The just-concluded GITEX NIGERIA 2025 placed women founders at the heart of Africa’s digital growth through The LaunchPad, an initiative designed by Alami Capital with backing from NITDA and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Nine women-led startups gained direct exposure to global investors, policymakers, and industry leaders.
The three-day event, hosted in both Abuja and Lagos, attracted over 3,000 participants, more than 100 exhibitors, and leading voices from across the global technology ecosystem.
For Alami Capital, the focus was on ensuring that women are not left behind in building Africa’s innovation story.
Olu Olufemi-White, CEO of Alami Capital, stressed the urgency of the mission. “The success of The Launchpad at GITEX NIGERIA 2025 demonstrates the urgency and promise of investing in African women founders. Who gets funded determines what gets built and what gets built will shape Africa’s economic future.
“Launchpad exists to ensure women are not left out of that equation. By anchoring their creativity and leadership within the continent’s new economic architecture, we are reshaping systems of innovation, governance, and growth for generations to come.”
Olufemi-White also featured on a high-level panel with NITDA Director General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi and Future Africa’s Iyin Aboyeji, where discussions centred on practical ways technologies such as big data, AI, and real-time analytics could drive inclusive innovation and smarter governance.
On the final day, the Minister of Women Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, hosted an honorary breakfast for the female founders supported by The LaunchPad.
Her keynote revealed the importance of strengthening women’s role in technology, creative, and impact-driven sectors, stressing that Nigeria’s economic growth depends on inclusivity.
In her address at GITEX, Olufemi-White captured the vision of what the platform seeks to achieve:
“I believe that great things happen when visionary leaders create space today, right here at home, that belief finds fresh expression, real expression.
“GITEX, a global stage for technology, diplomacy, innovation has landed on our soil, a meeting of ideas opportunity, a launch pad where a nation forges ties. Entrepreneurs ignite innovation, and a new generation shapes the digital frontier… The future is here, and that future is us.”
Her statement drew attention to the determination of Nigerian entrepreneurs to build solutions rooted in local realities, backed by patient capital and strengthened by collaboration between the public and private sectors.
In spotlighting women innovators and their startups, The LaunchPad at GITEX NIGERIA 2025 has marked an important shift in how the country places itself in the global tech space, one where women’s contributions are both welcomed and seen as indispensable to building a sustainable and resilient economy for Africa.
