Nkechi Oguchi is Chief Community & Marketing Officer at Itana who asserts that direct experience is essential to truly understand Nigeria’s and Africa’s nuanced reality, which includes significant progress and a vibrant tech scene often overlooked by external narratives – and that Itana serves as a direct access point to this dynamic growth.
You can’t really understand Nigeria or Africa just by watching the news or hearing what others say.
There’s so much more to see and feel when you take the bold step to visit and experience it for yourself. Yes, there are real challenges, but there has also been incredible progress. People are often surprised by how advanced the tech scene is and how educated and driven the people are.
That’s one of the reasons Itana exists; to create a gateway for people who want to be part of the continent’s growth story.
But, who is ITANA?
ITANA is building Africa’s first Digital Economic Zone, with the ambitious mission to unlock and scale the digital economy across the continent. Their work is multifaceted, addressing critical challenges faced by technology and service-based businesses in Africa, especially Nigeria.
In summary, Here’s a brief background on the important work Itana does:
- Creating a Digital Free Zone: Itana is pioneering the concept of a “Digital Free Zone” in Africa. This is a designated economic area, both online and with a physical component, designed to foster business growth by providing favorable policies, regulations, infrastructure, and community.
- Simplified Business Operations: A core offering is a simplified process for businesses (tech companies, service providers, and startups) to incorporate and operate fully online within the Itana zone. This includes streamlined access to business services and incentives related to taxation, immigration, banking, and capital repatriation. For example, businesses registered with Itana can benefit from exemptions from Nigerian corporate income tax and VAT, operate in foreign currencies (like USD, GBP, EUR), and receive priority visa processing for their teams.
- Addressing Regulatory Challenges: Itana directly tackles the often complex and uncertain regulatory environment in many African countries. By working in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria (specifically through NEPZA, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority), they aim to create a predictable and supportive legal framework for digital businesses.
- Building a Supportive Ecosystem: Itana is built on three key pillars:
- Policy: Establishing a robust legal and regulatory framework optimized for the digital economy.
- Infrastructure: Developing both digital infrastructure (reliable internet, power) and a physical “live-work-build” environment in Lagos, known as the Itana District, for collaboration and community.
- Community: Fostering a global community of ambitious founders, investors, and operators building for Africa, offering networking opportunities, insights, and access to a curated marketplace of service providers.
- Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): By creating a more attractive and easier environment for businesses to set up and scale, Itana aims to draw more foreign investment into Nigeria’s digital economy.
- Empowering Local and Global Businesses: Itana serves as a gateway for both international companies looking to expand into Africa and Nigerian startups aiming to scale globally. They offer practical support like business exploratory consultations, business registration assistance, legal services for incorporation, visa processing support, and operational bank account setup.
- Partnerships: Itana actively collaborates with key players like the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for funding and Accelerate Africa to provide direct support and resources to early-stage African entrepreneurs.
In essence, Itana is striving to create an “ideal jurisdiction” for digital businesses in Africa, aiming to be to Nigeria and the continent what places like Delaware, Silicon Valley, Dubai’s DIFC, and e-Estonia are to their respective regions. They are addressing systemic challenges to enable easier business operations, foster innovation, and ultimately drive economic growth and job creation in the digital sector across Africa.
Numeris Media is official Media Partner to GITEX Nigeria x AI Everything Nigeria
[03 – 04 September, 2025 – Lagos]