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Nigeria is positioning itself at the forefront of West Africa’s emerging sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) agenda as the country advances its National AI Strategy, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Framework and Project BRIDGE.
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The initiatives are increasingly placing Nigeria at the centre of efforts to build secure, connected and digitally sovereign economies across West Africa, with regional stakeholders seeking to move beyond technology consumption towards the development and ownership of AI infrastructure, talent, data and innovation.
The next phase of this conversation will take centre stage in Abuja on August 31, 2026, when the GITEX NIGERIA Government Leadership & AI Summit brings together government leaders, technology companies, investors, development institutions and digital economy stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.
GITEX Nigeria to Drive West Africa’s AI Sovereignty Debate
Held under the patronage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GITEX NIGERIA will take place across Abuja and Lagos from August 31 to September 3, 2026.
The event is supported by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), endorsed by the Lagos State Government and organised by KAOUN International, the global organiser of GITEX events.
The Abuja summit is expected to provide a high-level platform for translating Nigeria’s digital ambitions into practical regional action, particularly around sovereign AI capacity, digital public infrastructure, connectivity, investment and digital talent.
Government representatives and industry leaders from countries including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and the United States are expected to participate.
From AI Ambition to Digital Sovereignty
As governments across West Africa accelerate digital transformation, the emerging policy debate is increasingly shifting from simply adopting imported technologies to building indigenous capacity to develop, deploy and control critical digital infrastructure.
The GITEX NIGERIA Government Leadership & AI Summit is expected to examine how governments can collaborate on the policies, investments and partnerships required to strengthen the region’s digital sovereignty.
Key issues will include national digitalisation strategies, sovereign AI compute capacity, private capital mobilisation, last-mile connectivity, digital skills development and the deployment of interoperable digital public infrastructure.
The discussions are expected to influence investment priorities and policy decisions that could determine West Africa’s competitiveness in the global AI economy.
Africa’s AI Future Requires Infrastructure and Capital
Private-sector investment will be a major component of the summit, particularly as African countries seek to close persistent infrastructure gaps.
Uyoyo Edosio, Chief ICT and Innovation Expert at the African Development Bank (AfDB), Côte d’Ivoire, is scheduled to headline a panel on mobilising private capital for African digital infrastructure.
According to Edosio, Africa’s AI ambitions must be supported by the infrastructure and investment required to translate them into economic value.
She noted that attracting private capital at scale requires stronger governance, effective risk management and bankable partnerships between governments, development institutions and industry.
The summit, she said, provides an opportunity to accelerate investment in the digital foundations that will underpin Africa’s long-term competitiveness.
‘Africa’s Digital Future Must Be Built Around Ownership’
Mactar Seck, Chief and Head of the Innovation and Technology Section at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Ethiopia, is also expected to participate in the summit.
Seck said Africa’s digital transformation must increasingly be anchored in ownership of infrastructure, data, technological capabilities and the economic value generated from them.
He argued that moving from technology consumption to technology production would require coordinated policies, trusted digital public infrastructure, stronger connectivity and an environment in which African innovations can develop and scale across borders.
According to him, the GITEX NIGERIA platform provides an opportunity to advance these priorities in alignment with the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
NITDA Leads Nigeria’s Digital Transformation Push
Among the prominent Nigerian participants is Dr Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General and CEO of NITDA, alongside Kolawole Owodunni, Executive Director and Chief Investment Officer of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.
Their participation underscores the growing emphasis on policy, digital infrastructure and investment as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its position in Africa’s emerging AI economy.
The convergence of government policy, sovereign investment and private-sector technology capabilities is expected to be central to discussions around scaling Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and strengthening its competitiveness.
Sovereign or Shared AI Compute?
One of the summit’s headline sessions, “Africa’s AI Compute Capacity – Sovereign or Shared?”, will examine one of the continent’s most critical AI infrastructure challenges: access to sufficient computing capacity.
The session will explore whether African countries should prioritise sovereign GPU infrastructure or develop shared regional compute models.
The discussion comes as AI adoption accelerates globally and access to high-performance computing increasingly becomes a strategic determinant of technological competitiveness.
Digital Identity Emerges as Critical Trust Infrastructure
Another key session, “Trust by Design: The Future of Africa’s Digital Identity Infrastructure,” will focus on the development of secure and trusted digital identity systems.
The session will examine privacy-by-design, responsible data governance and citizen-centred digital identity models, while drawing on emerging deployments in West Africa.
Beyond identification, digital identity is increasingly being viewed as a foundational layer for digital government, financial inclusion, payments and participation in the wider digital economy.
eGovernment and Interoperability Create New Market Opportunities
The summit will also feature “An African Opportunity: The Turning Point of eGov & Digital Interoperability,” which will examine the rapid evolution of digital government across the continent.
The session is expected to explore opportunities emerging for technology providers, investors and financial institutions as African governments expand digital identity, payment systems and secure data-exchange infrastructure.
Greater interoperability could enable public institutions to deliver services more efficiently while creating new markets for companies providing digital infrastructure and government technology solutions.
Global Technology and Development Leaders Join Summit
The summit will bring together representatives from major global technology, financial and development organisations, including HCLSoftware, the World Bank, Gates Foundation, Meta, Mastercard, Zipline and NITDA.
Other confirmed participants include Charles Cabouret, Associate Vice President, HCLSoftware, France; Kari Tukur, Vice President, Core Payments – West Africa, Mastercard, Nigeria; and Anthonio Pinheiro, Country Director at Zipline.
Their participation is expected to strengthen the summit’s focus on the intersection of government policy, private investment, emerging technologies and digital infrastructure.
Nigeria Seeks Leadership Role in Africa’s AI Economy
With its National AI Strategy, DPI Framework and Project BRIDGE, Nigeria is seeking to build the policy and infrastructure foundations necessary to participate more competitively in the global AI economy.
The GITEX NIGERIA Government Leadership & AI Summit provides a platform for Nigeria to extend that ambition beyond national borders by engaging neighbouring countries, investors, development institutions and global technology companies.
The emerging consensus is that Africa’s AI opportunity will depend not only on access to advanced technologies but on the continent’s ability to build trusted infrastructure, develop indigenous talent, attract capital and retain greater ownership of the data and economic value generated by its digital transformation.
For West Africa, the Abuja summit could therefore mark an important step in defining whether the region becomes primarily a consumer of the global AI revolution—or an increasingly influential producer of the technologies, infrastructure and talent that will shape it.
