As global technology leaders gathered in Cannes, France, for the Datacloud Global Congress 2026, one question dominated discussions: how can nations harness digital infrastructure to drive economic growth and remain competitive in an increasingly AI-powered world?
Representing Nigeria on the global stage, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), joined policymakers and industry leaders during the congress’ closing keynote panel to explore the role of digital infrastructure in shaping national economies.
The session, moderated by Mehdi Paryavi, chairman and CEO of IDCA, brought together prominent voices including Ali Amur Al Shidhani, Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology at Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT), and Buddy Rizer, chief development officer at IDCA.
Throughout the discussion, Inuwa positioned digital infrastructure as more than just a technology investment, describing it as a foundation for economic transformation, innovation, and national competitiveness.
He pointed to Nigeria’s ongoing digitalisation efforts under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, highlighting how strategic investments in digital infrastructure are helping to diversify the economy, accelerate technology-driven development, and create new opportunities for citizens and businesses alike.
The conversation also examined the growing importance of artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, workforce readiness, and the infrastructure required to support the next phase of global economic growth.
Speaking on Nigeria’s policy direction, the DG emphasized the National Cloud Policy, which promotes cloud adoption across government institutions and prioritises the hosting of government data within Nigeria to strengthen digital sovereignty, improve public service delivery, stimulate the domestic cloud ecosystem, and deepen trust in digital systems.
He further highlighted the establishment of a Technical Working Group comprising ecosystem players, industry stakeholders, and hyperscalers to guide Nigeria’s sovereign cloud adoption agenda, develop technical standards, strengthen governance frameworks, and mobilise investments required to accelerate trusted cloud infrastructure development.
The DG stressed the need for increased investments in data centres, cloud infrastructure, broadband connectivity, and emerging technologies to unlock Nigeria’s digital economy ambitions and position the country as a leading digital hub in Africa.
He noted that expanding broadband penetration, advancing artificial intelligence development, and deliberate policy implementation remain critical to accelerating innovation, enabling scalable digital services, and driving economic transformation.
Inuwa also showcased Nigeria’s comparative advantages as an emerging digital investment destination, citing the country’s large and youthful population, vibrant innovation ecosystem, resilient entrepreneurial culture, growing digital talent base, and ongoing reforms aimed at creating an enabling environment for digital infrastructure investments.
He reiterated Nigeria’s commitment to fostering strategic partnerships and mobilising investments that accelerate the development of cloud infrastructure, data centres, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and digital public infrastructure to strengthen the country’s position as a globally competitive digital economy.
The Datacloud Global Congress convenes policymakers, investors, hyperscalers, cloud providers, data centre operators, and digital infrastructure stakeholders from around the world to shape the future of global digital infrastructure and investment.
