Why Nigeria Just Gave Itself 180 Days to Stop Losing Tech Companies to Delaware

For years, the advice Nigerian founders got from their own lawyers was blunt: if you want to raise real money, incorporate somewhere else. Delaware for the US investors, Dubai or Estonia for everyone in between. On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu tried to put a number on how long the country plans to keep losing that argument: 180 days.

What Tinubu Actually Ordered

Tinubu directed the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, to build a full roadmap for Nigeria's Digital Free Zones initiative within six months, according to a statement from Special Adviser Bayo Onanuga. Oduwole, who also chairs the Presidential Steering Committee on Digital Free Zones, will work with the Itana Innovation project to turn the directive into an actual plan. In a quote released alongside the order, Tinubu put the goal plainly: "Nigeria has the talent, enterprise and ambition to build companies that can compete anywhere in the world. Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that Nigerians do not have to leave Nigeria or rely on other jurisdictions to realise that potential."

Itana Is Already the Proof of Concept

The directive isn't starting from zero. Itana, licensed by the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority as Nigeria's first Digital Free Zone, is already operating out of Alaro City in Lagos, backed by a $500 million project from the Africa Finance Corporation. In practice, it lets tech, finance and service companies incorporate and operate under a dedicated digital jurisdiction, without needing to build a Nigerian entity the traditional way. It runs on a three-decades-old set of free zone regulations originally written for manufacturing, repurposed for something that has nothing to do with factories.

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Luqman Edu, founders of Itana

Why "Incorporate Abroad" Became the Default

The habit the government is trying to break didn't come out of nowhere. Nigeria's company registration process, tax structure and access to global banking rails have made incorporating abroad the practical choice for any founder planning to raise from international investors, even when the company, the team and the product were entirely Nigerian. Tinubu named the cost of that directly: "For too long, some of our most promising young entrepreneurs have felt compelled to establish their companies and intellectual property abroad to access global capital and markets. I do not accept that this must remain the case." That's a specific admission, not a vague development goal. The government is naming intellectual property flight, not just lost tax revenue, as the thing it's trying to stop.

What 180 Days Actually Has to Produce

A roadmap deadline is not the same as a working system, and the difference matters here. What Oduwole's committee delivers in six months will need to answer questions Itana's early adopters already know intimately: how capital actually moves in and out, how a Digital Free Zone company interacts with Nigeria's existing tax authorities, and whether the zone's rules hold up once companies inside it try to raise from investors who have never heard of NEPZA. The government's own framing goes further than infrastructure. Tinubu said he wants founders in Kano, Enugu, Warri, Minna, Maiduguri and Ibadan, not just Lagos, to be able to work for or build global companies without leaving home.

Why This Matters Beyond One Announcement

Nigeria isn't the first country to try this. Delaware built its reputation over a century. Dubai and Estonia did it inside a couple of decades. What makes this attempt worth watching is that it isn't starting a jurisdiction from scratch, it's trying to formalise one that already has real companies inside it. Whether that roadmap turns into something founders actually choose over Delaware, rather than a policy Nigeria points to without funding it properly, is the thing worth checking back on in six months.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Did Tinubu Order?

President Tinubu directed the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment to develop a full roadmap for the launch of Nigeria's Digital Free Zones initiative within 180 days.

What Is Itana?

Itana is Nigeria's first licensed Digital Free Zone, based in Alaro City, Lagos, backed by a $500 million project from the Africa Finance Corporation, letting tech, finance and service companies incorporate and operate under a dedicated digital jurisdiction.

Why Does This Matter for Nigerian Startups?

Nigerian founders have historically incorporated abroad, often in Delaware or Dubai, to access global capital. The Digital Free Zones initiative is meant to let them build and scale globally while incorporated and taxed inside Nigeria.