Grenada has dropped its visa requirement for Nigerians, and it wants tech founders to use the new access. Thomas Anthony, chief executive of the Investment Migration Agency (IMA), told Nairametrics this week that Grenada expects its young people to learn from visiting entrepreneurs. He also expects local firms to reach a bigger market. The Grenada visa-free entry for Nigerians, announced in June, now carries a stated tech ambition.
The pitch is hopeful. It is also incomplete.
Why Grenada Says It Needs Nigerian Tech Entrepreneurs
Anthony said Nigeria’s technology sector is more advanced than Grenada’s. He hopes easier travel will bring Nigerian entrepreneurs to the island to share expertise with local businesses. Grenadian youth, he argued, would absorb that knowledge first-hand.
Scale is the other draw. Grenada has about 120,000 residents. The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States has roughly 700,000, and CARICOM more than 20 million. Anthony said Grenadian businesses can trade across those markets, so a Nigerian founder gets a regional base rather than an island one.
He was candid about a second motive. Grenada must “grow the population in the country,” he said, to keep its economy viable. The country covers 133 square miles and has an estimated 350,000 citizens living abroad.
What the Visa Waiver Actually Covers
Grenada’s Honorary Consul in Nigeria, Bidemi Sonoiki, announced the waiver in June, with a start date in July. According to Passport Index’s account of the consul’s remarks, it covers tourism, business, education and investment travel. Residency and employment remain subject to existing immigration rules.
That distinction matters for founders. A Nigerian entrepreneur can land, scout and pitch without a visa. Nothing announced so far lets that entrepreneur work or incorporate on easier terms.
Anthony’s travel argument is more concrete. Nigerians no longer need to transit through the United States or the United Kingdom, where visas are hard to get. The only direct route he cited is a twice-monthly flight to Antigua and Barbuda, not to Grenada itself.
The Citizenship-by-Investment Question
Anthony runs an agency that sells citizenship. The IMA processes applications from foreign nationals who invest in Grenada. He told Nairametrics that scrapping the transit visa makes it easier for prospective applicants to inspect projects in person.
The data explains the interest. IMA figures reported by NOW Grenada in 2025 showed Nigerians made up 19 percent of newly approved citizens, or 1,034 people. Only Chinese applicants ranked higher, at 23 percent. The agency also said it planned a West Africa marketing tour for October 2025.
So the question is whether this is a tech exchange or a passport funnel. Anthony did not describe a startup visa, a founder fund or an incubator in the interview as reported. Citizenship-by-investment programmes across the Caribbean have also drawn scrutiny from developed nations, whose own visa-free arrangements with the region can be put at risk, according to SKNVibes.
A Familiar Pattern for Nigerian Founders
Nigerian founders already look outward for capital and customers. For a decade, many have followed a “raise abroad, scale abroad, exit abroad” playbook because local markets offered too little. Grenada’s 120,000 people are unlikely to change that logic on their own.
Nigerians have also built companies in far larger markets. Three Nigerian immigrants won Y Combinator backing with Sorce from San Francisco, and a wider diaspora of founders abroad now shapes the conversation about brain circulation. A Caribbean nation of 120,000 must offer something those markets cannot.
What to Watch Next
Anthony hopes Nigeria will grant Grenadians reciprocal visa-free entry. No such move has been reported. The two countries do have ties to build on: Grenada opened an honorary consulate in Lagos in 2022, and a Nigeria-Grenada Chamber of Commerce now exists.
Both sides say they are exploring tourism, healthcare, agriculture, logistics, education, fintech, renewable energy and real estate. Tech is one item on a long list. The test is whether Grenada attaches a concrete programme to its Grenada visa-free pitch for Nigerians, or whether tech remains a line in a citizenship sales pitch.
