The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, has called for urgent and increased investment in Africa’s digital public infrastructure, describing it as the foundation for sustainable economic transformation, job creation, and intra-African trade.
Inuwa made the call while speaking at the **2nd Annual Sustainability Week Africa**, held at The Westin, Cape Town, South Africa. The event brought together stakeholders from across the continent to explore strategies for accelerating Africa’s green and digital transformation under the theme of energy transition, climate resilience, and sustainable development.
During a panel session on Digital Infrastructure for Jobs and Trade in Africa*, the NITDA DG stressed that Africa’s economic destiny hinges on its own *compute capacity, which he identified as a key driver of digital independence and competitiveness in the global economy.
“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 and build products for us,” Inuwa stated.
He urged African governments to emulate Europe’s collaborative approach to building high-performance computing and AI systems by adopting policies that attract private sector investment in digital infrastructure.
Explaining the structure of digital public infrastructure (DPI), Inuwa noted that it operates at two key levels — the shared physical and technical infrastructure such as connectivity and cloud capacity, and the functional layer, including digital identity, payment systems, and data exchange platforms, that enable seamless access to services.
Highlighting Nigeria’s progress, he disclosed that over 130 million Nigerians have been enrolled in the national digital identity system, with efforts ongoing to establish a national data exchange platform and a DPI Centre of Excellence to promote interoperability and best practices across all levels of government.
“The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, is leading the drive to establish a DPI Centre of Excellence where local talents can build actual DPI data exchange systems, APIs, and best practices,” he added.
On digital literacy, Inuwa reaffirmed Nigeria’s target of achieving 95% digital literacy by 2030 and 70% by 2027, as outlined in the National Digital Literacy Framework. He noted that the government, in collaboration with partners such as Cisco and the NYSC, is actively training youths, women, and market traders on digital tools and AI-powered applications to boost economic opportunities.
The NITDA DG further called for clear policy frameworks to guide artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and technology development across Africa, emphasising that digital transformation should be seen as an enabler for all sectors of the economy.
“In Africa, we must build our capacity for digital self-determination. We should not rely on others to supply our hardware and software; our goal is to build a better life for our citizens, and technology will help us achieve that,” he said.
Inuwa concluded by advocating for stronger collaboration among governments, the private sector, and development partners to harmonise digital standards and scale innovation across the continent.
He said, “Africa’s strength lies in our ability to leap, to collaborate, 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.”
