By Seun Ibiyemi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Federal Government to develop a roadmap for the full launch of Nigeria’s Digital Free Zones initiative within 180 days, as part of efforts to attract global capital, create jobs and keep technology businesses and intellectual property within the country.
Tinubu gave the directive to the Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, who serves as Vice-Chairman and Implementation Coordinator of the Presidential Steering Committee on Digital Free Zones.
The initiative is designed to modernise Nigeria’s free zone framework, which was established more than three decades ago, to meet the needs of the digital economy.
According to the President, the government’s objective is to enable Nigerian technology and service companies to raise international capital, employ Nigerians and serve global markets without relocating their businesses or intellectual property abroad.
“Nigeria has the talent, enterprise and ambition to build companies that can compete anywhere in the world. Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that Nigerians do not have to leave Nigeria or rely on other jurisdictions to realise that potential,” Tinubu said.
He said the administration wants more economic value generated by Nigerian talent to remain in the country through employment, investment, professional services, intellectual property and the expansion of locally based businesses.
The President also said the initiative would create opportunities for young Nigerians to work for global companies from within the country while strengthening the domestic ecosystem of engineers, developers, designers, lawyers, accountants and other professionals supporting digital businesses.
Tinubu said Nigerian entrepreneurs had for years been compelled to incorporate companies and hold intellectual property abroad in order to access international capital and markets, stressing that his administration wants to reverse the trend.
“I want the next generation of African technology, finance and service companies to be built, headquartered and scaled to the world from Nigerian soil,” he said.
The Digital Free Zones initiative is already taking shape, with Itana, described as Nigeria’s first Digital Free Zone, licensed by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA).
Itana provides a platform for global and pan-African digital and service businesses to establish and operate from Nigeria.
The Africa Finance Corporation is backing the $500 million Itana Innovation project at Alaro City, Lagos.
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The project is expected to combine an enabling policy environment with an innovation campus, access to capital and ecosystem services aimed at helping African startups scale while retaining more of the value they create on the continent.
Tinubu said the administration’s ambition goes beyond the development of technology parks, noting that Nigeria wants companies serving African and global markets to be incorporated, financed and governed from the country.
“We want African companies to be incorporated in Nigeria, financed here and governed from here, while serving markets across Africa and the world,” he said.
He added that the initiative would allow young Nigerians in cities including Kano, Enugu, Warri, Minna, Maiduguri and Ibadan to work for global companies without having to leave the country.
The President said founders should also be able to raise capital internationally while keeping their companies and intellectual property in Nigeria.
The Presidential Steering Committee will continue work on regulatory, taxation, banking, immigration and arbitration issues, as well as the digitisation of government processes within Nigeria’s free zones.
Tinubu said the initiative would position Nigeria to benefit from the expansion of Africa’s digital economy and the growth of digitally enabled trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“Nigeria has the talent and the market to reshape Africa’s place in the global technology and digital economy value chain,” he said.
According to the President, the Digital Free Zones initiative represents part of the administration’s broader digital economy reforms aimed at converting policy changes into investment and employment opportunities.
“This is what our Renewed Hope commitment to a digital economy looks like in practice, and this is how we transform reform into opportunities.
“We made a promise to Nigerians. We are keeping it,” Tinubu said.
