BY DAVID ADUGE-ANI, ABUJA

The federal government said it would partner with KAOUN International, to host the maiden edition of the world-renowned Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) in Nigeria.

Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),
Kashifu Inuwa, who announced this in Abuja, during the inauguration of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the event, said the exhibition would be held in Abuja and Lagos between 1st and 4th of September 2025.

Inuwa explained that the maiden edition of the event with the theme: “Forging the Rise of Digital Nigeria”, is expected to have not less than 1,000 startups, over 100 investors and an attendance of over 20,000 participants.

He said that the event in Abuja would witness government leadership and AI summit to unite government leaders and global tech executives to drive national projects, including digital infrastructure expansion, AI adoption and public sector innovation, while in Lagos, which is the commercial hub of the country, GITEX aims to spotlight the nation’s tech ecosystem, promoting startups, attracting investment, growth driving multi-sector economic diversification to a global audience.

Represented by the director of the ITIS department, Mr Olawumi Oladejo, the Director General emphasised the potential impact of hosting such a prestigious event, stating that it would not only elevate Nigeria’s international profile, but also boost local businesses, drive tourism, and provide a platform for innovation and partnerships.

“We all know the positive impact that hosting this kind of event will bring to the country. It will boost our international standing and scale our local businesses and tourism.

This event is part of our way of implementing a major pillar, Forging Strategic Partnerships and Collaborations of the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024–2027),” he said.

In a statement by the director of public affairs department of NITDA, Hajiya Hauwa Umar, Inuwa stated that the implementation of the GITEX Nigeria is in line with the 8-point agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through the implementation of the agency’s SRAP.

Earlier in his presentation and overview of the GITEX Nigeria preparations, the Director of the Stakeholder Management and Partnerships department, Dr Aristotle Onumo,, stated that the vision of the event is to elevate six local startups to global standards in three years.

Onumo added that the event, which would be anchored on three fulcrums; enablement, engagement, and knowledge, to enhance growth in the Telecom, Fintech, Agritech, Edtech, e-Commerce, Healthtech as well as data centres in reinforcing data sovereignty and other sectors.