Nigeria is set to unveil a new national platform aimed at accelerating innovation, attracting investment, and advancing the country’s ambition of becoming a $1tn economy by 2030.
The New Nigeria Festival, scheduled to debut at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, will bring together leaders from government, business, technology, finance, entrepreneurship, academia, and the global diaspora under the theme “Great Ideas, Bold Execution.”
According to the organisers in a statement on Thursday, the festival is designed to drive enterprise development, foster strategic partnerships, boost foreign direct investment, and position Nigeria as Africa’s leading innovation hub.
Speaking on the vision behind the initiative, Executive Producer and Project Coordinator Paul Peters described the festival as a platform that connects ideas with action and creates opportunities for sustainable growth.
He said, “The core objective of the festival is to promote enterprise development, accelerate innovation-driven growth, create jobs, boost foreign direct investment, and significantly catalyse Mr President’s vision of Nigeria achieving a trillion-dollar economy by 2030, while emerging as Africa’s leading innovation hub. Our mission is to build a trusted platform where transformative ideas meet bold execution.
“Nigeria possesses immense talent, innovation, and economic potential. The New Nigeria Festival is designed to connect those possibilities with the partnerships, investments, and leadership required to drive sustainable growth.”
According to the organisers, the festival goes beyond the traditional conference model and is structured as an economic movement focused on bridging the gap between policy and implementation, innovation and investment, and leadership and measurable national impact.
The two-day event will feature keynote addresses, policy dialogues, investment discussions, innovation showcases, startup exhibitions, enterprise networking sessions, and strategic collaborations between public and private sector stakeholders.
A key highlight of the festival will be the National Innovation and Enterprise Pitch Platform, which will showcase more than 100 youth-led ventures from across Nigeria.
Selected startups will have access to investors, grant opportunities, mentorship programmes, corporate partnerships, and national visibility through the initiative.
Organisers said the programme is supported by the New Nigeria Innovation Pipeline, a framework designed to move promising ideas from incubation to market entry and commercial success.
“The Innovation Pipeline Initiative is designed to move high-potential concepts from ideation through incubation, investment readiness, and market entry, ensuring that Nigerian innovation translates into scalable enterprises and measurable economic impact,” the organisers said.
The festival will also host an exhibition for innovators, providing startups, scale-ups, and research institutions with a platform to showcase technologies, products, and enterprise solutions to investors, corporate buyers, development finance institutions, and government procurement agencies.
In addition, a dedicated deal room will facilitate business-to-business and business-to-government engagements across key sectors including technology, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and manufacturing.
As part of efforts to strengthen regional economic ties, the event will feature an Ethiopia–Nigeria Business and Investment Forum expected to attract investors and business leaders interested in expanding trade, technology transfer, and cross-border investment opportunities between both countries.
The festival will focus on six priority sectors: technology and digital innovation; finance and fintech; energy; agriculture and sustainability; education and youth development; and government and public-sector innovation.
More than 50 speakers and panellists from government, finance, technology, diplomacy, entrepreneurship, and international development are expected to participate in the event.
Among those billed to attend are Vice President Kashim Shettima, former African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa, Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola, and other leading figures from the public and private sectors.
The festival has received support from several federal institutions, including the Office of the Vice President, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, NITDA, the Bank of Industry, and the Bureau of Public Procurement.
Organisers expressed confidence that the initiative will help unlock new investments, create jobs, support entrepreneurship, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading destination for innovation and business growth in Africa.
