NITDA's Abdullahi Calls for Unified Digital Regulations in Africa

At the ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026 event held in Nairobi, Kenya, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, called for a unified regulatory framework across Africa to support the continent's expanding digital economy. He highlighted the challenges posed by fragmented regulatory systems, which can delay technology projects and create uncertainty for investors.

Abdullahi's remarks underscored the need for a cohesive approach to regulation, particularly for infrastructure requiring significant capital and long-term planning, such as data centres and cloud platforms. He noted that while the European Union has made strides in regulatory alignment, Africa must also establish common rules and standards to facilitate the growth of its interconnected digital economy.

This is crucial as technology infrastructure cannot be deployed like ordinary software products and requires a predictable regulatory environment to ensure investor confidence.