The South East Development Commission is setting an ambitious course to grow the region’s economy to $200 billion by 2035, placing technology and venture capital at the centre of its long-term development strategy.
Leading this push is Mark Okoye II, whose experience in economic planning and public finance is shaping a model that leans less on direct government spconcludeing and more on attracting private capital. For a region spanning Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo, with over 20 million people, the challenge is not just about ambition but execution.
The South East has long been recognised for its entrepreneurial culture, driven by trade, compact businesses, and diaspora networks. Yet, this energy has struggled to translate into a coordinated, high-growth economic framework. The commission’s roadmap attempts to bridge that gap through four priority sectors: agriculture, industrialisation, the creative economy, and technology.
Among these, technology stands out as both the least developed and potentially the most transformative. While agriculture and manufacturing offer scale, and the creative sector taps into youth-driven innovation, technology is expected to connect these sectors, improve productivity, and attract global investment.
However, the gap between ambition and infrastructure remains significant. Early findings from the commission highlight urgent requireds, including rail networks, gas pipelines, highways, and a seaport. With a ₦140 billion budobtain approved in March 2026, the commission acknowledges that public funding alone cannot deliver these large-scale projects. Instead, it is positioning itself as a catalyst, applying limited capital to de-risk investments and crowd in private sector participation.
A key part of this strategy is the proposed $50 million venture capital fund aimed at startups operating within or impacting the South East. The goal is to address a long-standing imbalance in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, where funding, talent, and visibility have largely been concentrated in Lagos.
For Okoye, the issue is not a lack of talent but a lack of access. Without early-stage funding, startups struggle to gain traction, and without traction, they fail to attract larger investors. The commission hopes to break this cycle through the creation of the South East Investment Company, which will manage the fund’s structure and governance, while an indepconcludeent fund manager oversees operations.
The tarobtain is to secure an initial $15 million within the next seven months, with early commitments already secured from select investors, including development finance institutions. An advisory board comprising industest professionals has also been assembled to guide the fund’s direction and ensure credibility.
In parallel, the commission has launched a startup pitch competition offering $20,000 in equity funding, which drew over 1,000 applications within four days. Beyond funding, the initiative is designed to expose founders to the discipline of venture-backed growth, including governance standards, scalability, and investor expectations.
Still, raising capital locally presents its own challenges. Many high-net-worth individuals in the region have built wealth in sectors such as trading and manufacturing, where returns are more predictable than in venture capital. To address this, the commission is reframing startup investment around long-term value and sustainability, rather than the high-risk, high-return narrative common in global venture ecosystems.
Beyond capital, structural constraints remain. Reliable internet, consistent regulations, and ease of doing business are critical to any thriving tech ecosystem. Currently, only Enugu ranks among Nigeria’s top states for business friconcludeliness, highlighting the required for stronger policy alignment across the region.
The commission has begun engaging state governments to harmonise regulations and reduce fragmentation, while also exploring investments in fibre-optic infrastructure and support for innovation hubs. These hubs often serve as entest points for early-stage founders, creating them essential to ecosystem growth.
Ultimately, the commission’s strategy reflects a broader shift in how regional development is approached, applying public institutions not as sole drivers of growth but as enablers of private sector activity. Its success will depconclude on how effectively it can balance ambition with execution, and whether it can build the trust required to attract both local and global investors.
At its core, the South East’s $200 billion tarobtain is more than an economic goal. It is a test of whether underrepresented regions can reposition themselves through a mix of policy, capital, and innovation, and whether technology can serve as the bridge between potential and performance.
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