Across the turquoise expanse of the Atlantic, beyond the maze of Lagos traffic and the hum of its concrete sprawl, a new silhouette emerges on the eastern edge of the city. It is not simply another tower or block of flats. It is a new kind of city—virtual, experimental, and ambitious. Nestled deep within the Lekki Free Zone corridor, where cranes hover and the skyline is punctuated by the skeletal frames of half-built futures, Nigeria’s first digital special economic zone is coming to life. They call it Itana—a city constructed not of bricks alone, but of code, bandwidth, and policy.
Just this week, Itana signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment. The goal is clear: reshape the Nigerian economy to export digital services at scale, create high-quality jobs, and attract foreign tech companies to operate—not just within Nigeria—but from Nigeria, for the world.
Backed by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Itana represents an innovative experiment: a legally distinct, digitally native jurisdiction where global companies can establish themselves, hire, and operate virtually—without the constraints of Nigeria’s traditional bureaucracy. “You can launch from Nairobi, scale from Lagos, and serve London—all from your laptop,” says Luqman Edu, co-founder and CEO of Itana. “That’s the point.”
Edu’s vision is ambitious. But so is the terrain on which it stands.
A City, Designed to Be Elsewhere
Physically, Itana’s first district is located within Alaro City, a 2,000-hectare development in Lagos State’s broader Lekki Free Zone. It spans 72,000 square meters of planned tech campuses, co-living pods, startup labs, outdoor workspaces, and smart infrastructure—powered by gas-fired energy plants and piped water, with dual fiber-optic connections running beneath the pavement.
But spiritually, Itana is not in Nigeria—not in the way Lagos is. It is intentionally separate from the country’s cumbersome business environment, or so it seems. “We’ve streamlined everything,” says Adetayo Oduwole, Director of Business and Compliance. “From incorporation to tax handling, it’s digital-first and borderless. You don’t need to show up in person. You don’t need to wait.”
Inspired by Delaware in the U.S. and Dubai’s Internet City, Itana is built on Nigeria’s existing free zone laws. This was a deliberate choice: instead of reinventing the wheel, the founders repurposed it. For a $2,000 setup fee and a $1,150 annual renewal, startups can register, access Itana’s legal protections, and benefit from incentives tailored to digital firms: lighter taxes, fewer restrictions, and regulatory predictability.
For years, Nigeria’s tech sector has been characterized by two opposing forces: a surge in global venture capital and a persistent exodus of local talent. “Brain drain” became shorthand for frustration. Itana seeks to change that narrative—not by preventing talent from leaving, but by making it unnecessary to do so.
The MOU signed with the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment—under the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP)—commits to creating 100,000 high-value digital jobs over the next five years. The goal: to turn Nigeria into a global hub for digital services like software engineering, UI/UX design, and customer support, without forcing Nigerians to migrate.
“This isn’t about stopping people from traveling,” Oduwole explains. “It’s about offering them a choice. You can stay in Lagos and work for a company in Berlin. You don’t have to leave your family, or your home country, to earn in dollars.”
To accomplish this, Itana is building more than just office spaces and regulations. It is building a pipeline. By partnering with training institutions and connecting them to employers abroad, the zone aims to ensure the local workforce is not only skilled but credible and well-connected. “A lot of Africa’s job issues stem from poor matching and weak trust infrastructure,” Oduwole continues. “We’re addressing both.”
Africa’s free zones have traditionally been focused on manufacturing—industries like textiles, plastics, and export logistics. Itana, however, marks a shift in direction: from physical goods to services, and from factories to fiber.
“The global economy is now driven by services,” explains Edu. “Yet many African zones are still designed for industries of the past. We’re building for the industries of the future.”
By prioritizing tech-enabled services, Itana taps into wider changes unfolding across the continent. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which promises smoother trade across borders, further strengthens this vision. With Itana, a software company based in Lagos can serve clients in Accra, Kigali, or Cape Town—without the need to set up a separate entity in each country.
This broader African perspective is key. “Expanding across Africa is difficult,” says Oduwole. “Each country operates under its own set of rules. With Itana, we provide a single entry point to the entire continent.”
A New African Model?
That said, Itana comes with its share of risk. It is, after all, a prototype—a model yet to be proven. Questions linger around its scalability, the long-term confidence of investors, and whether Nigeria’s policies can evolve to keep up with the pace.
But what differentiates Itana isn’t just its infrastructure or tax advantages. It’s a commitment to ecosystem design. By collaborating closely with venture capital firms like Future Africa, Itana is striving to bring together startups, regulators, policymakers, and investors into a unified framework—a rare feat in a country where these groups often work in opposition to one another.
In doing so, Itana sidesteps a common mistake: building a zone in isolation. Instead, it aims to serve as a bridge—connecting Nigeria to the global tech economy, matching talent with opportunity, and bringing the present closer to the future.
“We’re not planning to build five more Itanas across Nigeria,” says Oduwole. “We’re focused on building just one—the right way—so others can learn from it.”
By 2050, Africa’s population is expected to double. The demand for digital services around the world is rapidly increasing. Yet many African nations are still unsure how to stay competitive.
If successful, Itana could offer a solution—a pathway for countries to export talent rather than just oil, to attract global capital while retaining control over local development, and to shape globalization instead of being shaped by it.
“This isn’t just a zone,” says Edu. “It’s a new economic structure—one that understands the needs of the 21st century.”
As the waves of the Atlantic gently wash against the shores of Lagos, and cranes rise into the dusty skyline of Alaro City, Itana stands—half-built but clearly envisioned. It’s not just a departure from the country; it could also be a step ahead.
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