NITDA DG Urges Africa to Shift from Tech Consumers to Creators

Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholders Management and Partnerships, delivering a keynote address at the African Creators Conference 2025, held at the Women Development Centre, Abuja, on the theme “The Future of Digital Economy: Artificial Intelligence as Catalyst.”

NITDA DG Urges Africa to Shift from Tech Consumers to Creators

By Gloria Sarauniya Usman

ABUJA, NIGERIA September, 2025 - The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, has called on African nations to move beyond being mere consumers of technology and become creators and exporters of digital solutions.

Delivering a keynote address at the African Creators Conference 2025 in Abuja, Inuwa—represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholders Management and Partnerships at NITDA—highlighted the immense potential of Africa’s youthful population, creativity, and digital fluency in driving the continent’s digital transformation.

“With over 1.4 billion people, 60 percent of whom are under 25, Africa is uniquely positioned to shape the future of global technology and innovation,” he said. He cited Nigeria’s digital strides, including over 126 million internet users, 205 million mobile subscriptions, and initiatives such as the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program, the Nigeria Startup Act, and NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0, as efforts repositioning Nigeria as a producer and exporter of digital solutions.

Inuwa also stressed the importance of regional collaboration through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), calling for harmonised policies and strategic infrastructure investments to unlock trillions of dollars in Africa’s digital economy. He urged stakeholders to act decisively, noting: “The choices we make today will determine whether Africa remains on the margins or takes its rightful place at the centre of global digital transformation.”

The African Creators Conference 2025, themed “The Future of Africa in the Global Digital Economy,” convened over 3,000 creators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore how artificial intelligence and digital creativity can fuel growth and foster cross-border collaboration.