THE NEW NIGERIA FESTIVAL TO DEBUT AS AFRICA’S PREMIER PLATFORM FOR IDEAS, INNOVATION, AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
Nigeria is set to launch a bold national platform to drive economic transformation, foster strategic partnerships, and accelerate innovation. The New Nigeria Festival (TNNF) will make its debut at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. With the theme “Great Ideas, Bold Execution,” the festival will convene influential leaders across government, business, technology, finance, entrepreneurship, academia, and the global diaspora to explore practical solutions to position Nigeria as a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030. The event was first launched at the Institute of Directors Africa Group House, London (IoD), on Wednesday, 15th March 2026, at 116 Pall Mall, St. James’s, London SW1Y 5ED, United Kingdom.
The core objective of the festival is to promote enterprise development, accelerate innovation-driven growth, create jobs, boost foreign direct investment (FDI), and significantly catalyze Mr. President’s vision of Nigeria achieving a trillion-dollar economy by 2030, while emerging as Africa’s leading innovation hub.
More than a conference, The New Nigeria Festival is conceived as a high-level economic movement focused on bridging the gap between policy and implementation, innovation and investment, and leadership and measurable national impact. It is designed to be a catalyst for real outcomes, bringing together global innovators, enterprises, and institutional leaders to unlock market opportunities at scale.
This is not a visibility platform. It is a structured environment for alignment, deal flow, and execution, positioning Nigeria as a launchpad for broader global impact where partners can achieve strategic alignment alongside government and institutional priorities, gain direct market access to opportunities, partners, and capital, and build partnerships that extend beyond the Festival.
Speaking on the vision behind the initiative, Executive Producer and Project Coordinator, Paul Jide Peters, stated: “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.”
The two-day event will feature keynote addresses, policy dialogues, investment conversations, innovation showcases, startup exhibitions, enterprise networking sessions, and strategic collaborations to foster impactful partnerships between the public and private sectors.
The Festival will host a curated Exhibition for Innovators showcasing breakthrough products, technologies, and enterprise solutions from Nigerian startups, scale-ups, and research institutions. The exhibition will serve as a live marketplace connecting innovators directly with investors, corporate buyers, development finance institutions, and government procurement leaders.
A major highlight of the festival will be the National Innovation and Enterprise Pitch Platform, which will spotlight over 100 youth-led ventures from across Nigeria. Selected startups will gain access to investors, grant opportunities, corporate partnerships, mentorship, and national visibility.This is supported by The New Nigeria Innovation Pipeline, a structured pathway from ideas to execution fueling the next generation of ventures that will shape Nigeria’s future and unlock opportunity across Africa and beyond.
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. At the heart of TNNF is The Strategic Conference, a closed-door, high-level forum convening institutional investors, fund managers, sovereign wealth representatives, and CEOs to align on national priorities and execute transactions.
The Conference entails a dedicated Deal Room designed for B2B and B2G matchmaking, capital deployment, and partnership signings across technology, energy, infrastructure, agriculture, and manufacturing. The New Nigeria Festival will also feature an Ethiopia-Nigeria Business and Investment Forum where about 30 prospective UNICORN INVESTORS from Ethiopia will be involved in B2B execution to facilitate FDI to Nigeria, deepening bilateral trade, technology transfer, and cross-border investment flows between both nations.
The festival will spotlight six transformative sectors shaping Nigeria’s future economy: technology and digital innovation; finance, fintech, and economic growth; energy; agriculture and sustainability; education, skills, and youth development; government and public sector innovation; and global citizens and African diaspora partnerships. This is where international partners gain early access to that shift. Africa’s growth narrative is accelerating. Nigeria is one of the world’s fastest-growing markets, yet undercapitalized and underrepresented. Nigeria is the entry point for a digital network of capital, influence, and access, returning with ideas. The Global South is repositioning.
New centers of gravity, new markets. New flows of capital and power.
Over 50 distinguished speakers and panelists are to participate at TNNF ’ 26, representing government, finance, diplomacy, technology, energy, entrepreneurship, and international development among which are: His Excellency Kashim Shettima, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Wole Abu, Managing Director of Equinix West Africa; Dr. Adebowale Adedokun, Director General of the Bureau of Public Procurement; Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, Immediate Past President of the African Development Bank; Mr. Ayo Sotinrin, Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture; Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State; Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General/CEO of NITDA; Ben Ainsley, His Majesty ’ s Deputy Trade Commissioner for Africa; Florence Eshalomi MP, UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria; H.E. Legesse Geremew Haile, Ethiopian Ambassador to Nigeria; Dr. Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director/CEO of the Bank of Industry; and Senator John Owan Enoh, Minister of State for Industry.
Other guests include Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group; Mitchell Elegbe, GroupManaging Director of Interswitch; Surayyah Ahmad, TradeMaster at YEIB Investment Funds and Founding Partner of Sabou Capital; Mrs. Tola Odeyemi, Postmaster General of the Federation; Olugbenga Agboola, CEO and Co-Founder of Flutterwave; Mrs. Sanyade Okoli, Special Adviser to the President on Finance and Economy; Barrister Hannatu Musa Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy; Ms. Patience Oniha, Director-General of the Debt Management Office; Ms. Aisha Rimi, Executive Secretary/CEO of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission; Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, Managing Director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT; Nathan Nwachuku, CEOand Co-Founder of Terra Industries; and Professor Anne Moir, world-renowned inventor and innovation expert.
The speakers and panelists will lead strategic conversations focused on innovation, investment, sustainable growth, enterprise development, technology advancement, and cross-sector collaboration across Nigeria’s key industries.
The festival is officially supported and endorsed by key federal institutions, including the Office of the Vice President, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, the National Information Technology Development Agency, the Bank of Industry, and the Bureau of Public Procurement.
Full event information is available at http://www.thenewnigeriafestival.com . The New Nigeria Festival is produced by Bullion Strategic Synergy Ltd., a member of the Bullion Projects Group, a strategic economic development partner to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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