Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, has urged the Federal Government to prioritise support for businesses over protectionist policies, saying the approach would improve productivity, promote innovation and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness.

Rewane, who spoke at the Tech Outlook 2027 organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Sath Foundation in Lagos yesterday, said government policies should focus on enabling businesses to become more productive rather than shielding them from competition.

“The government’s role is not just to protect, but to support. When you try to protect, you actually protect inefficiency. But if you support, you enhance productivity,” he said.

He called for a policy shift towards supporting enterprise development, enhancing productivity and encouraging stronger linkages across economic sectors.

According to him, Nigeria’s economic growth prospects depend partly on the ability of businesses to collaborate across industries, expand their markets and compete effectively beyond the domestic economy.

Rewane said businesses were increasingly focused on growth and profitability, while more entrepreneurs and investors were beginning to recognise the importance of expanding beyond Nigeria into West and Central Africa.

“Being a local champion in Nigeria is not going to do it for you. You’ve got to actually focus on regional integration and being competitive amongst your peers,” he said.

He cited the Dangote Refinery and fertiliser plant as examples of investments whose significance extends beyond Nigeria, arguing that their impact should be assessed within a broader African economic context.

“The Dangote refinery is not a Nigerian IPO, it’s an African IPO. The fertiliser plant is not a Nigerian initiative, it’s African,” he said.

The economist maintained that businesses capable of establishing strong positions across African markets would be better placed to compete globally. “Once you can excel in Africa, you excel globally,” he added.

On the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), Rewane said Nigeria was ready to embrace technologies that could improve productivity and strengthen its competitive position, despite existing economic and infrastructural challenges.

Responding to concerns about the country’s readiness for widespread AI adoption, particularly in view of electricity supply and other technological constraints, he said Nigeria should remain open to innovations that could enhance its economic prospects.

“Nigeria is ready for anything, right? Anything that will make us competitive, Nigeria is ready for that,” he said.

However, Rewane warned that the adoption of AI without appropriate safeguards could undermine critical thinking and reduce people’s willingness to engage in independent intellectual effort.

He cautioned that excessive or unguarded reliance on the technology could make users mentally lazy and, in some circumstances, prove counterproductive.

Beyond productivity concerns, Rewane highlighted the potential distributional consequences of technological advancement, warning that the benefits of successive technological revolutions were not always shared equally across society.

Earlier, Chairman of Sath Foundation, Charles Onuegbu, called on stakeholders in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem to translate ideas and discussions into practical solutions and businesses capable of driving economic growth.

Onuegbu said the success of the Tech Outlook 2027 would depend on participants’ ability to implement ideas generated during the sessions rather than allowing discussions to end with the event.

He said the organisers were committed to ensuring that deliberations produced measurable outcomes that could be presented at subsequent editions of the gathering.