President Bola Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has moved Nigeria’s Digital Free Zones initiative into the implementation stage, with the Federal Government targeting more global investments, technology-driven jobs and opportunities for Nigerian businesses.
The initiative is designed to enable Nigerian technology and service companies to access international markets, attract global capital and grow their businesses from Nigeria without relocating their operations or intellectual property abroad.
President Tinubu said the programme would help create more opportunities for young Nigerians to work with global companies while strengthening the country’s digital economy through a wider network of engineers, developers, designers, lawyers, accountants and other professionals.
“Nigeria has the talent, enterprise and ambition to build companies that can compete anywhere in the world. Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that Nigerians do not have to leave Nigeria or rely on other jurisdictions to realise that potential,” the President said.
The President explained that the government’s goal is to ensure that more economic value generated by Nigerian talent remains within the country through job creation, investment, intellectual property development and the expansion of local businesses.
As part of efforts to actualise the initiative, President Tinubu has directed the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who serves as Vice-Chairman and Implementation Coordinator of the Presidential Steering Committee on Digital Free Zones, to work with the committee and Itana Innovation project on a roadmap for the full launch of the programme within 180 days.
The President established the Presidential Steering Committee on Digital Free Zones to modernise Nigeria’s free zone framework and align it with the demands of the digital economy.
“For too long, some of our most promising young entrepreneurs have felt compelled to establish their companies and intellectual property abroad to access global capital and markets. I do not accept that this must remain the case.
“I want the next generation of African technology, finance and service companies to be built, headquartered and scaled to the world from Nigerian soil,” Tinubu said.
The initiative is expected to build on the progress of Itana, Nigeria’s first Digital Free Zone, which has received approval from the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) to provide a platform for digital and service-based companies to operate from the country.
The $500 million Itana Innovation project in Alaro City, Lagos, backed by the Africa Finance Corporation, is expected to combine policy support, innovation facilities, access to capital and ecosystem services to help African startups expand and retain more value on the continent.
President Tinubu said the government’s vision goes beyond establishing technology hubs, stressing that Nigerian companies should be able to operate globally while remaining rooted in the country.
“We want African companies to be incorporated in Nigeria, financed here and governed from here, while serving markets across Africa and the world.
“I want a young Nigerian in Kano, Enugu, Warri, Minna, Maiduguri or Ibadan to be able to work for a global company without leaving home, and I want our founders to raise capital globally while their companies and intellectual property remain in Nigeria.
“When these businesses grow here, they employ Nigerians, use Nigerian professional services and retain more of the value they create in our economy,” he said.
The Presidential Steering Committee will focus on key areas including regulation, taxation, banking, immigration, arbitration and the digitalisation of government processes within Nigeria’s free zones.
The Federal Government believes the initiative will position Nigeria to benefit from the rapid growth of Africa’s digital economy and opportunities created by digitally enabled trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Nigeria has the talent and the market to reshape Africa’s place in the global technology and digital economy value chain.
“This is what our Renewed Hope commitment to a digital economy looks like in practice, and this is how we transform reform into opportunities.
“We made a promise to Nigerians. We are keeping it,” President Tinubu said.
