By Johnson Emmanuel
Nigeria is set to use the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) in New York to showcase its digital infrastructure investment story, placing connectivity, artificial intelligence and digital skills at the centre of its international economic engagement.
DEVELOPMENT:
The Nigeria Digital Economy @UNGA81 side event is scheduled for Monday, September 21, 2026, and will feature a fireside chat with Sam Darwish and Mohamad Darwish, Co-Founders of IHS Towers, on the development and evolution of digital infrastructure investment in Nigeria.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, announced the session as part of a broader programme examining the technologies and capabilities shaping Nigeria’s connected economy.
The programme will bring together discussions and panels covering digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and digital skills, with emphasis on their contribution to Nigeria’s digital transformation and broader economic opportunities.
DATA:
The event puts three interconnected components of the digital economy under focus: infrastructure, artificial intelligence and skills.
The participation of IHS Towers co-founders Sam Darwish and Mohamad Darwish adds an investment dimension to the discussion, particularly around the infrastructure required to support connectivity and digital services.
The session also provides Nigeria with an international platform to present its digital-economy priorities to global stakeholders and potential investors.
SIGNIFICANCE:
Digital infrastructure increasingly functions as economic infrastructure. Telecommunications towers, broadband networks, data systems, cloud capacity and other digital assets provide the foundation for financial technology, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, digital public services and digitally enabled businesses.
For investors, the key question is whether Nigeria can translate its digital-economy ambitions into investable infrastructure opportunities supported by predictable regulation, adequate financing and sufficient technical capacity.
The UNGA platform also places Nigeria’s digital-economy agenda before an international audience at a time when competition for technology investment is intensifying.
NEXT MOVE:
Attention should shift from the UNGA discussions to concrete investment opportunities, policy commitments and partnerships emerging from the engagement.
Investors will also be watching developments around digital infrastructure financing, broadband expansion, AI deployment, data infrastructure and the skills pipeline required to support a larger digital economy.
OUR LENS:
Nigeria is positioning digital infrastructure as more than a communications-sector issue. The inclusion of infrastructure, artificial intelligence and digital skills in one international investment conversation suggests an attempt to frame the digital economy as a broader platform for productivity, innovation and economic participation.
The presence of Sam Darwish and Mohamad Darwish of IHS Towers is particularly relevant because it connects Nigeria’s policy narrative with the experience of a major infrastructure investor operating within the country.
The central issue after UNGA81 will be whether Nigeria can convert international visibility into capital, infrastructure deployment and measurable digital-economy outcomes.
Johnson Emmanuel is a journalist, covering business, economic affairs and issues of significance to Nigeria’s corporate and public sectors.
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