LCCI President Urges Urgent Action to Position Nigeria as Africa’s Next Tech Frontier at ICTEL Expo 2026

The President and Chairman of Council of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Engr. Leye Kupoluyi, has called for bold and coordinated action to ensure Nigeria emerges as the leading destination for digital innovation, investment, and technology-driven growth in Africa.

Speaking at the opening of the 12th edition of the LCCI ICTEL Expo 2026, themed “Africa’s Next Tech Frontier: Building, Securing & Scaling Digital Prosperity,” Kupoluyi described Nigeria’s digital economy as the fastest-growing engine of the nation’s non-oil sector and emphasized that decisions taken today will determine whether Africa’s next trillion-dollar digital economy is built in Nigeria or elsewhere.

According to the LCCI President, the ICT sector contributed 10.07 percent to Nigeria’s real GDP in 2025, up from 9.79 percent in 2024, while telecommunications accounted for 7.29 percentage points of that contribution. He noted that the country has made significant progress in connectivity, with 154.7 million active internet subscribers, 188 million mobile connections, and broadband penetration reaching 55.67 percent as of April 2026.

Despite these gains, Kupoluyi expressed concern that Nigeria has slipped from Africa’s leading startup-funding destination to fourth place, behind Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt. He warned that infrastructure alone is insufficient without adequate capital and policy certainty to support the growth of globally competitive technology companies.

The LCCI President outlined three critical pillars required to secure Nigeria’s position in Africa’s digital future. First, he advocated treating digital infrastructure as a public utility, stressing the need to accelerate broadband penetration toward the national target of 70 percent and close the last-mile connectivity gap, particularly in underserved communities.

Second, he urged Nigeria to compete aggressively for technology investment, highlighting that African tech funding rebounded by 25 percent year-on-year to $4.1 billion in 2025. He noted that investors are increasingly prioritizing proven business models, strong governance, and sustainable revenue generation.

Third, Kupoluyi emphasized the importance of regulatory coherence, arguing that overlapping levies, foreign exchange challenges, and the slow implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act continue to raise the cost of doing business and discourage innovation. He stated that predictability has become as valuable to investors as incentives.

Warning against the economic cost of uncertainty, he noted that many businesses are redirecting expansion capital to competing African technology hubs such as Nairobi, Cairo, and Johannesburg. He added that Nigeria cannot afford prolonged regulatory ambiguity, particularly as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol opens access to a market of more than 1.3 billion people.

Kupoluyi concluded with a strong call for collaboration among government, investors, founders, and industry stakeholders, urging them to match ambition with action.

“The LCCI’s call to action is firm: build together, or watch others scale faster,” he said, adding that Africa’s next technology frontier will be built by those willing to act decisively and consistently.

The LCCI ICTEL Expo 2026, one of Africa’s leading technology and innovation events, continues with discussions focused on digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, innovation, investment, and strategies for scaling Africa’s digital prosperity.