Ex-Minister Adeosun Joins Forces On Nidacity To Boost Startups

Former Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has launched a new business platform, Nidacity, aimed at empowering startups and addressing the high failure rate of new enterprises in Nigeria. The platform is designed to provide entrepreneurs—particularly young and female founders—with practical education, mentorship, and timely business insights to help them build sustainable and resilient businesses.

Nidacity, a private sector educational media platform, officially went live yesterday at www.nidacity.com. Adeosun, together with a group of entrepreneurs and professionals, intends to tackle Nigeria’s 95 per cent startup failure rate, beginning with a landmark national survey examining the roots of Nigerian enterprise.

Speaking on the initiative, Adeosun highlighted the human impact of startup failures, emphasizing the urgency of supporting entrepreneurs. “Nigeria has the world’s highest entrepreneurship rate, yet as many as 95 per cent of startups fail within five years. With SMEs accounting for 85 per cent of employment in the country, the human cost of these failures is felt in every community,” she said.

Adeosun added that despite these challenges, Nigeria’s entrepreneurs are already making extraordinary contributions to the economy. “If we can help more of these businesses survive and grow, the employment gains for Nigeria will be enormous. Nidacity is not a charity; it is an investment in the people who are already building this economy,” she noted.

The platform’s first major initiative, the “Many Roads” survey, aims to document the cultural and generational roots of Nigerian entrepreneurship. Through the survey, Nigerians are invited to share the origin stories of their family businesses, creating a living archive that will inform evidence-based insights into the drivers of enterprise in the country. Findings from the survey will be published on the Nidacity platform and shared with policymakers, educators, investors, and the public.

Nidacity is structured around five key pillars: The Builders, a flagship podcast featuring interviews with founders; Entrepreneur Profiles, which serve as a peer-to-peer learning library; Resources, providing practical tools for SMEs; Education, delivered through videos, webinars, and micro-courses; and News Analysis, offering context and guidance to navigate Nigeria’s evolving business environment. The platform aims to strengthen business education, support enterprise development, and significantly reduce startup failure rates across the country.