Tech enterprises, government policymakers, investors, and startups converged in Lagos to accelerate West Africa’s ascent in the global intelligence economy, as the second edition of the GITEX NIGERIA opened (2 September) with an inauguration ceremony attended by influential figures from government and industry.
Following Monday’s sell-out Government Leadership & AI Summit in Abuja, West Africa’s largest tech, AI, and startup event transitioned to Nigeria’s financial and economic hub for two days of breakthrough innovation, product showcases, and strategic dialogue.
Held under the patronage of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, GITEX NIGERIA is supported by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Endorsed by the Lagos State Government and organised by KAOUN International, the global organiser of GITEX events, West Africa’s powerhouse tech and AI event opened in Lagos with a high-profile inauguration ceremony before the Tech Expo & Future Economy Conference.
Lagos sets the pace for Africa’s innovation economy
Ranked as the world’s fastest-growing tech hub in the 2025 Dealroom Global Tech Ecosystem Index, Lagos recorded an 11.6-fold increase in enterprise value to US$15.3 billion and produced five unicorns, placing it ahead of 287 cities across 69 countries.
Home to almost 1,000 active startups – around two-thirds of Nigeria’s nationwide ecosystem – Lagos is also Africa’s highest-ranked startup hub and hosts 23 of the 28 Nigerian businesses featured in the Financial Times’ 2025 ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies.
While commending the state’s success in consolidating its position as Nigeria’s leading tech and startup hub, H.E. Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, stated: “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. That’s exactly why the conversation about Africa’s future economy belongs here in Lagos. The ambition of the Lagos State Government is very clear: we want Lagos recognised not only as Nigeria’s commercial capital, but as Africa’s innovation capital. A position like that cannot be declared; it has to be earned through infrastructure, talent, policy, and execution.”
Accelerating Africa into a single digital continental market
Highlighting the importance of building interoperable digital infrastructure that connects African innovation with commercial opportunities across the continent, H.E. Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, stated: “Africa should not simply import digital infrastructure systems developed for other countries outside of the continent. 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. We must act now; we can connect Africa’s innovation to a single digital continental market in which the African private sector can operate, transact, and expand across borders, converting digital innovation into commercially meaningful trade.”
Nigeria advances its ambition to build, innovate, and lead
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),emphasised Nigeria’s ambition to empower homegrown innovation, advance digital sovereignty, and become an active builder of technology, stating: “As a nation, we need to be intentional if we want to be an active participant in this economy. We also have real-world problems that need innovative solutions. Therefore, we need to create the enabling environment for our young, talented people to innovate and create the digital offerings for the future economy. We are looking at our data sovereignty, our cloud sovereignty, our operational sovereignty, and our AI sovereignty. We don’t want to be at the receiving end of technology; we want to be an active builder of the technology.”
Strengthening interoperability, data protection, cybersecurity
The inauguration also highlighted President Tinubu’s signing of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Act 2026 in June, replacing the 2007 legislation with a modern framework for secure and inclusive digital identity. Reinforcing the National Identification Number (NIN) as Nigeria’s primary identity credential, the Act aims to strengthen interoperability, data protection, cybersecurity, and access to public and private-sector services.
Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director-General and CEO of the National Identity Management Commission, stressed the indispensable value of digital trust, stating: “Connection without trust breeds vulnerability. When trust is embedded into the framework, onboarding becomes effortless, paperwork vanishes, and cross-border trade accelerates. The African Continental Free Trade Area promises the world’s largest integrated market, but trade today goes through digital channels. Contracts must be signed, credentials verified, and payments authenticated seamlessly across jurisdictions. The Federal Government recognises that digital identity, public key infrastructure (PKI)-based trust, and digital public infrastructure are inseparable parts of a single ecosystem.”
Cross-sector AI-first transformation takes centre-stage
The Lagos inauguration marked the opening of the second edition of the GITEX NIGERIA Tech Expo & Future Economy Conference, Startup Festival, and FDX. (2–3 September). More than 400 exhibiting companies and startups are presenting disruptive solutions designed to accelerate cross-sector transformation, alongside thousands of visitors and over 200 investors managing US$200 billion in assets.
Highlighting the international connections and collective commitment underpinning GITEX NIGERIA 2026, Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of GITEX, said: “GITEX NIGERIA is here to create vital connections that enable Nigerian and African innovators to take their technologies and ideas to the world while accessing knowledge, networks, international partnerships, and opportunities. There is great commitment and a collective responsibility among leadership, stakeholders, the private sector, and ourselvesnot just to connect, but to accelerate, because competition for investment, FDI, knowledge, and scaling is hard and fast. Nigeria has the scale; Lagos has the ambition and energy. We aim to grow collectively and put Africa at the top – not just as a consumer of AI, but as a globally competitive producer.”
For more information, news and updates on GITEX NIGERIA, please visit: www.gitexnigeria.ng.
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About GITEX NIGERIA
GITEX NIGERIA is West Africa’s largest technology and startup event, bringing together global technology leaders, government policymakers, investors, startups and enterprise decision-makers to accelerate digital transformation across Africa’s largest economy. Held under the patronage of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the event takes place from 31 August – 3 September 2026 across Nigeria’s two innovation hubs, Abuja and Lagos. The programme opens with the exclusive Government Leadership & AI Summit in Abuja on 31 August, convening ministers, regulators and global technology leaders to advance AI adoption, digital governance and national transformation. From 2–3 September, the event moves to Lagos, featuring the Tech Expo & Future Economy Summit, Startup Festival, and FDX Nigeria, connecting the region’s technology ecosystem across AI, cloud, cybersecurity, fintech, digital infrastructure and emerging technologies. GITEX NIGERIA is part of the global GITEX network of technology and startup events spanning Brazil, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Singapore, Italy, Türkiye, the UAE, Vietnam and more. For more information, please visit www.gitexnigeria.ng.
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Media Contact:
Gareth Wright, AVP PR and Communications, inD | Gareth.Wright@ind-group.co
