The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, has highlighted Nigeria’s commitment to expanding digital infrastructure as a catalyst for economic growth and national development during the Datacloud Global Congress 2026 in Cannes, France.
Inuwa spoke during the congress’s closing keynote panel session on “The Role of Digital Infrastructure in National Economies,” where he joined global industry leaders and policymakers to discuss the growing importance of digital infrastructure in driving economic competitiveness, artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, digital sovereignty, workforce development, and innovation.
The session, moderated by IDCA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mehdi Paryavi, featured notable speakers including Ali Amur Al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology at Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), and Buddy Rizer, Chief Development Officer at IDCA.
Speaking on Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda, Inuwa described digital infrastructure as a foundational pillar for economic growth, innovation, and national competitiveness. He outlined the Federal Government’s efforts under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to diversify the economy through digitalisation, technology-driven development, and strategic investments in digital infrastructure.
The NITDA Director-General highlighted the National Cloud Policy as a key component of Nigeria’s digital strategy, noting that it encourages cloud adoption across government institutions while prioritising the hosting of public sector data within the country. According to him, the policy is designed to strengthen digital sovereignty, improve public service delivery, support the growth of the local cloud ecosystem, and enhance trust in digital platforms.
He also disclosed that Nigeria has established a Technical Working Group comprising industry stakeholders, ecosystem players, and hyperscale cloud providers to drive the country’s sovereign cloud agenda. The group is expected to develop technical standards, strengthen governance frameworks, and facilitate investments needed to accelerate the deployment of secure and trusted cloud infrastructure.
Inuwa stressed the importance of increased investment in data centres, broadband connectivity, cloud infrastructure, and emerging technologies to unlock Nigeria’s digital economy potential and position the country as a leading digital hub in Africa.
He identified broadband expansion, AI development, and effective policy implementation as critical factors for accelerating innovation, scaling digital services, and driving sustainable economic transformation.
The NITDA chief further promoted Nigeria as an attractive destination for digital infrastructure investments, citing the country’s youthful population, thriving innovation ecosystem, growing pool of digital talent, entrepreneurial resilience, and ongoing reforms aimed at creating a more conducive business environment.
Reaffirming Nigeria’s commitment to global collaboration, Inuwa said the country remains focused on fostering strategic partnerships and attracting investments that will accelerate the development of cloud infrastructure, data centres, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and digital public infrastructure.
The Datacloud Global Congress brings together policymakers, investors, hyperscale cloud providers, data centre operators, and digital infrastructure leaders from around the world to discuss trends, opportunities, and investments shaping the future of the global digital economy.
