By Nkechi Eze
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled plans to establish six innovation funds to support startups developing technology-driven solutions, while advancing broadband infrastructure expansion across Nigeria as part of efforts to accelerate the country’s digital economy.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, disclosed this at the Global Tech Africa event in Kano, themed “Connecting Africa, Accelerating Growth,” where he outlined the Federal Government’s strategies to strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem, develop indigenous technological capacity and position Nigeria as a leading digital hub in Africa.
Inuwa said NITDA was collaborating with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to establish the six funds aimed at providing financial support for startups and entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions.
He identified the Bank of Industry and other development finance institutions as additional sources of funding for technology entrepreneurs, while emphasising the need for increased private-sector participation in financing innovation.
According to him, government funding alone cannot sustain a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem, stressing that private investors have important roles to play in providing capital, equity partnerships, corporate governance and business expertise to help startups expand their operations.
“Private investors can provide not only capital but also equity partnerships, corporate governance, business expertise and leadership to help startups grow,” he said.
On broadband infrastructure, the NITDA DG said the Federal Government was pursuing plans to extend fibre-optic connectivity across all 774 Local Government Areas, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory to improve access to digital services and stimulate economic activities.
He explained that the broadband expansion agenda was part of a broader digital infrastructure strategy designed to ensure that Nigerians, businesses and institutions could benefit from the opportunities offered by the digital economy.
Inuwa, however, stressed that connectivity alone was insufficient to achieve meaningful digital transformation, noting that Nigeria must also develop adequate domestic computing capacity to complement its investments in broadband infrastructure.
He said this informed NITDA’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative, which seeks to strengthen the country’s computing infrastructure, promote digital sovereignty and ensure that data generated within Nigeria can be securely processed and stored locally.
Describing data centres as the refineries of the digital economy, he explained that they provide the computing capacity required to transform raw data into valuable insights, products and services.
He maintained that Nigeria must develop the capacity to own and control critical digital infrastructure to reduce dependence on foreign computing facilities and position the country as the computing hub for West and Central Africa.
Beyond infrastructure and innovation financing, Inuwa highlighted human capital development as another critical component of the Federal Government’s digital economy agenda.
He cited the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and the Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) initiative as key interventions aimed at building a skilled technology workforce and equipping Nigerians with the digital competencies required to participate in the global technology market.
He added that the government was integrating digital skills into the formal education system, from kindergarten to tertiary institutions, while targeting 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030 through the DL4ALL initiative.
On emerging technologies, the NITDA chief called for increased Nigerian and African participation in artificial intelligence development, observing that Africa accounts for less than two per cent of the data used to train AI models.
He advocated the development of indigenous Large Language Models and other AI solutions capable of reflecting Nigeria’s languages, cultures and socioeconomic realities.
Inuwa also called for renewed efforts to restore Kano’s historic position as a major commercial centre for the Sahel region through digital technology, modern trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He noted that although e-commerce and changing business models had disrupted traditional trading patterns, digital platforms presented opportunities for Kano to reconnect markets across North Africa, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
