NITDA DG Urges Digital Infrastructure Push at INFRACON 2026
Kashifu Inuwa called for accelerated investment in data centres, cloud and broadband at INFRACON 2026 to support Nigeria’s $100 billion digital economy goal.
NITDA Director General Kashifu Inuwa urged accelerated investment in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure at INFRACON 2026.
The remarks reinforce NITDA’s 2024–2027 strategy focused on cloud, data centres, AI and digital public infrastructure.
Inuwa outlined the need for data centres, cloud infrastructure, broadband connectivity and emerging technologies during the infrastructure-focused conference. He tied these investments to Nigeria’s $100 billion digital ambition and efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. The agency collaborates with global hyperscalers to keep Nigerian data hosted locally while advancing the National Cloud Policy.
The DG also reaffirmed NITDA’s target to digitally skill 50 million Nigerians by 2027. He noted progress on the 3 Million Technical Talent programme and Nigeria’s improved global AI ranking from 85th to 69th. These elements form part of the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0 aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The push comes as Nigeria prepares to roll out its Digital Public Infrastructure framework in the first quarter of 2026. Similar messages appeared at Tech Revolution Africa 2026 in Lagos, the Datacloud Global Congress 2026 in Cannes and the Africa Fintech Foundry Ecosystem Roundtable 7.0. NITDA and Extraordinaire People covered the consistent emphasis on infrastructure as the foundation for startups, AI and data sovereignty.
Strong digital infrastructure directly affects startup funding, investor decisions and the rollout of sovereign cloud projects. It also supports the Nigeria Startup Act implementation and interoperability frameworks that lower costs for fintech and SaaS companies. The Guardian Nigeria reported Muhammad Aminu linking these systems to sustainable growth in the startup ecosystem.
Countries that secure local data infrastructure gain advantages in AI development and public service delivery. Nigeria’s moves position it to attract hyperscaler investment and serve as a regional digital hub, while domestic operators in data centres and broadband stand to benefit from coordinated policy execution.
“Talent can be anywhere in the world, but data infrastructure must be built here.”
NITDA has already approved NiRA’s 2026 Business Plan to expand .ng domain adoption. Observers should watch the Q1 2026 DPI framework rollout and any new hyperscaler agreements that follow the infrastructure calls made at INFRACON 2026.
