The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr Kashifu Abdullahi, said Nigeria’s digital transformation must go beyond technology adoption to fundamentally change how the country creates value and improves productivity.
He stated this at a pre-summit virtual dialogue on Tuesday ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32), “Digital Nigeria: The Foundation for Transformation,” organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit and the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning
He described digital self-determination as the capacity to make meaningful choices about Nigeria’s digital future and stressed the importance of building, adopting and deploying technologies that advance national prosperity and security.
He identified digital literacy and talent development as critical foundations, highlighting ongoing efforts to integrate digital skills into formal education, equip civil servants and strengthen technology talent pipelines.
Abdullahi also emphasised the importance of enabling policies, digital infrastructure and access to markets in unlocking Nigeria’s technology potential.
“With Nigeria’s young population, entrepreneurial energy, large domestic market and growing technology ecosystem, we have the potential to move from being primarily a consumer of technology to becoming a producer, builder and exporter of digital capabilities,” he said.
He called for greater investment in local talent, infrastructure, companies, platforms, research and algorithms, while ensuring that data is transformed into economic value within the country.
Co-Founder of TradePal AI, Mr. Femi Adegolu, called for a simpler and more coordinated regulatory environment to support innovation and participation in Nigeria’s digital economy.
While noting the significant growth of the country’s fintech ecosystem, with more than 400 fintech startups, he identified regulatory fragmentation, operational friction and trust as key constraints.
He advocated a harmonised licensing pathway across the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside tiered capital requirements that would enable smaller startups to enter the regulated ecosystem and incentives for data residency that would encourage the retention of Nigerian data and its economic value within the country.
Speaking on enterprise readiness for digital transformation, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa, Founder and CEO of Digital Jewels Limited, said organizations must focus on the business value of technology rather than technology adoption for its own sake.
She stressed the importance of establishing a clear business case before investing in technology, including defining the problem to be solved, the opportunity to be captured, the organisation’s capacity to deliver and the associated risks.
She also called for technology platforms to have appropriate controls embedded from the outset, alongside stronger organisational capabilities in cybersecurity, risk management, compliance and artificial intelligence.
Ms. Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) Africa, noted that the success of innovators and startups depends on a functioning ecosystem rather than any single intervention.
Representing the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, Ibukunoluwa Owa highlighted the Commission’s efforts to promote innovation while strengthening data protection compliance.
She referenced the Commission’s 2020–2027 Roadmap and Action Plan and its experience working with innovators through an informal regulatory sandbox to help them understand and meet data protection requirements.