The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a Technical Working Group (TWG) as part of efforts to strengthen regulatory collaboration and establish a coordinated sandbox framework to support innovation within Nigeria’s digital economy.

Speaking during the inauguration ceremony, the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Barrister Emmanuel Edet, stressed the importance of stronger collaboration among regulatory institutions to address structural challenges slowing innovation across the country.

According to Inuwa, members of the Technical Working Group were carefully selected based on their strategic institutional responsibilities and their ability to contribute practical solutions suited to the realities of Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital ecosystem.

He noted that although regulatory agencies operate within clearly defined mandates, the growing complexity of digital technologies now demands greater alignment and cooperation among institutions to ensure innovation is effectively supported rather than unintentionally constrained.

“As government institutions, our responsibility is to provide solutions to the challenges faced by Nigerians. The challenge is not a lack of commitment, but a structural issue. Regulators often work independently while implementing their mandates, and in today’s digital environment, that approach has clear limitations,” he said.

Inuwa observed that the rapid growth of the digital economy continues to outpace traditional regulatory systems, creating gaps capable of delaying or obstructing innovative solutions that could improve livelihoods and accelerate national development.

To bridge these gaps, he explained that NITDA is championing a multi-agency regulatory framework aimed at bringing regulators together to better understand overlapping responsibilities and jointly develop adaptive mechanisms that encourage innovation while ensuring effective oversight.

A major component of the initiative, according to him, is the adoption of regulatory sandboxes — controlled environments where innovators can safely test emerging technologies and digital solutions under the supervision of relevant regulatory authorities.

“Our guiding principle is learning by doing. Through these sandboxes, regulators can help create safe environments where innovation can be nurtured, tested, and scaled for the benefit of Nigerians,” he added.

He further clarified that the initiative is not intended to diminish or override the statutory powers of any regulatory agency, but rather to improve coordination and build a more responsive regulatory ecosystem capable of keeping pace with technological advancement.

Inuwa maintained that enhanced inter-agency collaboration is critical to ensuring Nigeria remains competitive within the global digital economy and fully leverages innovation as a driver of inclusive growth and national prosperity.

He expressed confidence that the Technical Working Group would provide a strategic platform for developing forward-looking regulatory solutions while advancing NITDA’s vision of positioning itself as an ecosystem orchestrator committed to digital transformation and sustainable national development.

Presenting an overview of the National Regulatory Sandbox initiative, the National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Victoria Fabunmi, said the framework is designed to provide innovators with a structured legal and multi-agency platform for testing emerging technologies before full market approval.

Fabunmi explained that despite significant advancements in sectors such as Artificial Intelligence, fintech, blockchain, and health technology, innovators still face major obstacles arising from fragmented regulations, siloed approval systems, and the absence of coordinated testing mechanisms.

She noted that while Nigeria’s digital economy continues to expand rapidly, the lack of harmonised regulatory engagement has often delayed innovation and created uncertainty for startups and technology-driven enterprises.

According to her, the National Regulatory Sandbox goes beyond being merely a digital platform, describing it instead as a governance and legal framework created to ensure innovation can thrive responsibly within a supportive regulatory environment.

Unlike conventional sandbox models commonly associated with financial services, Fabunmi stated that Nigeria’s framework is deliberately sector-agnostic, enabling regulators across sectors such as agriculture, digital health, mobility, clean energy, and digital public infrastructure to collaborate in supporting innovation.

Under the arrangement, startups and innovators will be able to engage multiple regulators simultaneously within a controlled testing environment, thereby reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks and shortening time-to-market for emerging solutions.

She added that the sandbox framework would also generate shared, evidence-based regulatory insights to help participating agencies make informed decisions collectively and design adaptive policies that encourage responsible innovation.

The inauguration of the Technical Working Group marks another milestone in NITDA’s efforts to build a more agile, collaborative, and innovation-friendly regulatory environment aligned with Nigeria’s ambition of becoming one of Africa’s leading digital economies.

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TECHDIGEST – The Federal Government has taken a major step towards promoting indigenous content in the country, with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Uniccon Group of Companies, aimed at fostering the development and growth of local contents in the Nigerian technology industry.

Under the terms of the MoU, NITDA and UNICCON, a company that unveiled Africa’s First Humanoid Robot, Omeife, will collaborate to develop and promote local content in Nigeria through various initiatives, including capacity building, skills development, and the creation of an enabling environment for local content producers and developers.

The partnership will also focus on supporting local startups and SMEs in the technology industry, providing them with access to funding, mentorship, and other forms of support that will enable them to grow and compete on the global scale.

Speaking during the formal signing, the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, represented by Head of Legal Unit of the Agency, Barrister Emmanuel Edet, recounted that during the unveiling of “Omeife” last year December by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), had urged NITDA to work with Uniccon Group on ways to commercialise Omeife.

READ ALSO: Pantami Inaugurates Nigeria Startup Act Implementation Committee

He said, “We plan to have an application that everyone can use to take advantage of Omeife. At NITDA, we have the Learning Management System (LMS) for a long time, and can be integrated into API provided by the Unicorn group, thereby extending our elements to take advantage of it.”

Inuwa stated that leveraging on Omeife (robot) will deepen the penetration of digital literacy across the country, providing platform for shared knowledge in Pidgin, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. This will provide a framework and platform for exposure of Nigeria’s indigenous content internationally.

“Our greatest dream is to nurture startups and companies that will occupy the global space and also be as competitive as possible for the growth of the economy.

“Digital Economy is a great alternative to oil, which serves as a means of income and an opportunity for us to compete because the entry-level is intellect and we have a lot of that across the country,” the DG asserted.

The Chairman/CEO of Uniccon Group of Company, Mr. Chuks Ekweme during his remarks commended the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), and the DG of NITDA for the policies and initiatives implemented towards the digital transformation of the country.

He assured that Unicorn Group of Company will support the government towards the actualisation of policies and initiatives, and do their best to contribute their quota towards the implementation drive for the growth of the country.

Ekweme eemphasised he importance of the AI project in Africa, stating that statistics show that no African country can boast of having 60% AI by 2030, with most countries falling below this percentage. Therefore, the signing of the MoU is a crucial step towards bridging this gap and positioning Nigeria as a leader in AI development.

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