Nigeria Leads Africa’s Push For Borderless Digital Economy

Nigeria has positioned itself at the forefront of Africa’s drive toward a borderless digital economy with the unveiling of plans for the 2026 RegTech Africa Conference & Expo (RACE 2026), a continental platform aimed at addressing regulatory fragmentation, weak interoperability, and trust deficits that constrain cross-border trade and digital innovation.

Organisers disclosed this on Thursday during a Media Parley held ahead of the conference at the Presidential Villa, which will take place under the patronage of the Office of the Vice President, in partnership with the Presidential Committee on Economic and Financial Inclusion (PreCEFI), and in collaboration with the Inter-Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

Speaking at the briefing, Chairman of the Organising Committee, Cyril Okoroigwe, said the conference is designed to support Africa’s transition from fragmented markets to a connected and trusted economic ecosystem, powered by technology, coordinated regulation and inclusive policy frameworks.

He noted that while the African Continental Free Trade Area promises a $3.4 trillion single market connecting about 1.4 billion people across 54 countries, regulatory inconsistencies and infrastructure gaps continue to limit its full potential.

“At the heart of this conference is Africonomy—the vision of Africa operating as a connected, trusted and innovation-driven marketplace where businesses, people and capital can move seamlessly across borders,” Okoroigwe said.

According to him, RACE 2026 is anchored on the theme “Building Trust, Infrastructure, Inclusion, and Policy for a Borderless Economy,” and seeks to promote regulatory innovation, policy alignment, and the deployment of trusted digital infrastructure, such as interoperable payment systems, digital identity, and secure data frameworks.

He added that the conference would also support financial and digital inclusion for small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, women, youth, and underserved communities, while strengthening collaboration among regulators, governments, technology innovators, financial institutions, and development partners.

“The ultimate goal is to reduce friction in cross-border economic activity while maintaining financial integrity and consumer protection,” he said.

Also speaking at the event, Gina Wood, Acting Principal Officer, Legal/Law Enforcement Officer at the GIABA Secretariat, said West Africa is at a critical moment as countries prepare for the third round of mutual evaluations on anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).

She explained that findings from GIABA’s second round of mutual evaluations revealed the need to move beyond technical compliance to effective implementation of AML/CFT frameworks.

“Our true measure of success lies in effectiveness, ensuring that our laws, institutions and operational frameworks deliver measurable results in combating money laundering and terrorist financing,” Wood said.

She stressed the importance of strong political support, improved coordination, modernised supervision and deeper collaboration between the public and private sectors, including regulators, financial institutions, fintech innovators and telecom operators.

Wood commended the Federal Government of Nigeria for supporting RegTech-driven initiatives and reaffirmed GIABA’s commitment to assisting member states through capacity-building, technical assistance, policy guidance, and regional cooperation.

For Nigeria, organisers said hosting RACE 2026 reinforces the country’s role as a continental hub for policy dialogue, financial innovation and digital economic leadership, while supporting Africa’s broader aspiration for trusted digital markets, improved investment confidence and inclusive growth.

The Media Parley served as the official curtain-raiser for the conference, with organisers calling on the media to amplify the message that Africa’s future prosperity depends on trust, innovation, inclusion and smart policy coordination.