By Stella Odueme
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled plans to connect Nigerian startups with investors, corporate organisations and potential customers, targeting a ₦3 billion investment pipeline for indigenous technology businesses.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed this in his keynote address prepared for Moonshot 2026, organised by TechCabal at the National Theatre, Lagos, from October 28 to 29.
According to a statement by the Director of Corporate Communications and Media Relations, Mrs. Hadiza Umar, on Monday, Abdullahi called on African innovators, investors and policymakers to move the continent beyond consuming digital technologies to developing globally competitive innovations, intellectual property and sustainable technology enterprises.
He said Africa's technological future depended on its ability to create solutions, build businesses and generate economic value through innovation and entrepreneurship.
According to him, the continent has considerable technological talent but continues to face challenges relating to infrastructure, access to finance, mentorship and markets.
He stressed the need for stronger collaboration among governments, universities, investors, technology companies and innovation hubs to address the challenges.
The NITDA boss explained that the agency's Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0) was designed to strengthen the digital ecosystem by connecting talent with opportunities, research with commercialisation, startups with capital and innovation with markets.
He said the agency was working to reposition Nigeria's technology ecosystem from one focused largely on hackathons, pitch competitions and funding announcements to one that produces sustainable businesses capable of creating jobs and competing internationally.
“The true measure of an innovation ecosystem is not how many startups it celebrates. It is how many sustainable enterprises it helps create,” he stated.
Abdullahi said the proposed ₦3 billion investment pipeline would be pursued through the Builders' Festival, scheduled to hold during the Digital Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition from November 10 to 12, 2026, in Abuja.
He explained that the initiative would connect indigenous startups developing solutions to industry challenges with corporate organisations, investors and potential customers.
He clarified that the ₦3 billion figure represented a target for investment mobilisation and not funds already secured.
On artificial intelligence, the NITDA Director-General urged Nigeria to develop indigenous capabilities in agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing and local-language technologies rather than depend heavily on imported applications.
He called on investors to support promising local technology businesses, while urging corporate organisations to create opportunities for startups to deploy their solutions.
He also urged government institutions to strengthen policies, infrastructure and strategic partnerships that would support innovation and technological development.
Abdullahi said Africa's global competitiveness would depend on innovation, trust and disciplined execution.
He maintained that the continent must develop the confidence and capacity to create technologies that address local challenges while meeting global standards.
The NITDA chief urged African innovators to pursue global ambitions and build solutions capable of generating sustainable economic opportunities and prosperity across the continent.