At the Omniverse Summit 2025 in Lagos, Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), emphasized the critical need for strengthened industry collaboration to propel Nigeria’s digital transformation. Represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, Inuwa highlighted innovation and policy as essential drivers of sustainable growth.
Inuwa painted a picture of Nigeria’s burgeoning tech ecosystem, citing a 55%+ internet penetration rate and projections of the digital economy contributing over 20% to GDP by 2030. He pointed to the success of homegrown fintech giants like Flutterwave, Paystack, and Moniepoint as proof of Nigeria’s potential to become a global digital powerhouse. He further noted the transformative impact of emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT across key sectors.
To sustain this momentum, Inuwa outlined NITDA’s commitment to fostering innovation through investments in research and development, talent cultivation, and startup support systems. He also stressed the importance of adaptive policies, citing the Nigeria Startup Act and NITDA’s Regulatory Intelligence Framework as examples of initiatives designed to nurture innovation while protecting consumers.
The Director-General underscored the necessity of robust data protection laws, enhanced cybersecurity frameworks, and AI governance strategies to ensure responsible technology deployment. He emphasized that collaboration is the cornerstone of progress, highlighting the success of public-private partnerships with global tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Meta.
Specifically, he mentioned the recent agreement with Google, aimed at transforming Nigeria into a global tech hub through infrastructure development, citizen upskilling, AI innovation, cloud adoption, and investment framework enhancement.
Inuwa also highlighted NITDA’s ongoing initiatives, such as the Digital Literacy for All programme in partnership with the NYSC, targeting 70% digital literacy by 2027. He advocated for strengthened industry-academic linkages to bridge the gap between theory and practice, ensuring a digitally skilled workforce.
He further emphasized the opportunities presented by Nigeria’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), urging the harmonization of digital trade policies to position Nigeria as a regional hub for digital trade and services.
“As the theme of this summit states, we are truly ‘Unified by Vision and Empowered by Collaboration’. Let us seize this moment to build a Nigeria where technology serves as an equaliser, empowering every citizen, every business, and every sector,” Inuwa concluded, urging stakeholders to work together to realize Nigeria’s digital future.