Sunday Ojeme 
Itana, Nigeria’s first licensed digital economic zone management company, and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, have agreed to jointly develop the first digital economic zone in Africa designed for global and Pan-African technology, finance and service-based businesses to operate and scale with ease across Africa, unlocking the continent’s digital economy.
The formalisation of this partnership took place in front of global government and business leaders, at the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI), on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The Itana Digital Economic Zone in Lagos, Nigeria is intended as an online jurisdiction and to serve as a gateway to build a global business in Nigeria.
Through Itana, companies can remotely incorporate and operate their businesses in the Itana zone, with laws, business incentives (tax, immigration & banking), and services optimized for the digital economy.
This will be coupled with ecofriendly live-work districts and a live-in accelerator program, showcasing the future of African cities and providing the ideal infrastructure and support for businesses in Africa to scale and compete globally.
AFC will support Itana with project development funding and intends to lead in the financing of phase 1 of the Itana project which is budgeted at around $100 million. This will include an eco-friendly tech campus in Lagos, Nigeria, and funding of startups in Accelerate Africa, the accelerator program of Itana in partnership with Future Africa.
AFCwill also support the roll-out of the Itana Digital Economic Zone for global and Pan-African tech, finance, and service-based businesses seeking to operate across Africa.
Itana and AFC are already collaborating alongside Future Africa, PwC Nigeria, and Charter Cities Institute as technical advisers to the Initiative for the Promotion of Digital FreeZones in Nigeria (DiFZIN), a non-profit advocacy and policy research organisation representing the private sector in the recently announced Nigerian Federal Government steering committee for the establishment of Digital Economic Zones in Nigeria.
The committee is chaired by President Bola Tinubu and includes relevant Government Ministers and Agency Heads. Itana will be a conducive environment tailored to the 21st-Century digital trade and technological age.
The organisation recently launched the Itana Application where individuals can join the community and have access to events and services such as business visa facilitation, local bank accounts, and a curated market – place of trusted vendors and consultants for doing business in Africa.
Businesses that meet the criteria can register as a Free Zone Enterprise (FZE) with ease and will receive a Business Operating license that enables them to do business in Nigeria like numerous digital companies including Reliance Info and Future Africa.
