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Nigeria has produced five of Africa’s nine tech unicorns, and Lagos, now hosting GITEX NIGERIA 2025 for the first time, has been described as the continent’s technology capital.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), stated that the event is a turning point in Nigeria’s role in building the “future economy.”
He expatiated that Lagos is not just the nation’s commercial hub but also a global crucible of innovation, where limited infrastructure has never stopped startups from scaling into billion-dollar companies.
“This is a declaration that Nigeria is ready to lead the future economy. We have shown resilience where others relied on capital and infrastructure. We turned necessity into opportunity.”
He credited government policy decisions, such as the cashless initiative first piloted in Lagos in 2012, as a catalyst for the explosion of fintech innovation. That move, he said, created the gaps Nigerian startups rushed to fill, driving the country’s distinction in Africa’s fintech sector.
Abdullahi noted that while fintech has been Nigeria’s “rocket fuel,” the nation’s goals are not limited to financial services. He pointed to opportunities in agriculture, healthcare, and security as the next frontiers, stressing that with the right opportunities, Nigerian talent can compete with any city or nation worldwide.
GITEX NIGERIA 2025, organised under the patronage of the Federal Government and in partnership with the Lagos State Government, is designed to showcase those opportunities. Abdullahi revealed that Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had first envisioned bringing GITEX to Lagos after being impressed by its scale in Morocco two years ago.
“Today, that challenge has become a reality,” he said. “We are not waiting for the future to happen, we are building it here in Lagos.”
He also urged global investors and innovators to take part in Nigeria’s transformation. “We have done it in fintech. We will do it in agriculture, in health, in security. Whether with you or without you, this journey will continue. But this is your opportunity to be part of it.”
This obvious blend of ambition, resilience, and youthful innovation in Lagos shows its becoming the engine of Nigeria’s economy and the epicentre of Africa’s digital future.