When Itana was announced as Africa’s first fully digital free zone, many applauded, many shrugged, and some of us paused. Not just because it’s an exciting new development, but because it raised deeper questions: what happens when tech bros stop talking and start building cities? What does it mean for the rest of us, especially those of us building far outside the centre of infrastructure and investor buzz?

I first heard of Itana City from the founder, Iyin Aboyeji, on LinkedIn. With my interest piqued, I went to check it out, and what I found blew my mind. It was a bold move, and I immediately thought about what the founders and startups in our region could take away from this.

Itana isn’t just an innovation story. It’s a signal flare. A shift. A flex from a new generation of Nigerian founders who are tired of waiting for someone else to fix things. And it challenges all of us, especially those building from Nigeria’s overlooked regions, to ask, “What will we do with this moment?”

From Talk to Territory

For decades, Nigeria’s most ambitious founders have built pitch decks, not power grids. Now, someone is doing both. And while Itana sits inside Lagos, it’s not the state government leading the charge. It’s private founders led by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, who are putting real skin in the game.

That changes the stakes.

Itana is a services-first zone built for startups, creatives, and digital businesses. No more fitting round tech pegs into square industrial holes. For the first time, the zone is the startup. The city is the product. That shift in mindset from lobbying for better infrastructure to building it is radical. It’s also deeply empowering.

Global technology companies that are looking to set up and operate or hire talent in Nigeria/Africa can take advantage of the Itana Digital Zone for its remote setup processes and ecosystem support.

Who benefits from Itana?

Companies already have operations in the country, but looking to streamline operations may also benefit from setting up an Itana Free Zone Enterprise.

Services companies

Service-oriented businesses with pan-African and/or global clients that might require the ability to establish FX controls and easy transfer of capital. These might include business consulting and advisory, marketing, design & PR, finance and investment services.

Itana’s vendor marketplace also provides an opportunity for partnered vendors to access an ecosystem of global clientele.

Startups

Global startups at launch or growth stage that are building in Nigeria can benefit from Itana’s robust community network and support.

But What If You’re Building in Bayelsa or Benin?

If you’re a founder trying to bootstrap your way out of poor power supply and patchy broadband, Itana might feel like a faraway planet. But here’s the thing: you don’t need to copy it. You just need to learn from it.

Because what Itana offers is not just a location. It’s a new playbook. It proves that as tech founders and innovators,

• That you can design infrastructure around tech, not the other way around.
• That young founders can lead coalitions to get things done, without waiting for state governments to come around.
• That services and digital products deserve the same kind of respect manufacturing zones have had for decades.

And perhaps most powerfully: that you can reimagine what’s possible in African cities.

What This Means for Regions That Are Rarely on the Map

If you’re building in Nigeria’s South-East or South-South, you already know how invisible your region can sometimes feel to the ecosystem. But what if we stopped waiting for visibility and started creating gravity?

Itana shows that the future will be built by those who decide to start where they are and make enough noise and impact that the world has no choice but to pay attention.

So maybe your Itana won’t be a free zone. Maybe it’s a talent hub. A dev village. A fibre-powered co-creation space backed by a state government that understands the importance of what you are building. Whatever it is, the time to plant it is now.

It’s Bigger Than a Free Zone

This isn’t about where it is located. This is about leverage.

Itana forces all of us to think differently. To stop waiting. To stop envying. To stop narrating from the sidelines. The builders behind Itana didn’t just ask, “Why isn’t anyone doing this?” They said, “Why not us?”

So, regardless of where you may be building from, Itana is a win not only for those in the city where it is located but in what it represents, which is the possibility of building infrastructure, legitimacy, and future-forward spaces on your terms.

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