Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu’s PBAT Smart Nation initiative unveils Youth in Tech Festival in Lagos

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu’s PBAT Smart Nation Initiative has announced the inaugural edition of its Youth in Tech Festival, scheduled to take place on December 16, 2026, at the Shell Zenith Bank Hall, Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos.

The organisers said the one-day event would bring together more than 10,000 young technology professionals, software engineers, artificial intelligence innovators, startup founders, digital creators, investors and public-sector leaders as part of efforts to advance Nigeria’s digital transformation.

The festival, which is being held under the theme, “The Making of Nigeria — Africa’s Truly First Smart Nation,” is expected to provide a platform for discussions around the future of technology, innovation and digital governance in Nigeria.

According to the PBAT Smart Nation Initiative, the gathering is designed to move beyond conventional discussions about technology by creating opportunities for young Nigerians with technical skills to connect with policymakers, investors, businesses and institutions capable of supporting the development and deployment of innovative solutions.

The organisers said the festival would focus on key areas of the digital economy, including artificial intelligence, digital public infrastructure, fintech resilience, cybersecurity and smart city governance.

The Lead Convener of the PBAT Smart Nation Initiative, Amb. Joshua Omeiza Emmanuel, said youth-led innovation would remain central to Nigeria’s efforts to build a stronger and more technology-driven economy.

Emmanuel said the country’s ambition of becoming Africa’s first smart nation would require the skills, creativity and determination of its young population.

“Nigeria’s journey toward becoming Africa’s truly first smart nation hinges on the audacity, skill, and resourcefulness of our youth,” he said.

He described the festival as an economic accelerator and national platform designed to bring together technical talent, government, venture capital and industry stakeholders.

According to him, the event would provide young technology professionals with opportunities to engage directly with decision-makers and investors while also creating pathways for their ideas and innovations to move from development to practical implementation.

He said the choice of the Muson Centre as the venue was also deliberate, adding that it reflected the organisers’ intention to create an event centred on excellence, scale and practical outcomes.

The programme is expected to feature keynote addresses from industry figures, panel sessions, live developer showcases and policy discussions examining the role of technology in Nigeria’s economic development.

The organisers said participants would also have access to networking opportunities designed to encourage collaboration between technology professionals, startups, investors, government representatives and other stakeholders within the digital ecosystem.

Dedicated networking corridors and institutional investor meetups are expected to form part of the event, while talent-matching hubs will provide opportunities for participating organisations to identify and engage skilled technology professionals.

The organisers said the talent-matching component would be particularly relevant to young Nigerians seeking opportunities within the country’s growing technology sector.

They also said the festival would examine how digital public infrastructure and emerging technologies could be deployed to improve governance and public service delivery.

Artificial intelligence is expected to be one of the major areas of discussion at the event, amid growing interest in the technology and its potential applications across different sectors of the Nigerian economy.

Cybersecurity and fintech resilience will also feature prominently, with stakeholders expected to discuss the need for stronger digital systems capable of supporting Nigeria’s expanding online economy.

The smart city component of the festival is expected to focus on how technology can be integrated into urban planning, transportation, public services and other areas of city management.

The initiative said the event would also seek to strengthen the relationship between grassroots technical talent and the institutions responsible for developing Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.

It said many young Nigerians possess technical skills and innovative ideas but often lack access to the investment, institutional support and policy networks required to scale their solutions.

The organisers said the festival would therefore serve as a meeting point for talent, capital, policy and technology, with the broader objective of accelerating digital industrialisation in the country.

Registration for delegates, developer communities and other technology ecosystem stakeholders is expected to open this week through the event’s official portal.

Corporate organisations, technology companies and public-sector institutions interested in participating as strategic partners, exhibitors or sponsors have also been invited to engage with the secretariat.

The PBAT Smart Nation Initiative describes itself as a policy, technology advocacy and human-capital development platform focused on promoting smart infrastructure, digital inclusion and youth empowerment across Nigeria.

According to the initiative, its activities are aimed at supporting the country’s digital industrialisation through stakeholder engagement, technical frameworks and innovation-focused summits.

The organisers said the Youth in Tech Festival would provide an opportunity for stakeholders across Nigeria’s technology ecosystem to discuss the country’s digital future while creating practical connections between young innovators and institutions with the capacity to support their ideas.

With thousands of participants expected to attend, the December gathering is positioned by the organisers as a major convergence of Nigeria’s technology, investment and public-sector communities, with youth innovation at the centre of discussions on the country’s ambition to become a leading smart nation in Africa.