This commitment was resoundingly reiterated by Kashifu Inuwa, NITDA’s director general, at the “Innovate Her 25” conference, the 10th National Conference and 11th Annual Meeting of Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NiWIIT).

Speaking at the event themed “Women in AI: Unlocking Resilience, Fostering Innovation and Leadership,” Inuwa, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, emphasised that true innovation blossoms not in isolation, but through synergistic partnerships and collective endeavour – principles deeply embedded in NITDA’s operational ethos.

Highlighting Nigeria’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy, Inuwa added that inclusivity is embedded as a core objective:

“Our strategic roadmap mandates that at least 40% of our programmes directly benefit women and underserved groups. We have also developed a Gender Inclusion Strategy to guide interventions in areas such as training and infrastructure,” he explained.

Further underscoring Nigeria’s leadership in the digital space, Inuwa excitingly announced that in September 2025, NITDA will proudly host a Leadership Summit on AI.

This landmark event will convene stakeholders from across the African continent, fostering a collaborative environment to forge a unified AI vision for Africa.

In alignment with the conference’s focus on empowering women in technology, the DG detailed NITDA’s diverse capacity-building initiatives spanning AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.

“We work with partners such as the Renew Hope Initiative to train thousands of women across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones,” he revealed, highlighting the agency’s broad reach.

NITDA stands ready to collaborate with organisations like the Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NIWIT), actively encouraging proposals for bespoke programmes that cater to specific community needs.

“We focus on targeted training with measurable outcomes, rather than generic approaches,” Inuwa affirmed, emphasising a results-oriented methodology.

He further spotlighted NITDA’s “Digital Literacy for All Initiative,” which seeks to equip 70% of Nigerians with digital literacy by 2027.

Through strategic partnerships with the NYSC and the integration of digital literacy into national school curricula, the agency plans to train over 30 million Nigerians — with a dedicated focus on underserved communities and public servants.

Addressing critical concerns surrounding ethical AI, Inuwa emphasised the importance of developing indigenous datasets and large language models reflective of Nigeria’s unique realities:

“We are working closely with stakeholders to build local datasets that safeguard Nigerians’ digital rights and ensure ethical AI use,” he assured.

NITDA is also championing mentorship for women in technology through impactful initiatives such as Women Innovate.

The agency warmly welcomes collaboration with NIWIT to design structured mentorship programmes and is open to formalising such partnerships through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).

“NITDA is committed to fostering inclusive economic growth through innovation. Partnership and collaboration remain the way forward,” Inuwa declared.

The session concluded with a resounding call to action, urging women-focused organisations to leverage NITDA’s open-door policy and unite in advancing digital inclusion across Nigeria. The future of Nigeria’s digital economy is inclusive, and women are at its forefront.

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This pivotal document was developed in collaboration with Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), an Africa-focused non-profit dedicated to advancing digital innovation and inclusive policy development.

The whitepaper was developed as part of a collaborative initiative to tackle the escalating challenge of online harm in Nigeria.

It builds on the discussions and key insights from Nigeria’s inaugural Content Moderation and Online Safety Summit, hosted by API in July 2022.

The whitepaper provides context on the prevalence of online harms and the need for action, highlighting the government’s effort through various agencies to propose solutions to protect citizens and children online.

It also provides rich resources on relevant conceptual ideas critical to the debate on approaches for regulatory action to combat online harms.

The paper further analyses efforts from other jurisdictions and proffers a range of ideas that can be considered for developing a framework in Nigeria.

The whitepaper will serve as a foundation for stakeholder engagement and developing a comprehensive, collaborative framework for a bill to protect Nigerians as we navigate online and interactive content.

The whitepaper is not intended to be a final document to define the contours of online harm in Nigeria.

Instead, it will be the basis for engagement with other relevant regulators, the security sector, civil society organisations, local and international internet platforms, businesses and the wider public. Therefore, the whitepaper does not present the sole opinions of NITDA but rather aggregated ideas based on research to guide regulatory options for meaningful engagement around online harms.

According to a statement signed by Mrs Hadiza Umar, director, Corporate Communications and Media Relations at NITDA, by releasing this whitepaper, the Agency and API aim to spark a national conversation on online harms and contribute to the development of a comprehensive legal framework that protects Nigerian citizens while fostering a vibrant digital ecosystem.

“We urge stakeholders to read this paper thoughtfully and respond with comments, questions and suggestions to theOHPwhitepaper.secretariat@apiintelligence.org with all tips and recommendations. The secretariat will collate these responses and present them to the stakeholder groups for subsequent engagement before developing a relevant Bill.

“The Agency thanks the steering team members, drawn mainly from Nigeria’s civil society, who participated in developing the whitepaper, and the Nigerian Human Rights Commission  (NHRC) representatives for their efforts as steering team members.  We also thank the project’s secretariat for their dedication and hard work in compiling the research to produce the whitepaper. We look forward to future engagements and conversations as we improve Nigeria’s digital economy and create a safe space for all to use the Internet as a shared resource”, Mrs. Umar said.

Download or read the Whitepaper via this link here.

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