FG digital reforms targeting 95% digital literacy by 2030 – NITDA DG – The Witness Nigeria

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has said the Federal Government is stepping up efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy through investments in technology skills, innovation financing, broadband infrastructure and emerging technologies.

Speaking at the Global Tech Africa event in Kano, themed “Connecting Africa, Accelerating Growth,” Inuwa outlined the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plans to build local technological capacity, strengthen the innovation ecosystem and position Nigeria as a leading digital hub in Africa.

He said developing human capital remained central to the government’s digital transformation agenda, noting that Nigerians must acquire the skills needed to take advantage of opportunities in an economy increasingly shaped by technology.

According to him “Key initiatives include the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, which aims to build a skilled technology workforce, and the Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) initiative, designed to equip citizens with the basic digital skills required to participate in the digital economy.

“The government is also working to introduce digital skills into the formal education system, from kindergarten to tertiary institutions, to prepare young Nigerians to develop homegrown technology solutions and compete in the global market.

“Through DL4ALL, the Federal Government is targeting 95 per cent digital literacy by 2030, with the aim of ensuring that people across different communities and economic sectors can access and make effective use of digital services,” he said,

Inuwa stressed that digital transformation should go beyond internet access and smartphone ownership. He said the focus must be on turning connectivity and digital literacy into practical technology adoption, improved productivity and economic prosperity.

He explained that businesses, traders and individuals should be able to use technology to reduce operating costs, improve efficiency, reach new markets and create more economic value.

On startup financing, Inuwa disclosed that NITDA was collaborating with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to establish six funds aimed at supporting startups developing innovative solutions.

He also identified the Bank of Industry and other development finance institutions as important sources of funding for entrepreneurs seeking to develop and expand their businesses.

However, he called for greater private-sector participation, warning that government funding alone would not be sufficient to sustain Nigeria’s growing innovation ecosystem.

“Private investors can provide not only capital but also equity partnerships, corporate governance, business expertise and leadership to help startups grow,” he explained.

Inuwa said the government’s digital infrastructure agenda also included an ambitious broadband expansion programme designed to extend fibre-optic connectivity across all 774 Local Government Areas, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

He noted that expanding internet access must be matched with investments in domestic computing infrastructure to ensure Nigeria has the capacity to process and store the increasing volume of data generated within the country.

This, he explained, informed NITDA’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative, which seeks to strengthen local computing capacity, promote digital sovereignty and ensure that Nigerian data can be securely processed and stored within the country.

Describing data centres as the refineries of the digital economy, Inuwa said they provide the computing power needed to transform raw data into valuable information, products and services.

He maintained that Nigeria must build the capacity to own and control these critical digital assets to reduce reliance on foreign computing infrastructure and establish the country as a computing hub for West and Central Africa.

On artificial intelligence, the NITDA DG expressed concern over Africa’s limited contribution to the data used in training AI models, noting that the continent accounts for less than two per cent of such data.

He called for increased local participation in developing Large Language Models (LLMs) and other AI solutions capable of reflecting Nigeria’s languages, cultures and socioeconomic realities.

He noted that greater involvement in AI development would help ensure that African perspectives are adequately represented in technologies that are increasingly influencing global economic activities.

Inuwa also highlighted Kano’s commercial history, calling for renewed efforts to restore the state’s position as a major trading centre for the Sahel region through digital technology, modern commerce and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

He observed that e-commerce and changing business models had transformed traditional trading activities, allowing customers in neighbouring countries to purchase goods online without travelling to Kano.

Despite the changes, he said the city still had significant opportunities to regain its commercial influence by using digital platforms to connect markets in North Africa and the Middle East with businesses and consumers across sub-Saharan Africa.