Founders can pitch at West Africa's biggest tech show as GITEX Nigeria sets 2026 dates
The government-backed event will hold an AI summit in Abuja on Aug 31 and a full tech expo in Lagos from Sep 2-3, targeting thousands of startups, investors, and global tech leaders.
Nigeria will host the second edition of GITEX Nigeria from 31 August to 3 September 2026, an event branded as West Africa's largest technology and startup show that aims to connect local founders with global investors and policymakers.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) announced the dates in a social media call for attendees, directing founders, technology buyers, and investors to register for the multi-city gathering on the official event website.
The 2026 programme splits activities across two locations. An invitation-only Government Leadership & AI Summit will convene ministers, policymakers, development finance institutions, and technology leaders in Abuja on 31 August to discuss artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, and data sovereignty. On 2 and 3 September, the main Tech Expo & Future Economy Summit moves to Lagos at venues such as Eko Hotel Convention Centre or Landmark Centre, featuring exhibitions, a startup festival, and sessions on fintech, cybersecurity, IoT, cloud, data centres, and space-tech.
Promotional materials for the Lagos segment describe it as "the epicentre of West Africa's tech revolution" and the region's "largest connector of Startups, Investors & Buyers," with organisers expecting over 100 global tech leaders, 3,000 professionals, and 100 exhibitors.
The event carries direct state backing. It is held under the patronage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and is co-produced by NITDA and KAOUN International, the overseas affiliate of the Dubai World Trade Centre that runs the global GITEX brand. A news report described the original agreement as "the largest in‑market access event of the decade to discover Nigeria's vast tech ecosystem."
The scale mirrors the ambitions of the 2025 maiden edition, which NITDA said targeted "not less than 1000 startups, over 100 investors and an attendance of over 20,000 participants" under the theme "Forging the Rise of Digital Nigeria." To feed that pipeline, NITDA's Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation ran nationwide regional roadshows that let startups pitch for a spot at the expo, a model likely to continue for 2026.
Sectors highlighted in early 2026 promotional campaigns include AI, cybersecurity, and space-tech, with companies such as KnowBe4 and Space42 already listed as participants, signalling a push beyond traditional fintech and software into geospatial intelligence and advanced digital infrastructure.
