Top 10 Nigerian cities powering the startup boom in 2026

Nigeria's startup ecosystem placed 62nd globally in 2026, an improvement from its previous rankings. The country's ecosystem saw a 31.8% growth rate, outpacing the global average of 17.5%. Nigeria secured the third position in Africa, trailing only South Africa and Kenya. The nation also leads Africa in online banking and cryptocurrency, ranking 13th and 17th globally, respectively.

However, the business environment in Nigeria remains a significant challenge, ranking 95th out of 125 countries in StartupBlink's Innovators Business Environment Index.

Among Nigeria's top 10 cities, Kano showed 13.0% growth but fell eight places globally, sliding to 10th place with only 0.7% of the national score. Despite this, Kano continues to host fintech and digital commerce startups, such as Zainpay and Kallo.ng. Owerri experienced the most remarkable improvement, climbing 119 places globally and climbing three spots nationally to 9th place.

The state of Imo has been actively promoting its technology talent and ecosystem, launching ImoTalentHub.com and the Imo State University of Innovation, Science, and Technology in 2025.

Abeokuta made the largest global-rank gain among Nigerian cities this year, jumping 254 places globally and moving up five spots nationally to 8th place. The city has also seen a surge in digital infrastructure investment, with the Nigerian Communications Commission commissioning a Digital Innovation Park in June 2025. Benin City also showed impressive growth, climbing 224 places globally, moving up three spots nationally to 7th place.

The city features prominently in StartupSouth's South-South & South-East Startup Ecosystem & State of Digital Jobs Report 2025, which highlights the spread of startup activity across multiple cities in the region.