The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, has called for coordinated reforms, investment in digital infrastructure and stronger technology talent development to accelerate Nigeria’s economic transformation.
The call was made at a pre-summit dialogue organised on 8 September 2026, ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32), which focused on the theme, “Digital Nigeria: The Foundation for Transformation.”
The virtual dialogue brought together stakeholders from government, technology, data protection, digital innovation and entrepreneurship to examine how digitalisation could improve productivity, create jobs and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness.
Speaking at the event, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Nigeria’s digital transformation must go beyond technology adoption to fundamentally reshape how the country creates value and improves productivity.
Abdullahi said digital self-determination would require Nigeria to make meaningful choices about its digital future while building and deploying technologies that advance national prosperity and security.
He identified digital literacy and talent development as critical foundations of the transformation, noting ongoing efforts to integrate digital skills into formal education, equip civil servants and strengthen technology talent pipelines.
The NITDA chief also stressed the need for enabling policies, improved digital infrastructure and greater access to markets, saying Nigeria’s youthful population, entrepreneurial energy, large domestic market and expanding technology ecosystem give it the potential to become a producer and exporter of digital capabilities.
He called for increased investment in local talent, infrastructure, technology companies, platforms, research and algorithms, as well as measures to ensure that data generated in Nigeria is converted into economic value domestically.
Similarly, the Co-Founder of TradePal AI, Femi Adegolu, called for a simpler and more coordinated regulatory framework to support innovation and participation in the digital economy.
Adegolu, while noting the growth of Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem to more than 400 startups, identified regulatory fragmentation, operational challenges and trust as major constraints.
He advocated a harmonised licensing pathway between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside tiered capital requirements to enable smaller startups to enter the regulated ecosystem.
On enterprise digital transformation, the Founder and CEO of Digital Jewels Limited, Adedoyin Odunfa, urged organisations to focus on the business value of technology rather than adopting technology for its own sake.
She said businesses should establish a clear case for technology investments by identifying the problem to be solved, the opportunity available, organisational capacity and associated risks.
The Managing Director of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) Africa, Ojoma Ochai, said successful startups require a functional ecosystem encompassing viable products, market access, capable teams, investment readiness and regulatory compliance.
Representing the National Commissioner/CEO of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Vincent Olatunji, Ibukunoluwa Owa highlighted efforts to promote innovation while strengthening data protection compliance.
She advocated a whole-of-government regulatory sandbox that would allow businesses to address requirements across multiple regulatory agencies through a coordinated process.
The dialogue underscored the need to treat digital transformation as a broad economic and institutional agenda involving infrastructure, innovation, regulation, data governance, digital skills, enterprise capacity and market access.