.as “NITDA, NACCIMA team up to digitize Nigeria’s MSMEs and fast-track the digital economy”
UGO AMADI
GITEX NIGERIA has unveiled the launch of MINT AFRICA by GITEX, a new future finance platform bringing together money, innovation, new technology and transparency to accelerate the transformation of Africa’s financial economy.
Launching in Lagos as part of GITEX NIGERIA week 2027, MINT AFRICA by GITEX will convene governments, regulators, banks, institutional investors, fintechs, technology companies and digital-asset innovators at a critical inflection point for global finance.
Finance is being rewritten
Money is becoming programmable. Real-world assets are being tokenised. Agentic AI is beginning to transform how financial services are delivered and decisions are made. Stablecoins and digital assets are challenging traditional rails, while AI, digital identity, cybersecurity and interoperable payment infrastructure are becoming fundamental economic infrastructure.
For Africa, these shifts represent an opportunity not simply to adopt the next generation of finance, but to help define it. And few places make the case more powerfully than Lagos.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest fintech ecosystem, while Lagos has produced some of the continent’s most consequential fintech companies and sits at the intersection of immense market scale, entrepreneurial talent, capital and an increasingly ambitious digital economy.
Following the sell-out GITEX Nigeria, MINT AFRICA by GITEX 2027 will significantly expand this mandate, creating a dedicated platform to connect capital, policy, regulation, infrastructure and frontier financial technology across Africa.
In partnership with the Lagos State Government, MINT AFRICA by GITEX will debut during GITEX NIGERIA week leveraging GITEX’s global technology, investor and government network to connect Africa’s financial ambitions with international capital and innovation.
H.E. Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, said:
“When GITEX came to Nigeria, Lagos became a commercial anchor. That was not a courtesy extended to us; it was a commercial judgement. Exhibitions follow markets, and markets follow scale, capital and momentum – all of which converge here.
“Lagos is a consequential destination and what happens here helps shape Africa’s digital transformation trajectory. The next chapter of African finance will not simply arrive; it will be built here, together.”
Tunbosun Alake, Honourable Commissioner for the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Lagos State, added: “Africa doesn’t have a shortage of financial innovation. It has a shortage of the conversations that turn innovation into signed deals. The future of finance week is built to close that gap — not to celebrate it.”
From financial inclusion to financial reinvention
The opportunity is substantial. Africa’s digital payments economy is projected to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2030, while the African Development Bank estimates reforms spanning deeper capital markets, stronger domestic resource mobilisation and public-private partnerships could unlock as much as US$1.43 trillion in financing annually.
Yet significant gaps remain. In Nigeria, adult account ownership increased from 45.3% in 2021 to 63.3% in 2024, while only 9.1% borrowed through formal financial channels.
MINT AFRICA by GITEX will focus on converting this gap into economic opportunity, exploring how new technologies and regulatory models can widen access to capital, modernise financial infrastructure and enable African consumers and enterprises to participate more fully in the digital economy.
Its agenda will span tokenisation and real-world assets; agentic AI and intelligent banking; stablecoins and digital currencies; next-generation payments; digital identity; cybersecurity and trust; financial infrastructure; cross-border interoperability; regulatory innovation; capital markets; and investment into Africa’s fintech economy.
Dr Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, Technical Adviser to the President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, Nigeria, said: “The target of achieving a US$1 trillion economy means investment, financial sector deepening, formalisation of the informal sector and enhancing economic inclusion so that the benefits can reach the last mile. It also means bringing more people into the formal financial sector and supporting our ambitious MSMEs with the financing they need to scale.”
Building the rails for Africa’s new financial economy
Technology alone will not determine the winners of the next financial era. Infrastructure, regulation and investor confidence will.
Engr. Ganiyu Oseni, Special Adviser on Technology, Broadband and Innovation to the Governor of Lagos State, said: “Infrastructure is policy. You cannot simply regulate an economy into existence. For a digital economy, the roads are connectivity, power, identity and talent. Lagos has spent seven years building all four.”
His message to global investors was equally direct: “Lagos is asking you to price us correctly. We would rather have your capital than your admiration, and we would rather have your operational presence than your capital. Africa’s financial future will be tokenised, programmable and cross-border. It will settle somewhere. It should settle in Lagos.”
