*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, beckons global investors to explore Nigeria’s burgeoning digital economy, describing the country as ‘a land of opportunities, powered by a youthful, tech-savvy, and highly innovative population’
Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect
Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has invited global investors to explore Nigeria’s burgeoning digital economy.
ConsumerConnect reports Inuwa, who made case for this at a forum during the 2025 GITEX Africa, in Morocco, described Nigeria as “a land of opportunities”, powered by a youthful, tech-savvy, and highly innovative population.
The Director-General of NITDA highlighted several opportunities in the West African country’s economy, as he engaged with global key players in the IT sector, including startups and investors during a GITEX Breakfast meeting at the GITEX Africa 2025 which is currently being held in Marrakech, Morocco.
What GITEX Nigeria 2025 holds for stakeholders, participants
Speaking ahead of GITEX Nigeria 2025, a major technology and investment conference set to hold September 1 – 4, 2025, in Abuja, FCT, and Lagos, Inuwa painted a vibrant picture of Nigeria’s digital landscape.
According to him, it is an avenue where innovation meets opportunity, and where government commitment aligns with grassroots entrepreneurial drive.
The NITDA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) stated: “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 further stressed that Nigeria, with over 70 percent of the country’s population under the age of 25, holds one of the youngest populations globally, thereby positioning it as a talent hub for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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, he said.
The Director-General stated: “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.”
Outlining initiatives aimed at embedding digital skills across the formal education system while enhancing national digital capabilities, Inuwa further averred that the country is not just teaching young people to consume technology but empowering them to create it.
On significance of digital sovereignty
Recognising the importance of digital sovereignty, Inuwa 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.”
Underscoring the significance of Nigeria and Africa’s digital native population and boundless talent, Inuwa mentioned 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, which is the country’s policy capital, hosting discussions on investor-friendly reforms and policy frameworks, and Lagos, the home to Africa’s most vibrant startup ecosystem, showcasing the energy, innovation, and investment potential.
Inuwa assured: “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.”
In his remark at the forum, Mr Vijayaragavan Venugopal, Sales Director of ZOHO, stated that Zoho has been predominantly focusing on the African market for the last seven years and has witnessed tremendous growth in the African market, with Nigeria leading at the forefront.
Venugopal said: “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.
“It is going to be an opportunity to gather amongst each other, talk about tech, and grow together in the entire African market.”
Also in her remark, Olu Olufemi White, CEO of Alami Capital, highlighted the importance of investing in startups that centre people in their solutions and challenged traditional investment approaches that ignore the human element.
Expressing her commitment to transforming communities through thoughtful and strategic innovation, White emphasised the need for impactful, innovative, and scalable ventures while however, noting that technology can only thrive with reliable energy and sustainable finance.
She also appealed to everyone for active participation in the forthcoming GITEX Nigeria while making reference to the market activity from Google, Cisco, and Flutterwave.
The CEO of Alami Capital said: “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.”
