent legal and institutional framework for research, development, and innovation rather than relying on ad-hoc support.
It would establish a Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) Fund, allocate no less than 1.5% of the state’s annual capital expenditure to innovation with a pathway to 2% within ten years, and consolidate existing mechanisms such as the Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC).
Section 55 of the draft bill explicitly addresses inclusion: “All innovation programs and funding shall be designed and implemented to foster inclusivity and equity, including by: allocating not less than 20% of innovation grants to women and youth-led initiatives…”
Additional measures include support for persons with disabilities, rural innovation pilots, local-language solutions, equity tracking, Innovation Access Desks, and travel grants for underrepresented researchers. The bill also calls for at least 30% women representation on the proposed Commission’s board and specific capacity-building and mentorship for women in STEM.
Alake described the legislation as a shift “from providing support for innovation to establishing permanent structures for it.” It includes tax and fiscal incentives, R&D cost reimbursements of up to 70% in some cases, procurement preferences for local innovators, commercialisation programmes, doctoral/postdoctoral sponsorships, support for returning diaspora founders and researchers, and a Lagos Science Research and Innovation Portal for registration and access to benefits.
Earlier estimates tied the fund’s scale to budget figures for example, roughly ₦31 billion / $20 million based on prior capital expenditure levels, though actual amounts would depend on final budgets and enactment. The bill was in public review phases in 2025, with targets discussed for passage in 2026
Lagos’ Existing Innovation Track Record
The proposal builds on established programmes. Through Lagos Innovates an arm of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, LSETF, more than 1,200 startups have received support and over 3,300 technology talents have been developed. LSETF itself has disbursed more than ₦15 billion to over 20,000 small businesses, contributing to more than 320,000 jobs, with a reported repayment rate above 94%. LASRIC has awarded nearly ₦1 billion to 155 researchers and startups.
Lagos-based startups attracted more than $6 billion between 2019 and 2024, accounting for about 70% of Nigeria’s technology investment in that period. Complementary efforts already target underrepresented groups, including LSETF’s Female Founders & Funders programme with multiple cohorts offering training, mentorship, and equity-free prizes and other youth- and women-focused grants and capacity-building initiatives.
At the LaunchPad 2.0 event itself, CareTrace won ₦3 million, Harthio took ₦2 million as first runner-up, and LocumSpace received ₦1 million, illustrating ongoing direct support for early-stage innovators.
Women and youth face well-documented barriers in accessing capital, networks, and visibility in tech and entrepreneurship ecosystems across Africa. Dedicated allocations can help correct underrepresentation, broaden the talent and idea pipeline, and align innovation with broader demographic and developmental priorities in a youthful state and country.
The bill pairs the quota with structural supports such as portal registration, incentives for returnees, STEM mentorship for women, Young Innovators Corps rather than treating the percentage as a standalone target.
Critics of similar set-asides sometimes raise concerns about implementation quality, potential bureaucracy, or whether funds reach the most promising ideas. The draft’s emphasis on monitoring, transparency, strict penalties for misuse or research falsification, and private-sector involvement in fund management and governance is intended to mitigate those risks. Success will also depend on complementary infrastructure (fibre expansion is already flagged) and genuine linkages between universities, industry, and markets which are some of the areas Alake has repeatedly highlighted as more important than funding alone.
If enacted, the Innovation Bill would move Lagos further toward a systems-level approach to innovation treating research commercialisation, talent development, inclusive access, and private capital mobilisation as interconnected. The 20% reservation for women- and youth-led initiatives is a clear equity signal within that larger architecture.
