Africa’s journey to economic independence and digital transformation will remain incomplete without strong local computing infrastructure, this was the message from Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), at the 2nd Annual Sustainability Week Africa held in Cape Town, South Africa.
Speaking during a panel session themed Digital Infrastructure for Jobs and Trade in Africa, Inuwa declared that Africa’s “economic destiny rests on its compute capacity,” describing it as the new foundation for digital self-reliance, innovation, and sustainable growth. “In the 21st century, compute power is a key factor of production,” he said. “We cannot continue exporting raw data for others to process and then import the finished products back. Africa must build its own digital engines.”
The NITDA boss highlighted the need for homegrown digital public infrastructure (DPI), systems and frameworks that ensure every African can access technology-enabled services. He explained that DPI operates on two levels: the technical layer, which includes cloud capacity and connectivity; and the functional layer, comprising digital ID, payments, and data exchange systems.
Inuwa pointed to Nigeria’s progress as a model, noting that over 130 million Nigerians have now been enrolled in the national digital identity system. He also revealed that work is ongoing to establish a National Data Exchange Platform and a Centre of Excellence for DPI, a move led by Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy.
According to him, these initiatives are designed to promote interoperability, build capacity, and enable other African countries to adopt digital systems tailored to their realities.
On digital skills, the DG reaffirmed Nigeria’s target of achieving 95% digital literacy by 2030 and 70% by 2027, underlining ongoing partnerships with global organisations like Cisco and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to equip young people, women, and market traders with practical digital skills and AI knowledge. “Technology is not just a sector, it is the backbone of every sector,” he emphasised. “Africa must build its digital circuits and develop local talent to design our future.”
Inuwa called for stronger collaboration among governments, private sector players, and development partners, stressing that Africa’s competitive edge will come from collective innovation and inclusion. “Our advantage lies in our ability to leapfrog, to build together and design technology that serves everyone. When we lay our digital rails, our youth will drive us confidently into the global digital economy,” he concluded.