The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has called for deeper collaboration between Africa and the Middle East to drive inclusive economic growth through innovation and digital finance.
Inuwa made the call while delivering the keynote address at the 4th MENA Fintech Festival in Doha, Qatar, where he spoke on the theme “The Role of Innovation in Driving Economic Growth and Financial Inclusion.”
In his address, the NITDA boss highlighted the world’s rapid transition towards Bank 4.0 a future of intelligent, fully embedded and data-driven financial services powered by artificial intelligence.
He noted that Nigeria is emerging as a key player in this global transformation, driven by a vibrant fintech ecosystem, expanding financial inclusion and a digital economy that continues to attract international attention.
Inuwa stressed that innovation must go beyond expanding access to financial services, adding that it should translate into real financial health, resilience and shared prosperity, particularly for women, youths, rural communities and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“To achieve meaningful impact, innovation must be people-centred and designed to strengthen economic stability and opportunity across all segments of society,” he said.
As part of his recommendations, the NITDA Director-General proposed the creation of a Nigeria–MENA Digital Fintech Corridor to boost cooperation across borders. The initiative, he explained, would focus on interoperable cross-border payments, shared regulatory sandboxes, responsible deployment of artificial intelligence, youth-driven innovation exchanges and inclusive digital finance solutions.
He rounded off his presentation with a strong call for enhanced Africa–MENA collaboration, affirming that innovation remains the engine of inclusive development.
According to him, Nigeria stands ready to partner with regional and global stakeholders to co-create solutions and help shape the future of digital finance.
