NITDA advocates enhanced digital investment, ‘compute capacity’ to transform Africa

*Dr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency, urges leaders at a forum in South Africa for ‘a forceful investment’ in digital public infrastructure to unlock sustainable transformation, and drive meaningful, sustainable economic growth across the African continent

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Dr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has said Africa’s economic destiny hinges on the continent’s “compute capacity”.

Inuwa described the continent’s this concept as “the foundation for sustainable digital transformation, job creation, and intra-African trade”.

ConsumerConnect reports the Director-General of NITDA said this at the recent 2nd Annual Sustainability Week Africa, held at The Westin, in Cape Town, South Africa.

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Inuwa, who noted this when speaking at a panel session on Digital Infrastructure for Jobs and Trade in Africa, shared insights into how leveraging technologies could accelerate the transition to a greener economy on the African continent.

He also emphasised that a forceful investment in local digital public infrastructure is the critical step to unlock sustainable transformation, and drive meaningful economic growth across Africa.

NITDA described the Sustainability Week Africa annual forum as a continental platform that showcases practical ways for governments, businesses, and communities to embrace green growth.

‘Compute power’, infrastructure and digital independence

The agency disclosed that the 2025 Edition focused on Africa’s role in driving energy transition, climate resilience, and sustainable development.

It also said Inuwa emphasised the urgent need for Africa to develop its own computing infrastructure to achieve digital independence and competitiveness in the global economy.

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According to him, as Africa can leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to leapfrog development, the continent also must build the computing capacity required to sustain innovation.

He explained: “In the 21st century, compute power is a primary factor of production, and we cannot rely on exporting our raw data to other regions to process it and build products for us.”

Drawing parallels with Europe’s collaborative approach to developing high-performance supercomputers and AI factories, the Director-General of the agency urged African governments to adopt similar models by creating policy incentives that attract private sector investment in digital infrastructure.

Current levels of digital public infrastructure in Nigeria

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), he stated, operates at two levels: the shared physical and technical infrastructure, such as connectivity and cloud capacity; and the functional layer, digital identity, payment systems, and data exchange platforms, that enable citizens and businesses to access services seamlessly.

Citing Nigeria’s progress, Inuwa disclosed that over 130 million Nigerians have been enrolled under the National Digital Identity system, while efforts are underway at establishing a national data exchange platform and a DPI Centre of Excellence to promote interoperability and best practices across all tiers of government.

Such initiatives, the NITDA Chief said, could serve as a model for other African countries, advocating an “African-built DPI” that reflects local needs rather than imported systems.

He told the participants: “The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy in Nigeria, Dr Bosun Tijani, is leading and pushing for establishing a DPI centre of excellence, where we can have people building the actual DPI data exchange well, building APIs, and also coming up with best practices,” he disclosed.

NITDA’s National Digital Literacy Framework implementation

Speaking on digital literacy, Inuwa reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to achieving 95 percent digital literacy by 2030, and 70 percent by 2027, under the agency’s National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF).

He affirmed that digital skills have become mandatory for students and civil servants, through partnerships with organisations, such as Cisco and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme to train youth, women, and market traders on how to use digital tools and AI-powered applications to expand economic opportunities.

Inuwa as well advocated clear policy frameworks to guide AI adoption and technology development across Africa.

The Director-General described digital transformation not as a sector, but as “an enabler” for every sector of the economy.

Inuwa stated: “In Africa, we need to have our digital circuits by building our own capacity for digital self-determination. “We should not rely on other countries to be sending hardware and software to us because our goal is to build a better life for our citizens, and technology will help us achieve that.”

He urged stronger coordination between governments, the private sector, and development partners to harmonise digital standards and scale innovation across thr African continent.

“Africa’s advantage lies in our ability to leap, to build collaboratively, and to design technology for inclusion.

“If we build the digital rails together, our youth will drive Africa straight into the heart of the global digital economy,” Inuwa stated.

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