News Highlights:
- NITDA says strong digital infrastructure and stable regulations are essential for attracting local and foreign investment into Africa’s startup ecosystem.
- The agency highlighted initiatives such as the Nigeria Startup Act and the 3MTT programme as key drivers of innovation, investor confidence, and tech talent development.
As conversations around Africa’s tech future continue to evolve, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has stressed that the continent’s startup ecosystem cannot attract sustainable investment without a solid digital backbone.
The agency made this known on Friday, during the Africa Fintech Foundry Ecosystem Roundtable 7.0, a virtual forum themed “The Capital Reset: What Technologies Are Still Fundable in Africa?” where stakeholders examined the changing realities of startup funding across the continent.
Representing the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, the Special Assistant on Digital Transformation, Muhammad Aminu, noted that investors are now prioritising startup ecosystems backed by resilient digital infrastructure and stable regulatory environments.
According to him, the future of innovation funding in Africa will depend largely on how well countries build and sustain digital systems that enable businesses to scale efficiently and operate with confidence.
He explained that digital infrastructure extends beyond internet connectivity, describing it as a broad ecosystem that includes cloud computing platforms, digital identity systems, payment rails, data exchange mechanisms, interoperability standards, cybersecurity frameworks, and emerging artificial intelligence technologies.
Aminu maintained that these foundational technologies are critical to improving investor confidence, accelerating innovation, and strengthening the competitiveness of Nigerian startups in the global digital economy.
He noted that, “These foundational systems significantly lower operational barriers for startups, enabling founders to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and scaling, rather than having to build essential infrastructure independently.”
From an investment standpoint, Aminu observed that robust digital infrastructure reduces uncertainty, lowers operational risk, enhances scalability, and considerably cuts the cost of expansion, thereby making startups more attractive to both local and international investors.
Highlighting several ongoing government initiatives aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, Aminu listed sovereign cloud projects, data interoperability frameworks, cloud adoption policies, cybersecurity and data governance reforms, as well as the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act, as some of these initiatives.
In addition, he stressed that regulatory clarity and consistency in policy direction remain critical in attracting sustained investment into the technology sector.
Aminu also noted that NITDA is giving priority to human capital development through the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, describing skilled manpower as a vital component of digital infrastructure.
He stated that a strong, well‑structured digital infrastructure framework not only lowers the cost of innovation but also boosts investor confidence and supports the long‑term growth and expansion of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem.
