Africa stands at the edge of a new digital dawn and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) believes that collaboration, inclusion, and innovation will determine how brightly the continent’s light shines in the age of Artificial Intelligence.
At the Hyperscalers Convergence Africa 2025 in Lagos, themed *m“Fostering a Digital Africa: Connectivities, Convergence and Innovation,” NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, painted a clear picture of Africa’s potential and the urgent steps needed to turn that potential into real progress.
Inuwa described Africa’s youth population as its “digital goldmine,” capable of driving the continent’s transformation if given the right tools. “We have one of the youngest populations in the world, energetic, curious, and ambitious. Our mission is to turn that energy into innovation,” he said.
He pointed to the government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme as one of the most ambitious human capacity development projects in Africa, designed to equip young Nigerians with practical skills in technology, data, and AI. “It’s not just a training initiative; it’s a movement to prepare Africa’s youth for a digital-first world,” he added.
Speaking on infrastructure, the NITDA boss revealed that the Federal Government has introduced new mechanisms, such as the PPP Policy on Mediation and the Project Bridge Initiative, to accelerate investment in digital infrastructure and bridge connectivity gaps. These efforts, he noted, are laying the foundation for Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), a connected system that links identity, payments, and data to support future AI-powered innovation.
But beyond infrastructure and policy, Inuwa emphasized Africa’s need to tell its own digital story. “If our AI systems are built solely on data and models from other continents, they won’t truly understand us. Our diversity, languages, and culture must shape the technology we build,” he warned.
Reflecting on history, he reminded the audience of Africa’s limited benefits during the industrial revolutions, despite being a key supplier of raw materials. “This time, we must lead from the front, not as suppliers of raw data, but as creators of intelligent systems built by Africans, for Africa,” he said.
During another session on digital policy and regulation, Inuwa introduced what he called a “dream big, build small” philosophy, an approach that encourages innovators to start local, think global, and design scalable solutions that address real community needs.
He explained that policymaking must evolve alongside innovation. At NITDA, this philosophy has inspired the Intelligent Regulatory Framework, a model that brings stakeholders together to co-create policies that are inclusive, data-driven, and adaptable to change.
Citing the collaborative process behind Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, he said, “We didn’t write this strategy in isolation. We brought together AI experts, developers, academia, and civil society. Because when you build together, you build stronger.”
Inuwa concluded with a call to action: for African nations to bridge divides, share knowledge, and work as one digital ecosystem.
“The world is moving fast, but Africa doesn’t have to play catch-up,” he said. “With unity, innovation, and inclusion, we can lead the next chapter of global digital transformation.”
