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Lagos State's commercial capital has opened its doors to West Africa's premier tech, AI and startup gathering-GITEX NIGERIA -positioning the city as Africa's launchpad for tomorrow. At the event's Lagos leg, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu underscored the city's ambition to spearhead a future shaped by data-driven governance and inclusive digital access, while Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Hon. Dr Bosun Tijani, issued a call for continental unity in AI infrastructure and capacity building.

Governor Sanwo-Olu framed Lagos as more than a present-day city, but as Africa's launchpad for tomorrow, intent on transforming governance through real-time analytics and universal connectivity in one of the continent's most dynamic tech ecosystems. He emphasised Lagos's vibrant innovation landscape, pointing to public policy support, private sector dynamism and resilience as key to its leadership role.

Dr Tijani warned that without coordination in artificial intelligence investment across Africa, the continent risks falling further behind global productivity leaders. Drawing on agriculture as an analogy, he contrasted Nigeria's maize output per hectare with South Africa's and Brazil's to illustrate how technology and AI can drive comparable productivity gains. He outlined four critical pillars for Africa's AI advancement: shared governance and sovereignty, tech skill development, localisation of datasets, and investment in connectivity, compute and clean energy infrastructure.

At the summit in Abuja, Dr Tijani said Nigeria must actively shape-not merely follow-the AI revolution, stressing that AI policy must be central to national planning. NITDA's Director-General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi reinforced this by highlighting the government's push to train three million tech talents and incorporate digital literacy into education, noting that talent will determine Nigeria's role in the AI era.

GITEX NIGERIA's Lagos segment features two key platforms: the Tech Expo & Future Economy Conference at Eko Hotel, drawing global tech players like IBM, MTN, Cisco, AWS and more; and the Startup Festival at the Landmark Centre, showcasing over 1,000 startups alongside the Supernova Challenge and an investor programme connected with global capital pools.

The event's conclusion brought attention to Nigeria's entrepreneurial prowess. Deputy Governor Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat described how the Startup Festival made clear that opportunities abound for innovators across the country. Over 650 startups spanning 27 countries and nearly 30 industries took part, while Supernova's finals awarded Curacel US$10,000 for its AI-powered health insurance innovation, in front of a judging panel of regional and global investors.

Minister Tijani also projected that Nigeria's digital economy is on track to contribute 21 per cent of GDP by 2027, buoyed by expanded fibre rollout and digital infrastructure.

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