NITDA seeks one-stop regulation to attract digital investors

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE 
Director General National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA 

By Emmanuel Onotevure 

"The need for regulatory alignment has become more urgent as emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and high-density data centres increasingly cut across the mandates of traditional regulators." Inuwa

.... Says, "establishing a single regulatory interface through effective collaboration and co-regulation among relevant government institutions would eliminate duplication, speed up licensing processes and provide investors with predictable timelines."

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has called for closer collaboration among government regulators and the creation of a unified regulatory interface to eliminate bottlenecks and attract greater investment into Nigeria’s digital economy.

Inuwa, who made the call at the ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026 event held in Nairobi, Kenya in Nairobi, Kenya, said investors should not be subjected to multiple layers of approvals and overlapping regulatory requirements by different government agencies before investing in digital infrastructure.

Speaking at a Regulatory Roundtable on “Regulations that Build: Aligning Policy and Digital Infrastructure Investment Priorities,” the NITDA boss said fragmented regulation, red tape and duplication of functions could discourage both foreign and domestic investors from committing resources to the rapidly expanding digital sector.

He said government institutions must work together and present a coordinated front to investors.

According to him, businesses and investors want to deal with a government that operates as a cohesive unit rather than a collection of agencies with overlapping mandates and separate approval processes.

Inuwa said establishing a single regulatory interface through effective collaboration and co-regulation among relevant government institutions would eliminate duplication, speed up licensing processes and provide investors with predictable timelines.

The NITDA Director-General said the need for regulatory alignment had become more urgent as emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and high-density data centres increasingly cut across the mandates of traditional regulators.

He explained that the rapid convergence of technologies had exposed the limitations of the conventional vertical approach to regulation, where each sector or agency develops and enforces rules independently.

According to him, NITDA is responding to the challenge by promoting a horizontal regulatory framework that provides broad standards upon which sector-specific regulators can build.

Inuwa cited Nigeria’s National Sovereign Cloud Initiative as an example of how such an approach could reduce regulatory burdens while ensuring compliance and protecting national interests.

He said the Central Bank of Nigeria had leveraged NITDA’s horizontal framework to issue a single circular for operators in the financial sector.

According to him, the arrangement enabled banks to comply with digital stability requirements without having to seek separate approvals from several government agencies.

He argued that similar regulatory cooperation could help create a more predictable and investment-friendly environment for the deployment of critical digital infrastructure.

From L-R: Caroline Okafor, Legal Enforcement and Regulation, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Engr. Dennis Chepkwony, Director, Universal Service Fund, Communication Authority of Kenya, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Temitope Osunrinde, Director, Africa Hyperscalers, Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Mercy Ndegwa, Director, Public Policy, East & Horn of Africa/Economic Policy Lead, Africa, Meta.

The NITDA boss also called for greater regulatory harmonisation across Africa, particularly in the area of cross-border data transfers and the development of regional digital markets.

He said African countries needed common standards built around interoperability, trust and security to facilitate investment and enable seamless data exchange across national boundaries.

Inuwa added that standardised data classification systems could help countries clearly distinguish sovereign data that must remain within national jurisdictions from public and hybrid cloud assets.

Such a framework, he said, would enable African countries to recognise one another’s compliance standards and reduce the need for businesses operating across multiple markets to undergo repetitive regulatory procedures.

He also addressed concerns about the growing perception that regulators often see technology companies primarily as sources of revenue.

Inuwa said NITDA was guided by a Regulatory Intelligence Framework designed to support innovation and business growth rather than impose unnecessary financial burdens on operators.

He maintained that regulation should be used to shape economic behaviour and create an enabling environment for investment instead of serving merely as a rigid enforcement mechanism.

According to him, NITDA does not charge businesses for its regulations, adding that the agency’s focus is on creating markets, strengthening local capacity and attracting long-term investments into Nigeria’s digital economy.

The NITDA boss said a regulatory environment that encourages innovation while providing clarity and certainty for investors was critical to unlocking Africa’s potential in artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and data centres.

Other panelists at the roundtable included Caroline Okafor of the Legal Enforcement and Regulation Department of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission; Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria; Mercy Ndegwa, Director of Public Policy for East and Horn of Africa and Economic Policy Lead for Africa at Meta; and Engr Dennis Chepkwony, Director of the Universal Service Fund at the Communications Authority of Kenya.

The discussion focused on how governments and regulators could better align policies and regulatory frameworks with the growing demand for digital infrastructure investment across Africa.