News Highlights:
- NITDA inaugurated a Technical Working Group to eliminate regulatory bottlenecks and create a coordinated national sandbox framework for emerging technologies.
- The new regulatory sandbox will allow startups to test innovations such as AI, fintech, blockchain, and health tech under multi-agency supervision.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has stepped up efforts to remove regulatory bottlenecks that are slowing innovation in Nigeria’s digital economy by inaugurating a Technical Working Group (TWG) to deepen inter-agency collaboration and advance a coordinated national sandbox framework.
The initiative is expected to create a more agile regulatory environment where startups and innovators can test emerging technologies under the supervision of relevant authorities before full market deployment.
Speaking at the inauguration, Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Barrister Emmanuel Edet, said the growing complexity of digital technologies has made stronger institutional alignment among regulators imperative.
According to him, members of the Technical Working Group were carefully selected based on their institutional relevance and ability to provide practical solutions suited to the realities of Nigeria’s evolving digital ecosystem.
While acknowledging that regulatory agencies have clearly defined statutory mandates, Inuwa noted that isolated regulatory operations are increasingly proving inadequate in managing fast-evolving digital innovations.
“As government institutions, our core responsibility is to provide solutions to the challenges faced by Nigerians. The issue is not a lack of commitment, but a structural one. Regulators often operate in silos while implementing their mandates, and in today’s digital environment, that model presents significant limitations,” he said.
He observed that the rapid growth of the digital economy continues to outpace traditional regulatory systems, creating gaps that can unintentionally delay the deployment of innovative solutions capable of improving livelihoods and driving national development.
To bridge these gaps, Inuwa said NITDA is championing a multi-agency regulatory framework designed to bring regulators together, improve understanding of overlapping mandates, and collectively develop adaptive mechanisms that encourage innovation while maintaining effective oversight.
A major pillar of the strategy, he explained, is the use of regulatory sandboxes—controlled environments where innovators can safely test emerging technologies and products under regulatory guidance.
“Our guiding principle is that we learn by doing. Through these sandboxes, regulators can contribute to building safe spaces where innovation can be nurtured, tested, and scaled for the benefit of Nigerians,” he added.
He stressed that the initiative is not intended to weaken or override the statutory powers of any agency, but rather to improve coordination and build a more responsive regulatory system capable of keeping pace with technological advancement.
According to the NITDA boss, stronger collaboration among regulators will be critical to helping Nigeria remain competitive in the global digital economy while harnessing innovation as a driver of inclusive economic growth and national prosperity.
Inuwa also expressed confidence that the Technical Working Group would serve as a strategic platform for developing forward-looking regulatory solutions and advancing NITDA’s broader vision of positioning the agency as an ecosystem orchestrator for digital transformation and sustainable development.
Providing further insight into the National Regulatory Sandbox initiative, the National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Victoria Fabunmi, described the framework as a structured, legal, and multi-agency system that allows innovators to test emerging technologies under regulatory supervision before receiving full market approval.
Fabunmi noted that despite rapid advancements in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, fintech, health technology, and blockchain, innovators still face significant challenges stemming from siloed regulations, fragmented approval processes, and the absence of coordinated testing mechanisms.
She explained that although Nigeria’s digital economy has continued to expand rapidly, the lack of harmonised regulatory engagement has often delayed innovation and increased uncertainty for startups and technology-driven businesses.
Describing the National Regulatory Sandbox as more than just a digital platform, Fabunmi said it is fundamentally a governance and legal framework designed to create an enabling environment where innovation can thrive responsibly.
Unlike traditional sandbox models that focus mainly on financial services, she said Nigeria’s framework is intentionally sector-agnostic, enabling regulators across sectors such as agriculture, digital health, mobility, clean energy, and digital public infrastructure to collaborate in supporting innovation.
Under the arrangement, startups and innovators will be able to engage multiple regulators simultaneously within a controlled testing environment, helping to reduce bureaucratic delays and shorten time-to-market for emerging technologies.
Fabunmi added that the sandbox would also provide shared, evidence-based regulatory insights that would enable participating agencies to make collective decisions and formulate adaptive policies that support responsible innovation.
The inauguration of the Technical Working Group represents another significant milestone in NITDA’s push to build a more collaborative and innovation-friendly regulatory ecosystem aligned with Nigeria’s ambition of becoming one of Africa’s leading digital economies.
