•Warns against fragmented regulatory frameworks

Nigeria risks remaining largely a consumer rather than a producer of technology unless it urgently deepens investment in local talent, digital infrastructure, indigenous platforms and data-driven innovation, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) members warned at its pre-summit dialogue.

The warning was the crux of discussions at the virtual dialogue organised by NESG in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32).

The dialogue, themed ‘Digital Nigeria: the Foundation for Transformation’, brought together policymakers, regulators, technology entrepreneurs and private-sector leaders to examine how digital transformation could become a driver of productivity, competitiveness, investment and economic opportunity.

Speaking at the event, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Nigeria’s digital transformation must move beyond mere adoption of technology to fundamentally change how the economy creates value.

According to him, the objective should be to build a digital economy capable of improving productivity, strengthening national security and creating wealth from Nigeria’s own talent, data and innovation.

He described digital self-determination as the country’s ability to make meaningful choices about its digital future, arguing that Nigeria must develop the capacity to build, adopt and deploy technologies aligned with its economic and strategic interests.

Abdullahi identified digital literacy and talent development as critical foundations of the transition, noting ongoing efforts to introduce digital skills into formal education, upgrade the capabilities of public servants and strengthen technology talent pipelines.

He said Nigeria’s large youthful population, entrepreneurial culture, domestic market and expanding technology ecosystem provided the country with the ingredients to become a major digital producer.

However, he stressed that this potential would remain largely untapped without substantial investment in local talent, infrastructure, technology companies, digital platforms, research and algorithms.

He also called for policies that would enable Nigeria to derive greater economic value from its data rather than allowing the country’s data resources to fuel value creation predominantly outside the country.

The call for reform was echoed by technology entrepreneurs, who warned that regulatory complexity and fragmented oversight could undermine Nigeria’s ability to compete in the global digital economy.

Co-founder of TradePal AI, Femi Adegolu, said Nigeria’s rapidly expanding fintech ecosystem, which he put at more than 400 startups, continued to face significant barriers arising from regulatory fragmentation, operational friction and weak trust.

He advocated a harmonised licensing framework involving the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), arguing that startups should not be forced to navigate disconnected regulatory processes as they grow.

Adegolu also proposed tiered capital requirements to enable smaller technology companies to enter regulated markets without facing the same financial barriers as larger institutions.

He further called for incentives for data residency to encourage Nigerian businesses to retain more data within the country and convert it into domestic economic value.

For businesses, however, stakeholders cautioned that digital transformation should not become another expensive corporate buzzword.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Digital Jewels Limited, Adedoyin Odunfa, said companies must establish a clear business case before committing resources to technology.