Nigeria has showcased its public-private digital infrastructure model at GITEX Africa, presenting a government-enabled, private-sector-led approach as a blueprint for accelerating cloud development and strengthening Africa’s digital economy.
Kashifu Abdullahi, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), explained that the model positions the government as an enabler while allowing private companies to lead investment and innovation in critical digital infrastructure.
Speaking during a panel session titled “Africa’s Cloud Moment: Build Regional or Stay Fragmented,” Abdullahi urged African countries to rethink traditional infrastructure frameworks, where governments alone finance and construct key systems. He argued that sustainable digital growth now requires structured collaboration between public institutions and industry players.
“In Nigeria, we are encouraging a government-enabled but private-sector-led model,” Abdullahi said. “The state’s role should focus on policies, regulatory instruments, and incentives, while companies drive investment and innovation.”
Abdullahi noted that private sector actors are better positioned to identify market gaps and operational challenges, making them essential drivers in building cloud and data infrastructure, with governments acting as conveners and facilitators. He cited collaborative industry structures in Europe, where data centre providers form alliances and operate under shared standards with government support, as models Africa could adapt to accelerate digital transformation.
He also urged stakeholders across the continent to engage policymakers actively and articulate the regulatory and investment conditions required to develop a “cloud of clouds”—an interconnected regional infrastructure capable of supporting Africa’s growing digital economy.
Abdullahi warned that Africa risks repeating historical patterns from previous industrial revolutions if it fails to build and control its own digital infrastructure. Reflecting on the continent’s past, he noted that Africa supplied raw materials and labour and later contributed talent, but often without owning the technologies that generated value.
“We produce the data, but others capture the value and control the intelligence,” he said, emphasizing that ownership of data increasingly determines economic influence and societal direction in the digital age.
He stressed that data sovereignty and local cloud development are critical to ensuring Africa retains economic value from its digital population and avoids dependence on external technology ecosystems.
GITEX Africa, currently underway in Marrakech, has brought together policymakers, technology firms, investors, and startups from across Africa and beyond to discuss strategies for accelerating the continent’s digital economy. This year’s discussions have focused on cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and digital trade as central themes.