Lagos Targets Digital Transformation, Opens Policy Talks With Fintech Stakeholders
By Sherif Salau
Lagos State is stepping up efforts to shape the future of its digital economy by engaging fintech companies in policy discussions aimed at driving innovation, strengthening digital services and expanding economic opportunities.
The gathering, convened by My Card Global in partnership with the Fintech Association of Nigeria, will take place at The George Hotel in Ikoyi under the theme “The Lagos Digital Economy Blueprint: Co-Authoring the Lagos Digital Economy Agenda 2027–2031.” It is designed to bring senior government officials, technology founders, investors and industry executives into the same room to examine the policy and economic conditions required for digital businesses to grow.
Expected participants include the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani; Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat; and the Chairman of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, Ayodele Subair. Also anticipated is Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, co-founder of Andela, alongside other prominent founders and executives. Their presence signals that the discussions will range beyond high-level aspirations into the practical realities of taxation, digital infrastructure and the daily operating environment for fintech companies.
Taxation sits near the centre of the agenda. For digital financial services firms, tax design and administration influence operating costs, profitability and the ability to expand. Infrastructure is equally critical: reliable connectivity, data systems and the physical and regulatory platforms that support digital payments and services determine how far innovation can travel. Innovation policy itself — the rules that either encourage or constrain new products and business models — will form another core strand of the conversation.
Lagos has long positioned itself as Nigeria’s leading technology and financial hub. The forthcoming five-year agenda is an attempt to translate that status into clearer priorities and more predictable conditions for the private sector. By opening the process to fintech stakeholders at this stage, the state is acknowledging that the companies building payment systems, lending platforms and digital financial tools possess practical insight that pure policy design can miss.
The town hall will not produce a finished blueprint on the day. Its value lies in the exchange itself: an opportunity for government to hear where current rules create friction, and for operators to understand the constraints and ambitions that shape public decision-making. If the engagement is sustained beyond a single meeting, it could help align regulation, infrastructure investment and innovation support in ways that strengthen both public goals and private enterprise.
For a city whose economy increasingly runs on digital rails, the quality of that partnership will matter. The November conversation is an early signal that Lagos is prepared to listen as it charts the next phase of its digital transformation.
