The Federal Government has set a target of achieving 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030, while expanding broadband infrastructure, developing indigenous technology talent and strengthening local computing capacity to accelerate Nigeria’s digital economy.

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed this at the Global Tech Africa event in Kano, themed “Connecting Africa, Accelerating Growth.”

Inuwa said the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was advancing the digital economy through strategic investments in digital skills development, technology talent creation, innovation financing, broadband connectivity and emerging technologies.

He said the government’s strategy recognises human capital as a critical foundation for economic transformation, citing the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and the Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) initiative as key interventions to prepare Nigerians for opportunities in the technology-driven economy.

He said the government is also integrating digital skills into formal education, from kindergarten to tertiary institutions, to equip young Nigerians to develop indigenous solutions and compete in the global technology market.

The NITDA DG, however, stressed that digital transformation must go beyond providing internet access and smartphones to ensuring that connectivity translates into productivity and economic value.

“Technology should enable citizens, businesses and traders to improve efficiency, reduce operational costs, expand markets and generate economic value,” he said.

Inuwa, while speaking on innovation financing, disclosed that NITDA, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), was working towards establishing six funds to support startups developing innovative solutions.

He identified the Bank of Industry and other development finance institutions as key funding sources for entrepreneurs, while calling for greater private-sector participation in financing innovation.

“Private investors can provide not only capital but also equity partnerships, corporate governance, business expertise and leadership to help startups grow,” he explained.

On digital infrastructure, Inuwa said the Federal Government was pursuing plans to extend fibre-optic infrastructure across all 774 local government areas, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He said the broadband expansion agenda must be complemented by adequate domestic computing capacity, noting that this informed NITDA’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative, designed to strengthen Nigeria’s computing infrastructure, promote digital sovereignty and ensure that data generated within the country could be securely processed and stored locally.

Describing data centres as “the refineries of the digital economy,” Inuwa said they provide the computing capacity required to transform raw data into valuable insights, products and services.

He maintained that Nigeria must develop the capacity to own and control these critical digital assets to reduce dependence on foreign computing infrastructure and position the country as the computing hub for West and Central Africa.

On artificial intelligence (AI), the NITDA boss expressed concern that Africa accounts for less than two per cent of the data used to train AI models, warning that the continent risked inadequate representation in emerging technologies.

He called for increased local participation in the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI solutions that reflect Nigeria’s languages, cultures and socioeconomic realities.

Inuwa also urged Kano to leverage digital technology, modern trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to reclaim its historic position as a major commercial centre for the Sahel region.

He observed that e-commerce and changing business models had disrupted traditional trading patterns, allowing customers in neighbouring countries to purchase goods online without travelling to Kano.

However, he said the city retained significant opportunities to strengthen its commercial influence by using digital platforms to connect North Africa and the Middle East with sub-Saharan Africa.