Alake shared this figure at a breakfast meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, during the ongoing GITEX Global tech expo, where he highlighted the State’s position as Africa’s largest tech hub.

Lagos is home to more than 2,000 tech startups, with a concentration of innovation and business ventures that make the city a driver of technological advancement on the continent. 

He noted that if Lagos were a separate country, it would rank among the top five or six economies in Africa, pointing to the economic importance of the tech ecosystem.

The Commissioner attributed this growth to the dynamic nature of Lagos, pointing out that around 80% to 90% of Nigeria’s entire startup ecosystem is based in the State. This, he said, makes Lagos a key player in technology across Africa. 

Among the prominent companies shaping the industry are fintech giants like Flutterwave and Opay, while other sectors such as agri-tech and construction technology are also gaining ground.

Alake emphasised that fintech dominates the ecosystem, with approximately 40% of startups in Lagos focusing on financial technology. However, innovations in other sectors are also contributing significantly to the region’s growth. 

He added that the Lagos State Government is playing an active role in supporting these ventures, from investing in startups to refining regulations to create a more conducive business environment.

The Commissioner also pointed out Lagos’s evolving position in the global tech landscape. Leveraging Nigeria’s partnership with the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), organisers of GITEX, Lagos aims to bring international attention to the local ecosystem.

Alake urged global investors to seize the opportunity to engage with Lagos’ talented and dynamic workforce, which is shaping the future of African tech.

Notably, Lagos has the largest artificial intelligence (AI) market in Africa, with companies deploying various AI use cases. Earlier this year, the State launched Nigeria’s first large language model, which Alake said was designed with a focus on solving Nigeria’s specific challenges.

In a related development, Nigeria is set to host the GITEX conference in September next year, in collaboration with the DWTC. According to Trixie LohMirmand, executive vice president of DWTC, the event will provide Nigerian startups with access to capital and global business insights. 

LohMirmand highlighted the need to bring the world’s attention to Nigeria, stating that only a small percentage of the country’s 6,000 startups had previously been able to connect with global investors during the Dubai event.

Lagos remains a rich tech hub, attracting both local and global interest, with startups benefiting from a supportive entrepreneurial culture and a wealth of talent. 

However, challenges remain, particularly in infrastructure and regulatory frameworks, which must be addressed to ensure long-term success. 

Receiving the award on behalf of the Agency, the Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE registered NITDA’s appreciation to the Organizers and the Centre for the award.

The award presentation was preceded by a panel discussion where the Director-General and his Ethiopian counterpart from the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Selamyhun Adefris Haile deliberated on the topics: “What is the attraction of the startup ecosystem in Africa and What are the government’s Strategies?” (Startup act, Participating at GITEX).

Inuwa who seized the opportunity to speak on ongoing efforts by the Federal Government in strengthening the tech ecosystem said a lot of innovations are coming out of Africa where Nigeria owns the largest market.

According to him, there are about fifteen major sectors where Nigerian startups play key roles and are solving some challenges therein with their indigenous solutions which have global impact.

“Fintech tops the list because financial inclusion is critical to the economy and it is closely followed by e-Health, eduTech, Logistics and Mobility etc”.

“In Nigeria, more than thirty-six percent of the Startups are in Fintech sub-sector which explains why Fintech is thriving as they are creating hundreds and thousands of jobs”, Inuwa noted.

The Director-General stressed the fact Nigeria, as at early this year, had five unicorns out of the seven in Africa, adding that about three additional unicorns might be recorded anytime soon.

“That means before the end of this year, we are hoping to have between eight to nine unicorns in Nigeria. Some of them have huge capital base; Infact, one of them has more than $3.5B valuation which is a Fintech with valuation almost twice as the biggest bank in the country”, Inuwa affirmed.

Inuwa indicated that the government is trying to give a leveled playing field to all startups by creating an enabling environment for them.

“As a government, we have a foundational policy to help the Start-up which is called: National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria and my Agency, NITDA which is one of the Agencies responsible for implementing the policy crafted our own Strategy Roadmap and Action Plan which has seven strategic pillars; all of these policies are geared towards creating a workable environment for our Startups”, Inuwa explained.

The NITDA Boss who avowed that the Agency adopts a developmental regulation approach in order to co-create with the tech ecosystem, assured the audience that the Start-up Bill once assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari will greatly help in addressing the myriad of challenges plaguing the sector.

He expressed optimism that Nigeria will be at the forefront of bridging the global talent gap.

“If Africa, Nigeria in particular positions itself well, we can bridge that talent gap; the talent industry is projected to create about $8.5 Trillion revenue by 2030, so any country that positions itself to bridge that gap will be among the top economies in the world”, the DG maintained.