Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and the Emergence of Agricultural Startups in Nigeria: Evidence from the South West Innovation Corridor

The emergence of technology-enabled agricultural startups, collectively referred to as agri-tech ventures, represents a novel and rapidly growing dimension of Nigeria's agricultural innovation system with potential to transform value chain efficiency, data infrastructure, and smallholder market access. The conditions that enable or constrain agricultural startup formation and survival have been conceptualised through the entrepreneurial ecosystem framework but have not been systematically investigated in the Nigerian agricultural context. This study examines entrepreneurial ecosystems and the formation, growth, and impact of agricultural startups in the South West innovation corridor spanning Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo States. The theoretical framework adapts Stam's systemic conditions model of entrepreneurial ecosystems to the agricultural domain, identifying formal institutions, informal norms, market conditions, finance availability, human capital, and knowledge networks as system elements. Primary data were collected from 80 agricultural startup founders through structured interviews and firm-level financial records, supplemented by 25 ecosystem actor interviews including venture capital representatives, accelerator managers, and agricultural ministry officials. A survival analysis of startup duration was conducted alongside a structural equation model testing ecosystem condition-startup performance relationships. Results indicate that access to venture capital and proximity to technology hubs in Lagos significantly extended startup survival probability. Knowledge network density, measured by active participation in agri-tech communities of practice, was positively associated with product iteration speed and market reach. Formal agricultural market regulation uncertainty emerged as the most frequently cited ecosystem weakness. The study contributes an original agricultural entrepreneurial ecosystem framework and empirical evidence from the Nigerian agri-tech sector. Keywords: entrepreneurial ecosystem, agricultural startups, agri-tech, South West Nigeria, innovation