The Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, has urged government and stakeholders to treat digital transformation as a broad economic and institutional agenda, not just a technology rollout.
The advice came to the fore on Tuesday at a dialogue convened by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32), examining the role of digital transformation in driving Nigeria’s economic development and competitiveness.
The virtual dialogue with the theme, “Digital Nigeria: The Foundation for Transformation,” brought together leaders and stakeholders from government, technology, data protection, digital innovation and entrepreneurship to explore how Nigeria can harness digitalisation to improve productivity, create economic opportunities and build a more inclusive and competitive economy.
At the dialogue, participants said progress will depend on seven areas: infrastructure, innovation, regulatory reform, data governance, enterprise capability, digital skills, and access to markets.
They emphasized that meaningful transformation will require sustained collaboration between government, the private sector, innovators, regulators and other stakeholders.
The NESG warned that without alignment on policy and investment, Nigeria risks deploying digital tools without the ecosystem to deliver jobs, productivity and inclusion.
In his keynote address, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Nigeria’s digital transformation must go beyond technology adoption to fundamentally change how the country creates value and improves productivity.
He described digital self-determination as the capacity to make meaningful choices about Nigeria’s digital future and stressed the importance of building, adopting and deploying technologies that advance national prosperity and security.
He identified digital literacy and talent development as critical foundations, highlighting ongoing efforts to integrate digital skills into formal education, equip civil servants and strengthen technology talent pipelines.
Abdullahi also emphasised the importance of enabling policies, digital infrastructure and access to markets in unlocking Nigeria’s technology potential.
With its young population, entrepreneurial energy, large domestic market and growing technology ecosystem, he said Nigeria has the potential to move from being primarily a consumer of technology to becoming a producer, builder and exporter of digital capabilities.
He stressed the need for greater investment in local talent, infrastructure, companies, platforms, research and algorithms, while ensuring that data is transformed into economic value within the country.
Mr. Femi Adegolu, Co-Founder of TradePal AI, called for a simpler and more coordinated regulatory environment to support innovation and participation in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Noting the significant growth of the country’s fintech ecosystem, with more than 400 fintech startups, he identified regulatory fragmentation, operational friction and trust as key constraints.
He advocated a harmonised licensing pathway across the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), alongside tiered capital requirements that would enable smaller startups to enter the regulated ecosystem and incentives for data residency that would encourage the retention of Nigerian data and its economic value within the country.
Speaking on enterprise readiness for digital transformation, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa, Founder and CEO of Digital Jewels Limited, said organisations must focus on the business value of technology rather than technology adoption for its own sake.
She stressed the importance of establishing a clear business case before investing in technology, including defining the problem to be solved, the opportunity to be captured, the organisation’s capacity to deliver and the associated risks.
She also called for technology platforms to have appropriate controls embedded from the outset, alongside stronger organisational capabilities in cybersecurity, risk management, compliance and artificial intelligence.
Ms. Ojoma Ochai, Managing Director of Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) Africa, noted that the success of innovators and startups depends on a functioning ecosystem rather than any single intervention.
She identified five critical pillars in the journey from idea to successful startup: a viable product that solves a meaningful problem; effective distribution and market access; a capable team with technical, commercial, organisational and sector-specific expertise; investment readiness supported by a sustainable business model and proper documentation; and compliance with requirements relating to data protection, taxation, legal structures and sector-specific licensing.
She stressed that these elements must work together with the necessary skills, infrastructure and stakeholder support to translate innovative ideas into sustainable businesses.
Ibukunoluwa Owa, who represented the National Commissioner/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, highlighted the Commission’s efforts to promote innovation while strengthening data protection compliance.
She referenced the Commission’s 2020–2027 Roadmap and Action Plan and its experience working with innovators through an informal regulatory sandbox to help them understand and meet data protection requirements.
According to her, the initiative contributed to the development of safer products and demonstrated the value of early regulatory engagement.
She noted that the approach could be formalised through a whole-of-government regulatory sandbox, enabling businesses to address requirements across multiple regulatory agencies through a more coordinated process.
Owa identified transparency, accountability, effective redress mechanisms and public awareness as key pillars for building digital trust among government, citizens, businesses and regulators.
She highlighted the Commission’s efforts to strengthen enforcement and complaint resolution, including the development of the Standard Rules to Address Grievance (SNAG), an innovative platform designed to enable individuals to report data protection violations and seek remedies without necessarily requiring legal representation.
She explained that the system would track complaints and provide organisations with a defined timeframe to respond, while allowing the Commission to intervene where complaints are not adequately addressed.
She noted that sustained enforcement, awareness and institutionalisation of data protection practices would, over time, strengthen trust and make responsible data protection an integral part of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
The pre-summit dialogue is part of NESG’s broader stakeholder engagement ahead of NES#32 and contributes to the ongoing conversation on the reforms, partnerships and investments required to unlock sustainable economic growth and productivity in Nigeria.
