Nigeria’s technology sector generated ₦7 trillion in economic output during the first half of 2025, equal to 14% of the country’s total GDP. Yet much of that value has gone to foreign vendors and distant contractors, rather than building local capability. That tension shaped discussions at GITEX Nigeria 2026, held in Abuja and Lagos from August 31 to September 3. Technology leaders and government officials faced a hard question: How can Africa capture lasting value from its own digital transformation instead of depending on imported solutions?
Mastercard executives used the event to promote a partnership model they said centers on local ownership. Kari Tukur, vice president of Core Payments for West Africa at Mastercard, said identity, payment and service-delivery systems should work together from the outset. The company’s Community Pass program gives farmers and small traders secure digital credentials to build profiles that support access to payments, markets and financial tools. It addresses a real gap in financial inclusion without requiring entirely new government infrastructure.
Building Infrastructure, Not Dependency
Olusola Olakanmi, Mastercard’s vice president of Account Management and head of Sales for West Africa, argued that global partnerships should strengthen local capability, not deepen reliance on foreign firms. “Their long-term value should be measured by how much they strengthen local capability, develop infrastructure and create opportunities for African businesses to generate sustainable value,” he said. That means transferring capability, building engineering and cybersecurity skills, developing products and involving local suppliers—the kinds of investments that create lasting economic assets instead of perpetual licensing fees.
Mastercard’s African acceptance network grew by 45% in 2025, bringing more small and informal businesses into digital payments. The company runs Mastercard Move, which supports money movement across more than 200 countries and territories in more than 150 currencies. Its Threat Intelligence system uses artificial intelligence to assess transaction risk in real time, helping identify suspicious activity while approving legitimate transactions. But are these partnerships building Nigerian expertise, or just extending foreign corporate reach?
An unexpected answer comes from local business. ZikarelHub LTD, a digital product studio based in Lagos and Abuja, shows what can happen when local firms stop outsourcing core technology decisions. The company challenges a fragmented approach that has shaped Nigerian tech development: European agencies handle design, Indian or Eastern European freelancers take on backend work, and local teams manage compliance.
Why Local Matters
That arrangement sounds efficient until it breaks down. Silicon Valley approaches assume seamless 5G networks, frictionless payments and unified regulation. Nigeria faces a different reality. Businesses need offline-first capabilities, 3G-optimized architecture, USSD integration and compliance with Central Bank of Nigeria directives that shift with regulatory winds. A polished interface that needs constant internet access fails rural field workers who must enter data offline and sync later.
ZikarelHub has brought the entire product lifecycle under one roof, cutting handoff delays, budget bloat and the misalignment that often arises when teams work across continents and time zones. The company reports a 98% client satisfaction rate across more than 60 deployed projects. Its work includes custom enterprise resource planning software for manufacturing and logistics firms, multi-tenant software-as-a-service architectures for local business-to-business platforms, and AI workflows for customer service at financial institutions.
The choice is clear. Nigerian businesses can keep splitting work among distant contractors, accepting higher costs and slower delivery, or consolidate with firms that understand local constraints. ZikarelHub’s roadmap reflects confidence in that approach: its expansion plans include proprietary SaaS products and reusable fintech payment rails as the African Continental Free Trade Area matures and cross-border digital trade accelerates.
Gabriel Swanepoel, division president for Africa at Mastercard, acknowledged the wider imperative at GITEX: “Africa’s digital future will be shaped by the partnerships that bring together technology, innovation and local expertise to create real opportunities for people and businesses.” There’s a tension in that statement. Mastercard is a global corporation with every incentive to remain an intermediary. Yet the company recognizes that its long-term viability depends on African firms building genuine technical depth, rather than staying perpetual customers.
Cybersecurity is another area where local expertise matters. Can Elbeyli, senior vice president of Security Solutions for EEMEA at Mastercard, discussed changing threats and AI-driven risks at a GITEX cybersecurity workshop. As digital services expand, companies must build fraud prevention, data protection and consumer confidence into systems from the start. They can’t bolt them on later through foreign contractors unfamiliar with local payment ecosystems or regulatory requirements.
Why This Matters:
Nigeria’s ₦7 trillion technology sector can keep enriching foreign firms and distant contractors, or it can drive genuine local ownership and wealth creation. The difference isn’t ideological; it’s economic. When design, engineering and compliance decisions stay fragmented across vendors, costs rise, timelines slip and products fail because they weren’t built for local conditions. When one firm like ZikarelHub owns the entire product lifecycle, accountability becomes real. Mastercard’s African acceptance network grew by 45%, showing that digital payments drive economic participation—but only if infrastructure and expertise stay grounded in Africa rather than dependent on foreign solutions. As the Continental Free Trade Area expands and cross-border commerce accelerates, Nigerian firms with deep technical capability will capture value; those that remain outsourcing partners to distant contractors won’t. The choice isn’t between technology and tradition—it’s between sustainable local development and permanent economic subordination.