GITEX 2022: NITDA seeks international collaboration for local startups

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has made critical efforts to partner with foreign-based startups and enable international investments to achieve digital innovations in Nigeria. At the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) 2022, the Director General of NITDA, Mr. Inuwa Kashifu Abudullahi in a discussion with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) team in Dubai noted the need for the cloud computing company to operate in Nigeria.

“We are bringing startups to AWS and Amazon to connect them and also to help them to understand the platform because AWS is one of the biggest platforms startups use to innovate. They provide infrastructure as a service and platform as a service. So it provides the environment to innovate, experiment and build their products.”

“Our startups cannot compete with AWS as a Service Provider platform, but you can create a platform for them to build their products and services,” the DG added.

Different startups located around the world pitched at the Supernova challenge during the GITEX 2022 event. The contest is the biggest pitch competition in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia with a cash prize of about $200,000. Nine Nigerian startups made it to the semi-finals while a mobility company in the country, ShapShap won the “Mobility & Smart Cities Innovator” that attracted $8000.

Considering this as a pivotal step by the government agency in its aim to enable local startups are connected with international tech companies, the country is set to leverage its tech talents as well as its startups positioned for global recognition. As of the time of this report, up to ten startups (mostly fintechs) are identified as unicorns having attained $1 billion valuation.

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