Nigeria’s Itana, a digital free zone accelerating Africa’s digital economy, has announced a strategic partnership with Accelerate Africa to provide emerging businesses with the tools, networks, and hands-on support needed to scale and solve critical challenges across the continent.
The Itana digital zone enables global and pan-African technology and service-oriented businesses to operate seamlessly across Africa, offering a one-stop platform for setting up operations in Nigeria and providing competitive incentives in taxation, immigration, banking, and regulation.
It also features a Digital Residency community, a curated marketplace for trusted vendors, and the upcoming Itana District – a campus in Lagos. Accelerate Africa, meanwhile, is a pre-seed and seed stage accelerator programme that runs multiple cohorts per year for up to 10 startups, providing support in areas such as storytelling, team development, go-to-market, product development, and fundraising.
The partnership between the two will see Itana enhance Accelerate Africa’s impact by offering participating companies direct support in registering their businesses within the Itana Zone. This registration will enable these startups to leverage the unique benefits of Itana’s digital infrastructure, regulatory support, and community resources, giving them a competitive edge in the market in which they operate.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a key funding partner for Itana, will provide crucial financial backing for the programme, ensuring these entrepreneurs have the necessary resources to achieve their growth goals. AFC’s involvement further strengthens the collaboration’s potential to drive transformative change across Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Our partnership with Accelerate Africa marks a significant milestone in Itana’s mission to empower African entrepreneurs,” said Luqman Edu, Itana’s CEO. “By providing these startups with direct access to Itana’s platform and resources, we’re helping them gain a competitive advantage and scale their businesses more effectively.”
