By Ayo Susan
The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), working with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, is pushing for a more coordinated digital reform agenda as Nigeria seeks to use technology to raise productivity, expand economic participation and strengthen competitiveness.
The call came at a pre-summit dialogue held on September 8, 2026, ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32), themed ‘Digital Nigeria: The Foundation for Transformation.’
The central message from the dialogue was that Nigeria’s digital transformation cannot be delivered through technology adoption alone. It requires coordinated action across infrastructure, regulation, skills, data governance, enterprise capacity, investment and market access.
DEVELOPMENT:
The virtual dialogue brought together stakeholders from government, technology, data protection, digital innovation and entrepreneurship to examine how digitalisation can translate into measurable economic outcomes.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General (DG) and Chief Executive Officer, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said that digital transformation must fundamentally change how Nigeria creates value and improves productivity.
He also said that digital self-determination requires Nigeria to make meaningful choices about its digital future while building and deploying technologies that advance national prosperity and security.
Abdullahi identified digital literacy and talent development as critical foundations, pointing to efforts to integrate digital skills into formal education, equip civil servants and strengthen technology talent pipelines.
He also called for greater investment in local talent, infrastructure, technology companies, platforms, research and algorithms, alongside measures to ensure that data generated in Nigeria is converted into economic value domestically.
Femi Adegolu, Co-Founder, TradePal AI, called for a simpler and more coordinated regulatory framework to support innovation and participation in the digital economy.
Adegolu said that Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem had grown to more than 400 startups but continued to face regulatory fragmentation, operational constraints and trust challenges.
He advocated a harmonised licensing pathway between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside tiered capital requirements that would allow smaller startups to enter the regulated ecosystem.
Adedoyin Odunfa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Digital Jewels Limited, said that businesses should focus on the economic value of technology rather than technology adoption for its own sake.
She urged organisations to establish a clear investment case by identifying the problem to be solved, the opportunity available, organisational capacity and associated risks.
Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director, Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) Africa, said that successful startups require an ecosystem combining viable products, market access, capable teams, investment readiness and regulatory compliance.
Representing Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Ibukunoluwa Owa highlighted efforts to promote innovation while strengthening data-protection compliance.
She advocated a whole-of-government regulatory sandbox through which businesses could address requirements across multiple regulatory agencies through a coordinated process.
NUMBERS:
The most specific market indicator from the dialogue is Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem, which Adegolu put at more than 400 startups.
But the broader numbers story is still missing. The dialogue did not disclose a specific investment target, productivity gain, number of jobs to be created or capital requirement attached to the proposed digital reforms.
That makes implementation the more important metric.
The relevant indicators will ultimately be how much digital infrastructure is deployed, how many people acquire marketable digital skills, how much private capital enters technology businesses and infrastructure, how quickly businesses can navigate regulation and how much economic value is generated from data produced within Nigeria.
SIGNIFICANCE:
The significance is that digital transformation is increasingly being treated as an economic infrastructure issue rather than a technology-sector issue.
For investors, fragmented regulation can raise entry costs and delay commercialisation. A more coordinated regulatory architecture could reduce that friction and improve the investability of emerging technology businesses.
For government, the issue is equally structural. Nigeria’s large domestic market and youthful population provide demand, but demand alone does not create globally competitive digital businesses. Infrastructure, skills, capital, intellectual property, data and market access have to operate as one ecosystem.
The emphasis on domestic value creation from Nigerian-generated data also points to a larger economic question: whether Nigeria will merely consume digital services developed elsewhere or build the infrastructure, companies and capabilities to capture more of the value created from its own digital economy.
NEXT MOVE:
The next test is whether the consensus emerging from the dialogue translates into specific reforms and investable opportunities ahead of NES#32.
Key areas to watch include coordination between digital-sector regulators, progress towards a whole-of-government regulatory sandbox, reforms to licensing and capital requirements, investment in broadband and other digital infrastructure, and expansion of digital-skills programmes.
The market should also watch whether government policy creates clearer demand for Nigerian technology companies and whether local data can increasingly be monetised within the domestic economy.
For technology investors, the critical question will be whether regulatory and infrastructure reforms reduce the cost and uncertainty of building and scaling digital businesses in Nigeria.
OUR LENS:
The deeper signal is that Nigeria’s digital challenge is no longer primarily about adopting technology. It is about building an economic system capable of producing value from technology.
The various interventions raised at the dialogue point to the same constraint from different directions. NITDA is focused on skills, infrastructure and digital self-determination. Industry is seeking simpler regulation and access to capital. Enterprises want clearer returns from technology investment. The startup ecosystem needs markets and investment readiness. Data regulators are trying to balance innovation with protection. These are not separate problems.
A startup cannot scale without infrastructure and capital. Infrastructure does not generate sufficient returns without demand. AI and digital services require data and computing capacity. Skilled talent needs companies and markets in which to deploy its capabilities. Investors need regulatory certainty before committing long-term capital.
Nigeria’s opportunity, therefore, lies in connecting these pieces.
The real measure of digital transformation will not be the number of policies, platforms or startups created. It will be whether the reforms lower the cost of doing business, raise productivity, create scalable Nigerian technology companies and enable more of the economic value generated by Nigeria’s digital economy to remain within Nigeria.
Ayo Susan is a journalist, covering business, society and emerging developments with an emphasis on credible and engaging storytelling.
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