That transformation also demands new approaches to ownership and investment.
Dr Armstrong Ume Takang, CEO, Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Nigeria, said: “As we create digital tools that allow us to tokenise assets and make those assets widely available to investors, are Nigerians going to continue taking a back seat while others see the value, invest and benefit from the upside? Or are we going to become active participants in the evolving digital asset ecosystem?”
There is urgency of regulatory coordination as digital assets increasingly transcend national borders.
Tahiru Al Hassan, Head of Oversight and Compliance, Virtual Assets Department, Bank of Ghana, said: “Greater regulatory coordination across Africa will be essential to addressing the inherently cross-border nature of digital assets, avoiding unnecessary fragmentation and building trusted, interoperable ecosystems across the continent.”
MINT AFRICA by GITEX 2027 will be embedded in the week of GITEX NIGERIA because the future of finance can no longer be separated from the future of technology.
AI is becoming financial infrastructure. Tokenisation is connecting technology with capital markets. Digital identity is connecting citizens with services. Regulation is converging with innovation. And investment will determine which markets move from experimentation to scale.
Through GITEX’s international network of technology companies, investors, governments and innovators, MINT AFRICA by GITEX will connect these forces on one platform, with Lagos as its marketplace and Africa as its mandate.
Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of GITEX, said: “Nigeria leads Africa’s fintech revolution. Its scale, talent and ambition make Lagos the deserving metropolis for MINT AFRICA by GITEX.
“But the next chapter goes far beyond fintech. AI is becoming agentic, assets are becoming tokenised, money programmable and financial markets increasingly borderless. Africa has an opportunity not merely to participate in this transition, but to shape it.
“Lagos is already home to the innovators redefining how money moves across this continent. With MINT AFRICA by GITEX at GITEX NIGERIA, our ambition is to bring together the technology, regulation, infrastructure and global capital required to turn that innovation into Africa’s next financial economy.”
Meanwhile, at the sideline of the GITEX Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) have entered into a strategic partnership aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda, fostering innovation, and empowering businesses across the country through technology-driven growth.
The partnership was formalised through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa and the Director General of NACCIMA, Engr. Olusola Obadimu marking a significant milestone in the nation’s journey towards building an inclusive and competitive digital economy.
Speaking shortly after the signing ceremony, the Director General of NACCIMA described the agreement as a timely and strategic intervention for the private sector, emphasizing that digital transformation has become imperative for businesses seeking relevance and competitiveness in today’s global economy.
“It is an excellent arrangement to have this type of protocol on digitisation and digital transformation, especially for the private sector,” he said. “NACCIMA is the umbrella body of the organised private sector in Nigeria, and digital transformation is a necessity. There is no better partner to work with than NITDA, and we are happy to sign this MoU and move the partnership forward.”
The agreement provides a structured framework for collaboration in several key areas, including the development of a collaborative digital ecosystem platform, enterprise digital transformation for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), promotion of digital innovation and technology adoption, capacity building for Nigerian businesses, and strategic cooperation towards the successful development and institutionalisation of the Digital Nigeria International Conference (DNICE) 2026 and subsequent editions.
The partnership also seeks to facilitate stronger linkages among government institutions, private sector organisations, technology companies, academia, investors, development partners, and other stakeholders, creating an enabling environment for innovation and economic growth.
Underscoring the urgency of implementation, the NACCIMA DG disclosed that both organisations are prepared to commence execution of the agreement immediately.
“We are going to hit the ground running as soon as we return to our offices for the implementation of this agreement. Nigerians will begin to see things happen almost instantaneously,” he stated.
According to the NACCIMA DG, the partnership holds immense prospects for Nigeria, particularly for the country’s growing youth population, who are increasingly driving innovation and digital entrepreneurship.
“Digitalisation is the way to go. As you can see, we have a youthful population, and they are the ones driving this process. We should encourage them and give them all the necessary support to go beyond Nigeria and compete on the global stage,” he said.
The collaboration aligns with NITDA’s broader mandate of driving Nigeria’s digital economy through technology innovation, digital literacy, and business transformation, while leveraging NACCIMA’s extensive network and influence across the organised private sector.
