NITDA DG Woos Global Investors to Tap into Nigeria’s Thriving Digital Economy
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NITDA DG Woos Global Investors to Tap into Nigeria’s Thriving Digital Economy
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, has extended an invitation to global investors to explore Nigeria’s burgeoning digital economy, describing it as a land of opportunity powered by a youthful, tech-savvy, and highly innovative population.
Inuwa made this known during a GITEX Breakfast meeting at the GITEX Africa 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco, where he engaged with key players in the IT sector, including startups and investors.
According to him, Nigeria’s digital landscape is a vibrant picture where innovation meets opportunity, and government commitment aligns with grassroots entrepreneurial drive.
“Nigeria is a country with a large, youthful, innovative, creative, and highly competent workforce, where startups and scale-ups can continuously thrive, and where entrepreneurial spirit and technological advancement shape and create the landscape,” Inuwa stated.
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He emphasized that Nigeria, with over 70% of its population under the age of 25, holds one of the youngest populations globally, positioning it as a talent hub for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The NITDA boss further noted that the government’s vision aims to elevate Nigeria into an emerging global digital economy through comprehensive reforms, infrastructure investment, and an aggressive digital literacy agenda.
“The president is also bullish about building our digital infrastructure and wants to establish our digital sovereignty, providing a platform for our citizens to develop digital offerings that Nigeria can take to the world,” he said.
Inuwa outlined initiatives aimed at embedding digital skills across the formal education system and enhancing national digital capabilities, noting that the nation is not just teaching young people to consume technology but empowering them to create it.
Recognizing the importance of digital sovereignty, he added, “We are also promoting cloud adoption because you cannot succeed today with on-prem infrastructure, but you need to be on the cloud, and you need to have agility.”
The NITDA DG reaffirmed the significance of Nigeria and Africa’s digital native population and boundless talent, stating that the continent should not just participate in the Fourth Industrial Revolution but should lead.
He disclosed that the GITEX Nigeria conference is set to be a milestone moment, with Abuja hosting discussions on investor-friendly reforms and policy frameworks, and Lagos showcasing the energy, innovation, and investment potentials.
“We have the talent and we have the digital native population, and we are nurturing an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem because we need to challenge the status quo, we need to use technology to disrupt the way we do things, and we need to create a collective intelligence where people work with technology to make lives better, and that is the Nigeria we are creating,” he concluded.
Other industry leaders echoed Inuwa’s sentiments, with Zoho’s Sales Director, Vijayaragavan Venugopal, expressing excitement about participating in GITEX Nigeria.
“We are happy that we are going to be there in Nigeria along with GITEX, and the event will not only empower the Nigeria market but the whole of Africa, and it is going to be an opportunity to gather amongst each other, talk about tech, and grow together in the entire African market,” he said.
Alami Capital’s CEO, Olu Olufemi White, reveled the importance of investing in startups that center people in their solutions and challenged traditional investment approaches that ignore the human element.
“You can start to see what happens when you support us. Please don’t wait till we become big and the rest of the world begins to tell our stories, we want you to tell it for us, and we want to walk and work hand in hand with you to build the nation of our dreams,” she appealed.
The GITEX Nigeria 2025 conference is scheduled to take place from September 1 to 4 in Abuja and Lagos, promising to be a landmark event in the country’s digital journey.
