FIC REPORT (LAGOS STATE) — Nigeria’s maritime regulator moved this week to reposition itself as more than a watchdog, unveiling the NIMASA Blue Economy Accelerator Programme (NIMASA-BEAP) alongside a National Innovation Hackathon in a bid to pull young entrepreneurs and private capital into a sector officials say the country has barely begun to exploit.
The twin initiatives, launched by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, are pitched as a structured pipeline for young Nigerians and innovative enterprises to build solutions to the problems — and opportunities — scattered across the country’s maritime and blue economy value chain.
Delivering welcome remarks, NIMASA Director-General Dr Dayo Mobereola framed the programme not as a routine agency initiative but as a national development imperative, arguing that the scale of Nigeria’s maritime economy offers a rare shot at diversification, job creation and wider Nigerian participation in a value chain long dominated by others.
His figures were blunt. “Nigeria’s maritime economy is a multi-billion naira frontier we have left largely untapped. We capture less than three percent of the value moving through our own waters. NIMASA-BEAP exists to correct that historic imbalance,” Mobereola told the gathering.
He did not stop at diagnosis. Turning directly to the young innovators in the room, the Director-General issued what amounted to a challenge: “Lead this frontier. Do not follow it” — urging them to treat the maritime sector as fertile ground for investment and national transformation rather than a closed industry to be observed from the outside.
The keynote address, delivered on behalf of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, went further still, casting the accelerator as evidence that NIMASA was stepping outside its traditional regulatory lane to actively drive blue economy implementation.
Read by the Director of Marine Conservation and Innovation, Mr Shettima Hussein Shehu, the minister’s remarks praised both Mobereola and his executive team for what he called institutional boldness. “This is not a routine government initiative. This is a paradigm shift — from NIMASA as a regulator, to NIMASA as a catalyst. The NIMASA Blue Economy Accelerator sets a standard that I am proud, as Minister, to champion before this audience,” the minister said.
The address carried a call to action of its own, with the minister pressing commercial banks, development finance institutions and wider maritime stakeholders to get involved — whether through direct investment, mentorship or formal partnership with NIMASA — to help move the blue economy agenda forward.
The response in the room suggested the appeal had already found an audience. Representatives of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, First Bank, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, Wema Bank, the Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Tamrose Limited, Petromarine Limited and Starzs Investment Limited each took the floor to commend the initiative and commit to partnering with NIMASA on its rollout.
Organisers say the programme has been built with defined timelines and accountability mechanisms to keep delivery on track. Applications open to innovators aged 18 to 28 when the NIMASA-BEAP portal goes live on October 5, 2026, with submissions closing November 13, 2026. An independent evaluation and due diligence process follows from November 16 to December 2, 2026.
The National Innovation Hackathon itself is set for December 8–10, 2026. Successful participants will then move into a 12-week accelerator programme running through the first quarter of 2027, before the initiative culminates in a National Demo Day in the second quarter of 2027 — a showcase where participating ventures will pitch their solutions directly to investors, industry stakeholders and prospective partners.
Dimaka Chioma
Deputy Director
Information/Public Relations
