TUE SEPT 08 2026-theGBJournal| Regulatory fragmentation, overlapping rules and slow licensing processes are emerging as major constraints on technology investment across Africa, with Nigeria’s digital regulator calling for a fundamental rethink of how governments regulate fast-converging technologies.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Director-General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi made the case for a more coordinated regulatory framework at the session, “Regulatory Roundtable Regulation That Builds: Aligning Policy and Digital Infrastructure Investment Priorities,” during the ITW Data Cloud Africa 2026 event in Nairobi, Kenya.
His central message was that regulation should facilitate investment rather than become an administrative bottleneck.
Inuwa argued that governments need to remove the administrative friction that so often stalls major technology projects.
Rather than requiring companies to navigate a maze of separate government agencies, governments should present a unified front by establishing a single regulatory interface that makes licensing faster and project timelines far more predictable.
From fragmented regulation to co-regulation
The issue is becoming more pressing as artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure and high-density data centres increasingly converge.
These technologies cut across traditional regulatory boundaries, making siloed oversight more difficult for both regulators and businesses.
To address this, NITDA is pioneering a model of horizontal co-regulation.
Under the approach, NITDA establishes broad technology standards, such as the National Sovereign Cloud Initiative, which sector-specific regulators — including the Central Bank of Nigeria — can adopt and adapt for their respective industries.
The model is designed to prevent regulatory duplication while ensuring that specialised regulators retain oversight of their sectors.
In practical terms, it means a technology company developing infrastructure that touches banking, data protection, telecommunications and cloud services would face a more coordinated regulatory environment, rather than having to satisfy multiple agencies operating independently.
NITDA’s position is that no single agency should have to shoulder the increasingly complex task of regulating emerging technologies end-to-end.
Cross-border data flows become investment priority
Inuwa also looked beyond national borders, outlining a framework for cross-border data exchange in Africa anchored on three core pillars: interoperability through clear data classification, trust built on mutual recognition of regulatory standards, and unified security protocols.
The proposal addresses a critical issue for Africa’s digital economy.
As businesses increasingly depend on cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data-driven services, the ability to move data securely across borders can influence where companies locate data centres, build digital infrastructure and deploy technology services.
A more interoperable regulatory environment could therefore reduce the cost and complexity of operating across African markets while making the continent more attractive to long-term technology investors.
Regulation should create markets, not just enforce rules
Above all, Inuwa emphasised a shift in regulatory philosophy.
NITDA’s approach, he said, is not about collecting revenue or enforcing rigid, punitive rulebooks.
Instead, the ultimate objective of regulation must be market creation, building local capacity, attracting long-term investors and giving technology businesses the freedom to scale.
That distinction is particularly important for Africa’s technology industry, where high infrastructure costs, fragmented markets and regulatory uncertainty can make investment decisions more difficult.
For investors, the proposed shift suggests that the quality of regulation should increasingly be measured not simply by compliance requirements or revenue generated by regulators, but by whether the regulatory environment reduces uncertainty, accelerates project deployment and supports the growth of local digital industries.
Industry and regulators at the table
Also with the DG on the panel were Caroline Okafor, Legal Enforcement and Regulation, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC); Tony Izuagbe Emokpe, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Mercy Ndegwa, Director, Public Policy, East & Horn of Africa/Economic Policy Lead, Africa, Meta; and Eng. Dennis Chepkwony, Director, Universal Service Fund, Communication Authority of Kenya.
The participation of regulators, telecoms industry representatives and technology companies underlined the broader challenge: digital infrastructure investment increasingly requires rules that cut across traditional institutional boundaries.
Inuwa’s proposal for horizontal co-regulation is therefore aimed at creating a regulatory architecture that can keep pace with the technology itself — while making Africa a more predictable and investable destination for digital infrastructure.
The broader industry message is clear: if Africa wants to attract the capital needed for AI, cloud computing, data centres and next-generation connectivity, regulatory coordination may be just as important as the infrastructure itself.
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