The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in collaboration with the SATH Foundation, is advancing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s technology ecosystem through the Nigeria Tech Outlook, an initiative designed to guide investment, inform policymaking and accelerate technology adoption across key sectors of the economy. NITDADG,Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, highlighted the initiative at the Tech Outlook in Lagos, emphasizing the need to translate Nigeria’s wealth of technology talent, innovative ideas and entrepreneurial achievements into a globally competitive innovation ecosystem. Nigerian innovators and technology companies have achieved significant success; individual accomplishments alone cannot guarantee global competitiveness. A stronger ecosystem requires reliable digital infrastructure, supportive policies, strategic investments and collaboration among government, industry leaders, investors and innovators, he noted. According to him, the Nigeria Tech Outlook will provide evidencebased insights into the country’s technology landscape, helping stakeholders understand the level of technology access, adoption and its contribution to productivity across the economy. The first edition of the report will examine five sectors: financial services, telecommunications, commerce and trade, government services, and healthcare. Highlighting the importance of research in identifying market opportunities, Inuwa disclosed that more than 80 per cent of over 2,000 Nigerians surveyed expressed willingness to use telemedicine services, while fewer than 20 per cent had ever used them. He explained that such findings could help investors identify underserved markets, encourage innovators to develop relevant solutions and guide policymakers in addressing barriers to technology adoption. The Tech Outlook will also examine emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, alongside digital trust and governance, cybersecurity, data privacy, cloud computing and digital infrastructure. These areas are expected to inform discussions on how Nigeria can strengthen its technological capabilities and expand the adoption of digital solutions across critical sectors. Inuwa stressed that technology policies and regulations must be grounded in research and industry realities rather than assumptions. He called on industry leaders to contribute their expertise to reviewing the findings and identifying practical interventions that would support investment, innovation and economic growth. The initiative is expected to provide government with insights for evidence-based policymaking, businesses with a clearer understanding of technology adoption gaps, investors with information to guide investment decisions, and innovators with opportunities to develop solutions to pressing national challenges. The first edition of the Nigeria Tech Outlook is scheduled for launch at the Digital Nigeria International Conference. Through the collaboration between NITDA and the SATH Foundation, the initiative seeks to strengthen Nigeria’s technology intelligence, unlock new investment opportunities and position the country to build a globally competitive innovation ecosystem driven by research, collaboration and homegrown solutions. The Founder and Chairman of SATH Foundation, Collins Onuegbu,onhispart said that technology has become central to Nigeria’s economic and social development, transforming how people work, trade, communicate, learn and access public services. Digital innovation is reshaping business operations, government engagement, security, productivity and national competitiveness, he added. Onuegbu noted that conducting the assessment annually would create institutional memory, enabling stakeholders to track progress, evaluate existing priorities and build a stronger evidence base for decisions concerning the country’s digital future. He emphasised that the gathering should move beyond speeches to encourage meaningful engagement and actionable outcomes that support Nigeria’s technology development, economic growth and national competitiveness.
Author: Lilian Azuh
L-R: Mr. Uchenna Achunine, Director Business Dev & Partnership at the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF); Pius Olaoye, CFO, Polaris Bank; Abimbola Ozomah, Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking, Polaris Bank; Dr. Joseph Onoja, DG NCF; Bukola Oluyadi, Group Head Customer Experience & Value Management, Polaris Bank and Rasheed Bolarinwa, Head, Brand Management & Corporate Communications, Polaris Bank at the Tree Planting Exercise. Polaris Bank has reinforced its commitment to environmental sustainability with a tree-planting exercise at the Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos, in collaboration with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), as part of its ongoing efforts to promote climate action, environmental…
The Federal Ministry of Power through Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN), in partnership with the Kano State Government, has commissioned four(4) transmission substations adding 544MW of wheeling capacity to Kano State and the grid. These transmission capacities are at Walalambe, Kumbotso, Dakata and Dan-Agundi. Walalambe contributes a new 80 MW capacity substation with two 40 MVA transformers; Kumbotso receives 300 MVA at 330kV level and 100 MVA transformers; Dakata and Dan-Agundi each gain an additional 100 MVA transformer, respectively at 132kV level. The projects strengthen bulk electricity supply to Kano’s industrial, commercial and residential areas, relieve overloaded substations and create room…
Mobile banking is changing how Nigerians manage money, pay bills and complete everyday financial transactions. The value goes beyond having a bank on a smartphone. It lies in helping customers complete important banking tasks without allowing those tasks to disrupt work, business, family responsibilities or personal schedules. A routine visit to a bank branch can take more time than expected. Customers may have to contend with traffic, travel time and queues. For a business owner, this could mean leaving a shop during a busy period. An employee may have to sacrifice a lunch break, while a parent may need to…
Building a business is often about recognising opportunities at the right time and having the capacity to act on them. For us at Akara Café, there came a point when an exciting opportunity presented itself: the chance to create a premium sub-brand that would offer a new expression of what we had built with Akara Café. It was an exciting prospect, but it was also a significant financial commitment. Like many growing businesses, we understood that expansion requires more than a great idea. It requires the right people, resources, planning and, importantly, access to capital. While we had continued to…
Nestlé Nigeria Plc has marked a major milestone in its Water Regeneration Project with the commissioning of eight climate-smart boreholes and water treatment plants in communities within the Agbara catchment in Ogun State. These facilities form part of a wider programme spanning the Agbara catchment in Ogun State and the Abaji catchment in the Federal Capital Territory. The Water Regeneration Project is structured around four connected pillars: Water Access, delivered through 24 climate-smart boreholes-eight in Agbara and 16 in Abaji; Water Quality, supported by treatment plants, routine monitoring, the National Water Quality Advocacy Campaign and practical water safety guidance; Water…
