The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency
(NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has called for strengthened industry collaboration to drive Nigeria’s digital transformation, emphasising innovation and policy as key enablers of sustainable growth.
This is according to a press statement e-signed by the Director of Corporate Communications & External Relations at NITDA, Hajia Hadiza Umar.
Represented by the Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, Dr Aristotle Onumo at The Omniverse Summit 2025, which took place in Lagos, south west, Nigeria, Mallam Abdullahi said Nigeria had the potential to become a global digital powerhouse through coordinated efforts among stakeholders.
With an internet penetration rate exceeding 55 per cent and the digital economy projected
to contribute over 20 per cent to GDP by 2030, according to Abdullahi, Nigeria’s tech ecosystem was experiencing unprecedented growth, pointing homegrown fintech giants like Flutterwave, Paystack, and Moniepoint as examples of how innovation was attracting billions in investment and revolutionising financial services.
The NITDA DG added that beyond fintech, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) were shaping critical sectors like governance, agriculture, healthcare, and education.
To sustain this momentum, he said NITDA was committed to fostering innovation through investments in research and development, talent cultivation, and startup support systems to bridge the digital divide and enhance digital literacy.
Acknowledging that no digital economy could thrive without adaptive policies, the NITDA boss emphasised the importance of regulatory frameworks such as the Nigeria Startup Act, which provided a structured approach to nurturing innovation.
He highlighted NITDA’s Regulatory Intelligence Framework, which anchored its policies on dynamism, intelligence, and awareness, ensuring a regulatory environment that protected consumers while enabling businesses to scale.
Abdullahi also stressed the need for stronger data protection laws, enhanced cybersecurity frameworks, and AI governance strategies that promote responsible technology deployment.
Collaboration, he stated, was the glue that bound innovation and policy into tangible progress stressing that Public-private partnerships(PPPs) had already played a vital role in Nigeria’s digital transformation, with recent collaborations between the Federal Government and global tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, and Meta underscoring the importance of synergy.
He stated that the recent agreement between the federal government and Google, was set to transform Nigeria into a global tech hub, noting that the partnership focused on infrastructure development, citizen upskilling, AI innovation, cloud adoption, and investment framework enhancement, adding this collaborative approach ensured that digital policies and initiatives aligned with global best practices while addressing local needs.
The NITDA DG also mentioned ongoing initiatives such as the Digital Literacy for All programme in partnership with the NYSC, which aimed to achieve 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027. According to him, strengthening industry-academic linkages would further bridge the gap between theoretical learning and practical applications, ensuring a digitally skilled workforce.
He added that, Nigeria’s active participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) presented significant opportunities to position the country as a regional hub for digital trade and services emphasizing that through harmonising digital trade policies and leveraging strategic partnerships, Nigeria could unlock new markets and attract more foreign investments.
The NITDA boss reiterated that Nigeria’s digital transformation required bold decisions, innovative thinking, and strategic alliances, urging all stakeholders to work together to ensure that digital transformation was not just a vision but a reality driving sustainable economic development.
“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”, he stated.
