*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, expresses delight at successful participation of Nigerian tech startups in 2025 GITEX Africa鈥檚 SUPERNOVA Challenge, a spectacular highlight of the event celebrating Africa鈥檚 brightest startups and pushing bold ideas onto the global stage

Gbenga Kayode | 绿帽献妻

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has hailed the 12 Nigerian tech startups that participated in the GITEX Africa 2025 event, held in Marrakech, Morocco.

The agency stated the tech startups not only attracted interests from international investors, but also fostered invaluable global collaborations and knowledge exchange within the global technology ecosystem.

绿帽献妻 reports Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of NITDA, stated this at GITEX Africa鈥檚 SUPERNOVA Challenge, a grand finale with a spectacular highlight to celebrate Africa鈥檚 brightest startups while pushing their bold ideas onto the global stage.

The winner is… Nigerian startup Crop2Cash

Inuwa expressed his delight at the 鈥渆xceptional innovations鈥� which the 12 Nigerian startups sponsored by NITDA showcased at the global event.

Highlighting the country鈥檚 spectacular showing at the event, NITDA Thursday, April 17 in a blog note via its verified social media account, disclosed among the standout achievements the country鈥檚 delegation recorded at the event was Nigerian startup Crop2Cash that clinched 鈥淭he Young CEO Award鈥�.

The Information Technology (IT) sector regulatory agency also said that Crop2Cash award was complemented by a $5,000 cash prize.

The agency also revealed that Vinsight, another Nigerian startup, made the Top 10 finalists of the SUPERNOVA Special Awards, and the firm was honoured among standout innovators across regions and sectors at GITEX Africa, in Marrakech.

It is recalled that NITDA recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SecDojo, SAS, a Cybersecurity training and upskilling company with headquarters in France.

The agency disclosed the aim of the agreement is to strengthen Nigeria’s resilience against cyberthreats through targeted capacity building initiatives.

NITDA affirmed the move is part of its continued effort at implementing the current administration鈥檚 agenda of strengthening national security.

The signing ceremony, which took place during GITEX Africa event, would enable Nigerian tech startup, innovators, and other experts to have access to SecDojo, SAS鈥檚 platforms to advance their cybersecurity knowledge and skills.

The agency also said Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, and Mr. Younes Benzagmout, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SecDojo, represented both organisations at the MoU signing ceremony.

The Nigerian Government is committed to robust cybersecurity measures and digital trust to safeguard the digital infrastructure as well as contribute to the overall peace and prosperity of the country, stated NITDA.

It also noted: “This strategic partnership is designed to bolster Nigeria鈥檚 cybersecurity landscape through comprehensive capacity-building initiatives.

“The collaboration will focus on the establishment of a Cybersecurity Academy, delivery of advanced training and simulation programmes, development of customised curricula and educational resources, and facilitation of research, knowledge sharing, and professional exchange programmes.”

Speaking at the signing ceremony earlier, Inuwa expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, describing it as a key milestone in Nigeria鈥檚 journey toward a secure digital future.

He equally affirmed that “we just signed an MOU with SecDojo, which is a cybersecurity capacity-building provider, and this is one of our efforts to strengthen our national cybersecurity to enhance our cyber resilience.”

The NITDA Chief Executive further asserted the fact that Nigeria has continued its digital transformation journey, and investing in human capital is paramount.

Inuwa as well described people as the technology component of any innovation ecosystem.

The Director-General equally, observed the growing global demand for cybersecurity professionals and emphasised Nigeria鈥檚 potential to fill the talent gap, given its large and youthful population.

鈥淕lobally, we have the gap, and in Nigeria, we have a young population that if we harness, well, we can train them and connect them with the global value chain to provide cybersecurity services and also to fill some roles and gaps in the global cybersecurity market,” he said.

Pushing for digital skills integration into Nigeria鈥檚 formal education system, Inuwa therefore, advocated deeper collaboration between technology stakeholders and the Federal Ministry of Education to embed digital literacy and cybersecurity training into Nigeria鈥檚 formal education system.