…Company joins SON’s World Standards Day Walk to promote safety, reliability and confidence in energy solutions L-R: Babatunde Ali- Jamara production technical manager, Abu Ochechema-Quality Manager JMG/Jamara, Fouad El Chami-Plant Manager JMG/Jamara, Eyinade Abimbola-Production manager Jamara and last is Abdwahab Isa-Assembly Manager JMG. As Nigeria continues to pursue more affordable and cleaner energy, the quality of the equipment and systems supporting this transition deserves greater attention. Access to energy is important, but so is ensuring that the solutions deployed are safe, reliable and capable of delivering the performance expected of them. This was the message highlighted by JMG Limited, a…
Director General National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA Kashifu Inuwa CCIE delivering a remark during the Launch of National Digital Literacy Dashboard. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in collaboration with 251 other reporting organisations, has recorded 2,769,512 digital literacy training achievements across Nigeria in the last three years, as the Federal Government intensifies efforts to equip citizens with the skills needed to participate in the digital economy. The figure, representing 5.54 per cent of the target of reaching 50 million beneficiaries by 2027, was disclosed through the National Digital Literacy Dashboard unveiled at the 2026 National Digital Literacy Workshop in Abuja. The dashboard shows that 252 organisations are actively reporting their digital literacy interventions, with activities covering all 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory and all 774 local government areas. The initiative, spearheaded by NITDA under its Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) programme, is designed to expand access to digital competencies through partnerships with government institutions, technology companies, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders. NITDA DirectorGeneral, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, speaking at the workshop, said Nigeria’s greatest resource was its human capital, stressing that deliberate investment in digital capabilities was essential to improving productivity and creating economic opportunities. Digital literacy had become as fundamental as reading, writing and numeracy, particularly as technology and artificial intelligence continued to transform how people learn, work, communicate, trade and access public services, he said. “Our ambition is not to turn every Nigerian into an IT professional. Our ambition is to make every Nigerian digitally capable,” Inuwa said. He explained that the objective was to enable Nigerians to use digital tools to improve their existing occupations, citing the potential for traders to manage business records and receive digital payments, farmers to access weather forecasts and market information, teachers to improve classroom learning, and public servants to deliver more efficient services. According to the dashboard, young people below the age of 35 account for 2,092,697 of the reported beneficiaries, while informal-sector workers constitute 1,609,183. Female participation stands at 32.9 per cent, while the platform records 65,767 beneficiaries from rural communities and 17,156 persons with disabilities. The figures highlight both the scale of the ongoing interventions and the need to strengthen inclusion, particularly for women, rural residents and persons with disabilities. The dashboard further identifies companies as the largest category of reporting organisations, accounting for 151 of the 252 participants, or 59.9 per cent. Government institutions account for 43 organisations, non-governmental organisations 34, while cooperatives, community organisations and other entities make up the remainder. Among the leading contributors, Cisco recorded 1,073,604 training achievements, followed by NITDA with 960,424 and Meta Platforms Inc. with 333,816. Other contributors include Imo Digital City Limited, the Sokoto State Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy, the Bureau for ICT and Digital Economy, and state technology agencies in Jigawa, Kaduna and Zamfara, as well as the Centre for Information Technology and Development. Inuwa said the launch of the National Digital Literacy Dashboard marked an important step towards coordinating interventions, identifying underserved communities and ensuring that investments in digital skills produced measurable outcomes. He noted that the absence of coordinated reporting had sometimes resulted in organisations delivering similar interventions in the same communities while other areas remained underserved. “At NITDA, we see our role as an ecosystem orchestrator,” he said, explaining that the agency’s responsibility extended beyond implementing its own programmes to establishing standards, partnerships and coordination mechanisms that would enable stakeholders to maximise their collective impact. The Director-General, however, cautioned that the number of recorded training achievements should not automatically be interpreted as the number of unique Nigerians who had attained a defined level of digital proficiency. He said the dashboard’s records must be complemented by credible assessments of the competencies acquired by participants, how they apply their skills and the benefits generated in their lives and communities. According to him, the agency intends to measure progress beyond training attendance by examining whether beneficiaries can communicate more effectively, protect themselves against online fraud, access information confidently and improve their businesses, jobs and livelihoods. The National Digital Literacy Framework, established in 2023, provides the foundation for the initiative, identifying six competence areas covering device and software operations, information and data literacy, communication and collaboration, digital content creation, digital safety and problem-solving. NITDA launched DL4ALL in 2024 to translate the framework into practical interventions across formal education, workforce development and the informal sector. Its collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps has also enabled Digital Literacy Champions to take training into markets and communities, with programme reporting recording more than 20,000 trainers and over 803,000 trainees through the informal-sector initiative. The National Digital Literacy Framework targets 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027 and 95 per cent by 2030, in line with the government’s broader ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Earlier, various speakers took turns calling on state governments, technology companies, educational institutions, development partners and civil society organisations to register their interventions and submit credible data to the dashboard, stressing that achieving the national targets required collective responsibility. The ultimate objective was to ensure that digital literacy became an opportunity available to all Nigerians, enabling them to improve productivity, access economic opportunities and contribute to national development.
