Nigeria and Cabo Verde have launched the first Digital Africa Corridor (DAC), an initiative designed to strengthen digital, business, and innovation ties between African nations.
The corridor, convened by SheCode.ai and facilitated in Nigeria by Kryterion Limited, officially commenced with a high-level roundtable in Abuja recently.
According to the statement, the event, co-hosted with Cabo Verde’s Ministry of Digital Economy, brought together 35 leaders from government, private sector, investors, and innovators to chart pathways in artificial intelligence (AI), youth empowerment, and bilateral cooperation.
A highlight of the launch was the signing of an endorsement letter by Cabo Verde’s Ministry of Digital Economy, formally recognising SheCode.ai’s flagship initiative, Code the Future – Cabo Verde Rising.
The programme will equip over 500 secondary schoolgirls across three islands with coding, AI, and digital innovation skills. It will also provide Portuguese-language STEM toolkits, teacher training, and culminate in a national youth showcase.
Cabo Verde’s Secretary of State for Digital Economy, Pedro Nuno Alves Fernandes Lopes, tasked SheCode.ai and Kryterion Limited to lead a Nigeria–Cabo Verde Business & Innovation Mission to Praia in the last quarter of 2025. The mission is expected to bring together 20 to 25 Nigerian businesses and ecosystem leaders to develop partnerships across key sectors, including digital economy, creative industries, renewable energy, tourism, education, job creation, and climate action.
Speaking at the event, Lopes emphasised Africa’s capacity to shape its digital trajectory.
Co-founder and CEO, SheCode.ai, Christiana Onoja, said the initiative was proof that innovation diplomacy could deliver tangible results.
CEO, Kryterion Limited, Col. Felix Alaita (rtd), underscored Nigeria’s central role in driving the agenda, saying: “Nigeria has a unique role to play as a facilitator of innovation diplomacy in Africa. This pilot corridor shows that when governments, innovators, and the private sector collaborate, the result is not talk, but programs and partnerships.”
