The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has outlined Nigeria’s strategy for strengthening digital infrastructure and accelerating economic transformation.
Inuwa disclosed this during a keynote panel session at the Datacloud Global Congress 2026 in Cannes, France, according to a statement made available on Wednesday by NITDA’s spokesperson, Mrs Hadiza Umar.
Inuwa spoke on “The Role of Digital Infrastructure in National Economies,” where global industry leaders examined the impact of digital infrastructure on economic growth, artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, workforce development and national competitiveness.
The session, moderated by IDCA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mehdi Paryavi, featured Ali Amur Al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology at Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, Buddy Rizer, Chief Development Officer at IDCA, and the NITDA Director General.
Speaking at the event, Inuwa described digital infrastructure as a critical driver of economic growth, innovation, competitiveness and national development, stressing that Nigeria is leveraging technology and digitalisation to diversify its economy under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He highlighted the National Cloud Policy as a key component of the country’s digital transformation efforts, noting that it encourages cloud adoption across government institutions while promoting the hosting of government data within Nigeria.
According to him, the policy is designed to strengthen digital sovereignty, improve public service delivery, support the domestic cloud ecosystem and enhance trust in digital systems.
The NITDA boss also disclosed that the Federal Government has established a Technical Working Group comprising industry stakeholders, ecosystem players and hyperscalers to support Nigeria’s sovereign cloud adoption agenda.
He said the group would help develop technical standards, strengthen governance frameworks and attract investments needed to accelerate the growth of trusted cloud infrastructure in the country.
Inuwa stressed the need for increased investment in data centres, cloud infrastructure, broadband connectivity and emerging technologies to unlock Nigeria’s digital economy potential and position the country as a leading digital hub in Africa.
He identified broadband expansion, artificial intelligence development and effective policy implementation as critical factors for driving innovation, scaling digital services and stimulating economic growth.
The NITDA Director General also promoted Nigeria as an attractive destination for digital infrastructure investments, citing its youthful population, growing digital talent pool, vibrant innovation ecosystem and entrepreneurial culture.
He noted that ongoing reforms aimed at creating an enabling business environment are further strengthening the country’s appeal to investors.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to international collaboration, Inuwa said the government would continue to pursue strategic partnerships and investments to accelerate the development of cloud infrastructure, data centres, connectivity, artificial intelligence and digital public infrastructure.
The Datacloud Global Congress brings together policymakers, investors, cloud service providers, hyperscalers, data centre operators and other digital infrastructure stakeholders from around the world to discuss the future of digital infrastructure and investment.
