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By Stella Odueme
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the SATH Foundation have unveiled plans to strengthen Nigeria’s technology ecosystem through the Nigeria Tech Outlook, an initiative aimed at attracting investment, improving policymaking and accelerating digital transformation.
The initiative seeks to provide reliable data and insights into Nigeria’s technology landscape, helping government, businesses, investors and innovators identify opportunities, address adoption gaps and develop solutions to national challenges.
Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed this at the Tech Outlook event in Lagos, where he stressed the need to transform Nigeria’s pool of technology talent, innovative ideas and entrepreneurial achievements into a globally competitive ecosystem.
According to a statement by the Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Mrs. Hadiza Umar, on Wednesday, Inuwa explained that while Nigerian technology companies and innovators had recorded notable successes, individual achievements were insufficient to establish global competitiveness without strong digital infrastructure, supportive policies, strategic investments and collaboration among stakeholders.
He said the Nigeria Tech Outlook would provide evidence-based information on technology access, adoption and its impact on productivity across different sectors of the economy.
According to him, the inaugural edition of the report would focus on five critical sectors: financial services, telecommunications, commerce and trade, government services, and healthcare.
Highlighting the importance of research in identifying investment opportunities, the NITDA chief revealed that more than 80 per cent of over 2,000 Nigerians surveyed expressed willingness to use telemedicine services, while fewer than 20 per cent had previously accessed such services.
He said the findings demonstrated the potential for investment in underserved markets and could help innovators develop solutions that address specific needs while enabling policymakers to tackle barriers to digital adoption.
The report will also assess emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, as well as cybersecurity, digital trust and governance, data privacy, cloud computing and digital infrastructure.
Inuwa emphasised that technology policies and regulations must be informed by research and industry realities rather than assumptions.
He urged industry leaders to contribute their expertise to reviewing the report’s findings and identifying practical measures to stimulate investment, promote innovation and drive economic growth.
He added that the initiative would equip the government with evidence for policymaking, help businesses understand technology adoption gaps, guide investors towards viable opportunities and enable innovators to develop solutions to pressing national problems.
The first edition of the Nigeria Tech Outlook is expected to be launched at the Digital Nigeria International Conference.
Also speaking, the founder of the SATH Foundation, Collins Onuegbu, described technology as a major driver of Nigeria’s economic and social development, noting its growing influence on how people work, trade, communicate, learn and access public services.
Onuegbu said digital innovation was transforming business operations, government engagement, security, productivity and national competitiveness.
He explained that conducting the assessment annually would create institutional memory, allowing stakeholders to monitor progress, evaluate existing priorities and build a stronger evidence base for decisions about Nigeria’s digital future.
The SATH Foundation founder stressed the need to move beyond speeches and ensure that discussions at the event translated into meaningful engagement and actionable outcomes capable of advancing technology development, economic growth and national competitiveness.
The collaboration between NITDA and the SATH Foundation is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s technology intelligence, open up investment opportunities and support the development of a globally competitive innovation ecosystem driven by research, collaboration and homegrown solutions.