Marrakech – If on the first day of Gitex Africa 2025 you hit the booth of Morocco World News and discovered a brave green sign that screamed “Nigeria”, and thought: “Wait, did I only cross the continent without knowing it?” – Don’t worry, you are not alone.
Here is the deal.
Nigeria had a whole stand for herself – loud, proud and willing to shine with Africa’s greatest tech event.
And do you guess what? Nitda (National Information Technology Development Agency) was there – and they talked to MWN about their own Ncair.
Welcome to the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (Ncair), where the government is not only flirting with the future. It builds it up.
It’s not just about shiny robots or keywords such as “Blockchain” and “IoT”. It’s about national interest. And yes – finally – strategic thinking.
At first glance, the Ultra Modern Digital Fabrication Lab (Fablab) from Ncair could pass for the dream office of a tech startup. But don’t be fooled by the aesthetics.
This is a state -run project with real teeth. The research areas read like a wish list for every future -oriented economy. Processing of natural language, robotics, mechanical learning, computer vision, health -ki, finance ki, bildungs
But here it is even more convincing: Ncair is together with the office for Nigerian digital innovation (Ondi)-a conscious step that shows that innovation is not a solo law.
It is an ecosystem. And in Abuja this ecosystem begins to breathe.
So what happens when a Nigerian startup goes through the doors from Ncair?
According to Wole Alao from the Nitda department for corporate communication and media relationships, “the Ncair is a special purpose and a subsidiary of Nitda with responsibility to promote indigenous innovative solutions, especially in the start -up ecosystem.”
“Nitda has developed the Nigeria -Startup law to regulate startups in the country and to thrive it in a globally competitive world of technology. When a startup is followed by Ncair, you can enjoy privileges such as the mentorial shaft of your ideas, the financing and the presentation of you on the global stage.”
And if you ask yourself whether this is all the conversation, Alao added: “With the support of Ncair, you have the opportunity to present your solutions for foreign investors and possibly commercialize.”
Let us talk about people now. At the top of this ship is Olubunmi Ajala, a data scientist and economist with a strong focus on the overall picture.
He is not here for tech-for-tech’s sake. His know -how is to connect digital points – to create guidelines, to build infrastructure and to ask how AI can be used intelligently to increase national productivity. It is strategy with soul and numbers that mean something.
And speak of numbers – how about 100 million ₦? This is the size of the KI fund, the new initiative of Ncair in cooperation with Google.
Yes, the Google. The fund aims to support 10 domestic startups that use AI in real applications, whereby everyone receives up to 10 million funding, mentoring of Google engineers, access to modern tools and the type of visibility from which startups dream of.
Introduction of the first cohort
Betalife used to correspond to the blood groups and to predict the demand in the blood supply chains of Africa.
Bunce, a AI-powered customer loyalty platform that personalizes communication for companies.
The farmspeak technology, which helps farmers in cattle floors to recognize diseases and to manage climate challenges with AI.
It is a powerful message: Nigeria no longer waits for the global AI wave. It builds its own.
If the formula sounds familiar, this is because the UM6P start gate from Morocco played in the same innovation sandbox.
Under the Department of Entrepreneurship and Venturing (Dev), led by Yassine Laghioui, UM6P has already built up a structure in which research on entrepreneurship and financing of functionality corresponds.
Programs there not only distribute money – they build capacity. They look after, incubate, accelerate. Sounds familiar?
Both Nigeria and Morocco create blueprints that not only look good on paper – they can be implemented.
They create environments in which AI is not an abstract force – it can teach, heal, build, grow and protect something.
And at a time when digital economies are the new oil, Ncair is not just a research center – it is a bet. A clever one.
And it also happens in international phases.
“Since Nitda has the indictment to promote the digital transformation agenda in Nigeria, his presence at Gitex Africa 2025 is both strategically and effectively,” he said.
“Accompanied by 12, from the related Nigerian Start -ups, Nitda will present the best of the technical innovation Nigeria from AI and Fintech to Agritech and Smart Solutions.”
Maybe the question is not: “Can AI repair everything?” But “What can a nation repair if it decides to make AI seriously?”
Nigeria has just started answering.
