Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Business leaders, investors, and innovators at the 2025 StartupSouth conference have declared that Nigeria’s aspiration to hit a $1 trillion economy will remain elusive unless the country doubles down on startups, research and development, and aggressive technology adoption.
Delivering the keynote, Prof. Silva Opuala-Charles, President of Garden City Premier Business School, warned that while startups drive innovation globally, Nigeria risks falling further behind if policymakers fail to take bold steps.
“Startups are fundamental in accelerating and shaping economies. Between the US and China, they control 90 percent of global innovation platforms. Their market capitalization alone competes with the global GDP of $115 trillion,” he said.
Prof. Opuala-Charles stressed that Nigeria’s low R&D spending, currently less than 0.5% of GDP compared with the world average of 2.67%, was stifling innovation.
“Technology adoption could be the game changer for Nigeria’s $1 trillion GDP aspirations. A 1% increase in research and development in digital business innovation can raise living standards by 0.15% annually,” he noted.
He added that small and medium enterprises, SMEs, which contribute 46% to Nigeria’s GDP and 87% of employment, represent a “greenfield opportunity” if digital ecosystems are scaled.
“What the government owes us is to make technology work and legislate to make both public and private sectors take it to the next level,” he said.
Prof. Opuala-Charles concluded: “With technology, capital will not be much of a challenge. Scaling and repeatability are the major drivers in the startup space. If we invest in innovation today, we can transform tomorrow.”
Also spekaing, Uche Aniche, Convener of StartupSouth, reinforced this message, describing the digital economy as Nigeria’s fastest-growing engine of growth.
“For the first time in our history, the digital economy has contributed more to Nigeria’s GDP than oil and gas. It only makes sense for us to double down on the sector that is surpassing our traditional backbone,” he declared.
He however admitted that funding remains the weakest link for startups in the South-South and South-East regions. “Compared with Lagos, our ecosystem struggles with funding attention. That’s why we are promoting angel investors’ forums and building more funding networks. The conversation must widen and deepen,” Aniche said.
From the infrastructure angle, Ikechukwu Mamah, Senior Manager, Network Services Delivery at Equinix West Africa, emphasized the transformative power of digital connectivity.
With new optic fibre landing in Akwa Ibom, he said, the region now has the opportunity to compete with Nigeria’s commercial capital.
“With fibre landing in the South-South, companies can mirror their data here instead of only in Lagos. But government must step in. High right-of-way, ROW, costs will kill this revolution before it starts. Some states charge zero fees, others charge millions. We need a clear ROW strategy,” Mamah said, adding that power redundancy remains the biggest challenge for data centres.
On the role of mindset and education, Aniedi Udo-Obong, Program Partnerships Lead at Google, called for a cultural shift from consumption to creation.
“Sometimes, we don’t even know we can create. We watch movies, we use our phones, but we hardly build. The mindset should be that of someone who wants to create, not just consume,” he said.
He criticized the lack of corporate investment in youth-focused innovation. “Companies splash hundreds of millions on social events but struggle to put N20 million into supporting young people in tech. If we are serious about the future, our CSR must change direction,” he warned.
Stakeholders at the conference agreed that Nigeria’s youthful population — 70 to 75 percent under the age of 35 — gives the country a demographic advantage if properly harnessed.
