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As Nigeria’s technology ecosystem continues to evolve at a rapid pace, regulators are increasingly facing the challenge of keeping up with innovation across emerging sectors such as fintech, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital identity, and health technology.
For startups and innovators, navigating multiple regulatory frameworks has often proven as complex as developing the technologies themselves.
To address this challenge and create a more coordinated regulatory environment, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated a Technical Working Group (TWG) to strengthen inter-agency collaboration and advance the development of a unified regulatory sandbox framework for Nigeria’s digital economy.
NITDA Pushes for Stronger Regulatory Collaboration
Speaking at the inauguration, Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by Acting Director of Regulation and Compliance, Emmanuel Edet, emphasised the need for closer cooperation among regulators to address structural bottlenecks slowing innovation.
According to him, members of the Technical Working Group were carefully selected based on their institutional relevance and ability to contribute practical, future-focused solutions to the evolving needs of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
He noted that while regulatory agencies have clearly defined mandates, the growing complexity of digital technologies now requires stronger coordination to ensure regulations enable innovation rather than hinder it.
“As government institutions, our core responsibility is to provide solutions to the challenges faced by Nigerians. The issue is not a lack of commitment, but a structural one. Regulators often operate in silos while implementing their mandates, and in today’s digital environment, that model presents significant limitations,” he said.
Inuwa observed that technological advancement continues to outpace traditional regulatory systems, creating gaps that can unintentionally delay the deployment of solutions capable of improving livelihoods and accelerating national development.
Regulatory Sandbox to Support Innovation
To bridge this gap, NITDA is championing a multi-agency regulatory framework designed to improve collaboration among regulators, align overlapping mandates, and create adaptive systems that balance innovation with oversight.
Central to this approach is the adoption of regulatory sandboxes — controlled environments where startups and innovators can test emerging products and technologies under the supervision of relevant regulators before full market deployment.
“Our guiding principle is that we learn by doing. Through these sandboxes, regulators can contribute to building safe spaces where innovation can be nurtured, tested, and scaled for the benefit of Nigerians,” Inuwa added.
He stressed that the initiative is not intended to dilute or override the statutory authority of any regulator but rather to improve coordination and create a more responsive system capable of keeping pace with technological change.
According to him, stronger collaboration among agencies will be critical to ensuring Nigeria remains competitive in the global digital economy while leveraging innovation as a catalyst for inclusive growth and national prosperity.
Inuwa also expressed optimism that the Technical Working Group would serve as a strategic platform for developing forward-looking regulatory solutions and reinforcing NITDA’s vision of becoming an ecosystem orchestrator for digital transformation.
National Sandbox to Reduce Regulatory Bottlenecks
Providing an overview of the National Regulatory Sandbox, National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Victoria Fabunmi, said the initiative is designed to create a structured legal and multi-agency framework that enables innovators to test solutions under regulatory supervision before receiving full approval.
She noted that despite rapid growth in sectors such as artificial intelligence, fintech, blockchain, and digital health, startups continue to struggle with fragmented regulations, siloed approval processes, and the absence of coordinated mechanisms for innovation testing.
According to Fabunmi, while Nigeria’s digital economy has expanded significantly, poor regulatory harmonisation has often delayed innovation and increased uncertainty for emerging businesses.
She described the National Regulatory Sandbox as more than just a technology platform, explaining that it is fundamentally a governance and legal framework aimed at creating a safe environment for responsible innovation.
Unlike traditional sandbox models commonly associated with financial services, Nigeria’s framework is intentionally sector-agnostic, enabling collaboration across industries including agriculture, clean energy, mobility, healthcare, digital public infrastructure, and financial technology.
Under the framework, innovators will be able to engage multiple regulators simultaneously within a controlled environment, significantly reducing bureaucratic delays and shortening time-to-market for new solutions.
Fabunmi added that the sandbox would also generate shared regulatory intelligence, enabling participating agencies to make evidence-based decisions and develop more adaptive, innovation-friendly policies.
The inauguration of the Technical Working Group marks another step in NITDA’s broader effort to create a more agile, collaborative, and innovation-driven regulatory ecosystem aligned with Nigeria’s ambition of becoming one of Africa’s leading digital economies.
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