From electrifying rap battles and dance challenges to captivating live performances, Fearless Energy Drink, the official energy drink of Felabration 2026, brought its signature spirit of boldness and self-expression to the festival’s grand finale, celebrating the energy, creativity, and individuality that continue to shape Nigeria’s vibrant music culture.Held at the iconic New Afrika Shrine, the week-long celebration honoured the life, music and enduring legacy of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti under the theme “Who Are You?” For Fearless Energy Drink, a brand of Rite Foods Limited, the theme resonated deeply with its philosophy of “I CAN, I AM”—a call to embrace individuality, believe in…
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has reaffirmed the importance of strategic partnerships and stakeholder collaboration in advancing Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda, calling for renewed commitment to the implementation of its strategic roadmap and action plan. NITDADG,Kashifu Inuwa, who was represented by Dr Aristotle Onumo, Director, Special Duties Directorate made the statement during the SRAP 2.0 Stakeholders’ Engagement at Lagos Business School, Lagos State. Inuwa commended the leadership of Lagos Business School for sustaining the partnership with the agency, noting that collaboration and collective intelligence remained critical to achieving meaningful progress in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. He stressed that the impact of the agency’s initiatives could be deepened through stronger partnerships, adding that inclusive stakeholder participation was essential to delivering sustainable results in the country’s digital transformation efforts. According to him, the strategic roadmap and action plan were developed through extensive stakeholder consultations and collaborative engagements, rather than as an internal document produced without external input. Stakeholders, including members of Lagos Business School, actively participated in developing the document, making their continued involvement in reviewing its implementation necessary, he noted. The DG explained that the engagement provided an opportunity to assess progress, determine whether existing priorities remained relevant, identify areas requiring modification and establish whether the initiatives were delivering their intended impact. He emphasised that the review was also necessary to evaluate progress against commitments made to stakeholders and ensure that the agency’s programmes continued to respond to the evolving needs of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. The NITDA DG also acknowledged the contributions of colleagues at the agency, highlighting its gradual transition towards becoming an ecosystem platform for digital innovation. He observed that the agency’s approach was increasingly embracing co-creation and collaboration, moving beyond the traditional model of issuing regulations, directives and guidelines to working with stakeholders in developing and delivering digital solutions. According to him, this approach was essential to building an enabling environment where innovation could thrive and digital initiatives could achieve broader societal and economic impact. Inuwa further noted that the agency had spent the past three years advancing the transition and was approaching the final phase of the process. He urged stakeholders to renew their commitment and sustain the momentum required to achieve the desired outcomes. Reaffirming the agency’s vision, he said the goal remained to make Nigeria a digitally enabled nation, fostering inclusive economic development through technological innovation. He explained that the eight strategic pillars underpinning the roadmap remained central to achieving this vision and would continue to guide the agency’s priorities and interventions. The DG urged stakeholders to critically assess progress across these areas, particularly in digital skills development, regulatory effectiveness, digital infrastructure and services, entrepreneurship, innovation and the growth of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem. He also highlighted the importance of examining progress in implementing the Startup Act and assessing its contribution to strengthening the startup community and promoting innovation-driven enterprise development. On stakeholder engagement, he stressed the need to ensure that relevant players across the digital ecosystem were carried along, noting that effective collaboration remained essential to achieving the objectives of the national digital agenda. He expressed confidence that sustained partnerships, collective commitment and constructive contributions from stakeholders would help the agency address emerging challenges, strengthen implementation and advance Nigeria’s digital development goals. Inuwa concluded by urging stakeholders to embrace the partnership approach and work collectively towards building a digitally enabled Nigeria that could serve as a catalyst for digital transformation across Africa.