By NEWSCOUNT Desk
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has unveiled plans to mobilise a N3 billion investment and pilot contract pipeline for Nigerian technology startups through a programme designed to connect indigenous innovators with investors, corporate organisations and potential customers.
The initiative, known as the Builders’ Festival, will form part of the 2026 Digital Nigeria International Conference and Exhibition (DNICE), scheduled to hold from November 10 to 12 at the BAT International Conference Centre, Abuja.
The Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed the initiative while delivering a keynote address at Moonshot 2026, organised by TechCabal in Lagos from October 28 to 29.
Speaking on the theme, “Courage & Conviction: Building for a New World,” Abdullahi challenged African innovators and policymakers to move beyond consuming imported digital technologies and concentrate on developing homegrown solutions capable of competing in the global market.
He maintained that Africa’s technological future would depend on its ability to create intellectual property, build sustainable technology enterprises and translate innovation into measurable economic value.
“Africa’s next chapter will not be written by the technologies we consume. It will be written by the value we have the courage to create,” he declared.
The NITDA chief acknowledged that despite the continent’s growing pool of technology talent, innovators continued to face challenges involving infrastructure, access to financing, mentorship and markets.
He stressed the need for stronger collaboration among government institutions, universities, investors, technology companies and innovation hubs to address the challenges and create opportunities for sustainable businesses.
According to him, NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0) prioritises connecting digital talent with opportunities, research with commercialisation, startups with capital, and innovation with markets.
He said the agency was repositioning itself to strengthen the digital ecosystem and ensure that technological development translated into commercially viable businesses and economic benefits.
Abdullahi urged stakeholders to look beyond hackathons, pitch competitions and funding announcements, arguing that the success of an innovation ecosystem should be measured by the number of sustainable enterprises it produces.
“The true measure of an innovation ecosystem is not how many startups it celebrates. It is how many sustainable enterprises it helps create,” he stated.
The Builders’ Festival is designed to connect Nigerian startups developing solutions to identified institutional and industry challenges with investors, venture capital firms, financial institutions and prospective corporate customers.
The programme adopts a problem-driven approach in which participating institutions identify their operational and technological challenges before startups with relevant products are selected for possible partnerships.
The organisers have identified more than 50 institutional challenges covering financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, logistics, education and government operations.
The challenges include digital population records, customs risk profiling, cargo monitoring, satellite connectivity, small business financing, patient identity management and vaccine supply chain visibility.
Participating startups are expected to have existing products at the minimum viable product (MVP) stage or beyond, with at least one live user, active pilot or paying customer. Their selection will also take into consideration market traction, team resilience and product maturity.
Selected entrepreneurs will have opportunities to demonstrate their products and engage prospective investors and institutional customers during structured Deal Room sessions at DNICE 2026.
The investment pipeline will accommodate different funding stages, including pre-seed, seed, Series A, Series B and growth or debt financing.
NITDA has clarified that the N3 billion represents a target for investment mobilisation and pilot contracts, not money already raised or secured.
The agency’s Director of Special Duties, Dr Aristotle Onumo, explained that the programme was intended to bridge the gap between large public and private organisations and indigenous technology developers by ensuring that local innovations respond directly to institutional needs.
Meanwhile, NITDA has called for increased investment in indigenous artificial intelligence capabilities, particularly in agriculture, healthcare, education, manufacturing and local-language technologies.
Abdullahi urged investors to support promising Nigerian technology businesses and encouraged corporate organisations to provide opportunities for local startups to deploy their solutions in addressing operational challenges.
He said Africa must demonstrate its capacity to develop technologies and enterprises that respond to local needs while competing effectively in international markets.
“Let us stop asking whether Africa can build the future. Let us start demonstrating how Africa will build it,” he said.
