GITEX NIGERIA has announced the launch of MINT AFRICA by GITEX, a future-finance platform dedicated to accelerating the transformation of the continent’s financial ecosystem. Scheduled to debut in Lagos during GITEX NIGERIA Week 2027, the initiative unites money, innovation, new technology, and transparency to connect global investors, regulators, financial institutions, and tech pioneers at a crucial turning point for international finance.
The global financial landscape is rapidly modernizing as programmable money, tokenized real-world assets, agentic AI, and stablecoins challenge legacy rails. For Africa, these advancements offer a historic opportunity not merely to adopt modern financial tools, but to actively build them. As the continent’s largest fintech hub, Lagos provides the ideal commercial anchor, merging market scale, technical talent, and strategic digital infrastructure to lead this transition.
State leadership views the initiative as a pragmatic driver of commercial execution rather than just an industry forum. Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat noted that market scale and capital naturally converge in the metropolis, ensuring the next phase of African finance is built directly on-ground. Tunbosun Alake, Lagos State Commissioner for Innovation, Science, and Technology, emphasized that the event is designed to close the gap between innovative ideas and signed transactions.
The platform targets vast, untapped economic potential, particularly as Africa’s digital payments market heads toward an estimated US1.5 trillion valuation by 2030. While Nigeria has raised adult account ownership to 63.3%, formal credit access remains low at just 9.1%. According to Dr. Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, Technical Adviser to the Nigerian President on Economic and Financial Inclusion, deepening the financial sector and supporting MSMEs are essential steps toward achieving the nation’s targeted US1 trillion economy.
Beyond software solutions, real-world deployment depends heavily on foundational infrastructure and proactive public policy. Engr. Ganiyu Oseni, Special Adviser on Technology, Broadband, and Innovation to the Lagos State Governor, stressed that connectivity, power, identity, and talent form the backbone of this vision, urging global investors to establish an operational presence in Lagos where future cross-border transactions can reliably settle.
Financial modernization also demands local asset participation and harmonized cross-border policies. Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang, CEO of Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), urged domestic stakeholders to become direct beneficiaries of asset tokenization rather than passive observers. Concurrently, Tahiru Al Hassan of the Bank of Ghana highlighted the pressing need for unified continental regulation to prevent fragmentation in digital asset markets.
Positioned where frontier technology intersects with institutional capital, MINT AFRICA by GITEX will tackle everything from cybersecurity and digital identity to interoperable payments and intelligent banking. Emphasizing the broader vision, GITEX CEO Trixie LohMirmand affirmed that the platform’s primary objective is to link international capital, progressive regulation, and cutting-edge tech, establishing Lagos as the primary launchpad for Africa’s next financial era.
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