From Peer Learning to Policy Action: How Cross-Country Insights Strengthened Nigeria’s Startup Ecosystem

In September 2025, a delegation of Nigerian digital policy leaders participated in a structured study tour across Tunisia’s innovation ecosystem. The programme brought together commissioners and ecosystem actors from Abia, Gombe, Lagos, Kano, and Rivers States alongside the team from GIZ/DTC.

Rather than focusing on theory, the experience was designed around how policy is coordinated, financed, implemented, and measured in practice.

The study tour centred on three core pillars shaping Tunisia’s ecosystem:

1. Policy coordination and institutional governance
Engagements with Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy demonstrated how the Startup Act is operationalised through clear institutional roles, central coordination, and continuous feedback loops between startups, investors, and regulators illustrating how policy coherence and implementation discipline drive ecosystem credibility.

2. Financing architecture and risk-sharing mechanisms
At the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) and the ANAVA Fund of Funds, participants examined Tunisia’s blended financing model, where public capital strategically de-risks early-stage investment to crowd in private participation showing how financial architecture can sustain innovation ecosystems beyond political cycles.

3. Human capital, innovation infrastructure, and ecosystem depth
Visits to institutions such as GOMYCODE, THE DOT, and Medianet demonstrated how Tunisia links digital skills, entrepreneurship, and innovation infrastructure into a coherent pipeline evidencing how employability-driven training, and private-sector-led incubation collectively strengthen ecosystem resilience and regional inclusion.

Embedding learning into policy capability

The programme was also structured as a capability-building intervention. Participants engaged directly with policymakers, investors, and ecosystem operators, analysing  governance models, funding frameworks, and implementation mechanisms.

Learning focused on strengthening five institutional capabilities:

• Evidence-based policymaking and data-driven decision systems

• Policy implementation sequencing and governance design

• Public–private collaboration models for innovation financing

• Monitoring and evaluation of ecosystem performance

• Research integration into policy design and foresight

Improved policy and implementation capacity
Post-programme assessments showed that over 80% of participants reported stronger capability in policy analysis, monitoring, and evidence-based implementation. Exposure to Tunisia’s data-driven policy systems reinforced the importance of measurable outcomes and continuous feedback in innovation governance.

Stronger ecosystem coordination mindset
Participants gained practical understanding of how central coordination bodies, legally backed implementation frameworks, and clear institutional mandates reduce fragmentation across innovation ecosystems. 

Acceleration of cross-border ecosystem collaboration
The tour catalysed new institutional relationships, with over 70% of participants initiating follow-up engagements with Tunisian ecosystem actors, including Smart Capital, GOMYCODE, and THE DOT. These connections are opening pathways for knowledge exchange, joint programmes, and ecosystem cooperation.