By Saminu Ibrahim
Technology companies, government policymakers, investors and startups on Wednesday converged on Lagos as the second edition of GITEX Nigeria opened with a call for greater investment in innovation, digital infrastructure and homegrown technology.
The two-day Tech Expo and Future Economy Conference, holding from September 2 to 3, followed Monday’s Government Leadership and AI Summit in Abuja and brought together key players in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem and the wider African digital economy.
The event was held under the patronage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and supported by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
It is endorsed by the Lagos State Government and organised by KAOUN International, global organiser of GITEX events.
Speaking at the inauguration, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, said the choice of Lagos for the event reflected the city’s growing influence in Africa’s technology ecosystem.
Hamzat said Lagos was determined to consolidate its position as a leading innovation hub on the continent.
“GITEX NIGERIA is here because Lagos is consequential. What happens in this city sets the direction for a continent of around 1.4 billion people,” he said.
He added that the state’s ambition was to be recognised not only as Nigeria’s commercial capital but also as “Africa’s innovation capital”, stressing that such a position must be earned through infrastructure, talent, policy and effective execution.
Lagos was ranked the world’s fastest-growing tech hub in the 2025 Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem Index, recording an 11.6-fold increase in enterprise value to $15.3 billion and producing five unicorns.
The city is home to almost 1,000 active startups, representing about two-thirds of Nigeria’s startup ecosystem.
Also speaking, Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, Wamkele Mene, called for the development of digital infrastructure capable of connecting African innovation to markets across the continent.
Mene said Africa possessed the talent and technical expertise needed to develop digital systems that addressed its own development and integration priorities.
“We possess the talent, innovation, and technical expertise required to shape our own digital transformation and ensure that it serves our integration and development objectives,” he said.
He urged African countries to build a single digital continental market where businesses could operate, transact and expand across borders, thereby converting digital innovation into commercially meaningful trade.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said Nigeria must become an active builder of technology rather than remain a consumer of imported solutions.
According to him, the country needed to create an enabling environment for young Nigerians to develop innovative solutions to local and global challenges.
“We don’t want to be at the receiving end of technology; we want to be an active builder of the technology,” Inuwa said, identifying data, cloud, operational and artificial intelligence sovereignty as key priorities.
The inauguration also spotlighted Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen digital identity, interoperability, data protection and cybersecurity following the signing of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 by President Tinubu in June.
The new legislation replaced the 2007 law and provides an updated framework for secure and inclusive digital identity, with the National Identification Number (NIN) reinforced as Nigeria’s primary identity credential.
NIMC Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, stressed the importance of digital trust in enabling seamless transactions and cross-border trade.
She said digital identity, public key infrastructure-based trust and digital public infrastructure were critical components of a secure digital ecosystem.
Meanwhile, more than 400 exhibiting companies and startups are showcasing technologies and solutions aimed at driving transformation across different sectors of the economy.
The exhibition has also attracted thousands of visitors and more than 200 investors managing about $200 billion in assets.
CEO of GITEX, Trixie LohMirmand, said the event was designed to create international connections and opportunities for Nigerian and African innovators to take their technologies to the global market.
She said Nigeria had the scale while Lagos had the ambition and energy needed to position Africa competitively in the global artificial intelligence economy.
LohMirmand said GITEX Nigeria sought to ensure that Africa was not merely a consumer of AI but emerged as a globally competitive producer of the technology.
Tighten the opening for impact
Clarify the event timeline
Reduce repetitive technology references
