BOI appoints Kuramo Capital as fund manager

The Bank of Industry has announced the appointment of Kuramo Capital Management as the fund manager of the DICE Fund of Funds, a pivotal milestone under the Federal Government’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme.

The contract signing ceremony, according to the organiser, took place in Abuja between the Managing Director of BOI and the Chief Executive Officer of Kuramo Capital, marking an accelerating commitment to empowering Nigeria’s technology and creative entrepreneurs.

The DICE Fund of Funds is structured to achieve a minimum total capitalisation of $170.6m, with the Federal Government contributing an anchor commitment of $85.3m through the iDICE programme. Kuramo Capital is mandated to raise matching private-sector capital on a dollar-for-dollar basis, representing one of the largest dedicated government investments in technology and creative sector startups in African history.

Co-financed by the African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, and the Islamic Development Bank, the iDICE programme is designed to promote entrepreneurship, drive innovation, create jobs at scale, and position Nigeria as Africa’s leading hub for the knowledge economy

Speaking on the development, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Dr Olasupo Olusi, expressed pride in driving the historic initiative:

“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. The Bank of Industry is proud to be the executing agency driving this historic investment into the hands of Nigeria’s innovators.”

The fund will deploy capital through indirect investments in selected closed-end venture capital and micro-venture capital funds, ensuring geographic distribution across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to break the historical concentration of venture investment in a handful of urban centres.

Reacting to the appointment, the Chief Executive Officer of Kuramo Capital Management, Mr Wale Adeosun, described the mandate as a landmark moment for the continent:

“The DICE Fund of Funds represents a landmark moment for Africa’s venture capital ecosystem. Nigeria is demonstrating that a government can be both a serious anchor investor and a credible market-builder. We are honoured to be entrusted with this mandate and committed to deploying every resource at our disposal to raise the matching capital, invest wisely, and deliver returns that justify this historic confidence.”

The fund targets a net Internal Rate of Return of 20 per cent and a net money multiple of 2.4x. It is structured with the government’s commitment as a junior tranche acting as 30 per cent first-loss capital, a deliberate risk architecture designed to de-risk the fund structure, improve the risk-return profile for co-investors, and crowd in additional private capital.

Congratulating the BOI and Kuramo Capital, Vice President Kashim Shettima stated that the launch aligned perfectly with the administration’s economic goals for the youth: “The commencement of investing by iDICE is an exciting milestone and a leap forward in the determined efforts of the Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of His Excellency President Bola Tinubu, to deliver on our vision of unleashing the full potential of Nigeria’s young people, in line with the Renewed Hope agenda.”

As of June 2026, implementation is well advanced across all three programme pillars, skills and enterprise development, access to finance, and ecosystem enablement. Notably, iDICE has commenced the setup and revamp of digital and creative hubs in 66 institutions, comprising 36 universities and 30 polytechnics, in collaboration with the National Universities Commission and the National Board for Technical Education to link academic research directly to industry.