Itana, the team behind Nigeria’s first digital economic zone has just rolled out what it calls the AI & Data Growth Zone, marking a major move toward building homegrown innovation capacity from Nigeria out to the world.
Founded by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Luqman Edu, and Coco Liu, Itana already operates a digital free zone where companies can register and do business entirely remotely.
Now, they’re carving out a specialized vertical focused on AI, data science, and developer talent development. Think of it as a targeted space within their ecosystem dedicated solely to building world-class data businesses and talent.
The plan goes beyond opening a few offices. Backed by investors including Future Africa, LocalGlobe, and Pronomos Capital, Itana aims to combine policy, infrastructure, and networking to nurture startups and talent alike.
Partnering with the Africa Finance Corporation, they’re investing heavily, Phase One alone is tagged at around $100 million.
Itana is stacking digital tools, policy frameworks, and infrastructure into a single platform designed for African innovators.
Backed by serious capital and extraordinary ambition, according to them, it’s not a tech incubator, it’s a bold experiment in building Africa’s version of Delaware, Dubai Internet City, or e‑Estonia. More details coming soon.