The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has urged stakeholders to strengthen collaboration in driving Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Speaking at the Omniverse Summit 2025 in Lagos, where he was represented by Dr Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, Inuwa highlighted the role of innovation and policy in fostering sustainable economic growth. He emphasized that Nigeria has the potential to become a global digital powerhouse through coordinated efforts between the government, private sector, and academia.
Inuwa noted that with internet penetration exceeding 55% and the digital economy projected to contribute over 20% to GDP by 2030, Nigeria’s tech ecosystem is experiencing rapid expansion.
He pointed to homegrown fintech firms like Flutterwave, Paystack, and Moniepoint as examples of how innovation is attracting billions in investment and transforming financial services. Beyond fintech, he added that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are reshaping governance, agriculture, healthcare, and education.
To sustain this momentum, the DG reaffirmed NITDA’s commitment to fostering innovation through investments in research and development, talent cultivation, and startup support systems. He stressed the importance of regulatory frameworks like the Nigeria Startup Act, which provides a structured approach to nurturing innovation. Additionally, he highlighted NITDA’s Regulatory Intelligence Framework, which ensures a balanced regulatory environment that protects consumers while enabling businesses to scale.
Inuwa further called for stronger data protection laws, enhanced cybersecurity measures, and AI governance strategies to promote responsible technology deployment. He underscored the significance of public-private partnerships in Nigeria’s digital transformation, citing collaborations between the Federal Government and global tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta. The recent agreement between Nigeria and Google, he noted, aims to drive infrastructure development, AI innovation, cloud adoption, and digital skills training.
The NITDA boss also mentioned initiatives such as the Digital Literacy for All programme, which seeks to achieve 70% digital literacy by 2027. He emphasized that Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presents opportunities to position the country as a regional hub for digital trade and services. Urging stakeholders to take bold steps, he called for strategic alliances to ensure that digital transformation drives sustainable economic development, stating, “Let us seize this moment to build a Nigeria where technology empowers every citizen, every business, and every sector.”