Nigeria, Cabo Verde lead the way as Digital Africa Corridor takes off

The Digital Africa Corridor (DAC), convened by SheCode.ai and facilitated in Nigeria by Kryterion Limited, officially launched its first pilot corridor between Nigeria and Cabo Verde with an exclusive high-level roundtable hosted in Abuja on 1st September 2025.

The roundtable, co-hosted with the Ministry of Digital Economy of Cabo Verde, gathered 35 key leaders from government, private sector, investors, and innovators to explore opportunities in AI, youth empowerment, and bilateral digital cooperation.

A key milestone was the signing of an Endorsement Letter by the Ministry of Digital Economy of Cabo Verde, formally recognising SheCode.ai’s flagship initiative, Code the Future – Cabo Verde Rising.

This program will empower over 500 secondary school girls across three islands in Cabo Verde with AI, coding, and digital innovation skills, supported by Portuguese-language STEM toolkits, educator training, and a national youth showcase.

Looking ahead, Pedro Nuno Alves Fernandes Lopes, Secretary of State for Digital Economy of Cabo Verde, charged SheCode.ai and Kryterion Limited to lead a Nigeria–Cabo Verde Business & Innovation Mission to Praia in Q4 2025.

Quotes

Pedro Lopes, Secretary of State for Digital Economy, Cabo Verde
“This endorsement is not just about Cabo Verde. It is about showing that African nations can lead their own digital future. We are proud to launch the first Digital Africa Corridor with Nigeria, and we look forward to welcoming Nigerian businesses to Praia to build real partnerships.”

Christiana Onoja, Co-founder/CEO SheCode.ai & Convener said,
“SheCode.ai created the Digital Africa Corridor to ensure diplomacy leads to action. With Cabo Verde, we now have proof: a government-endorsed flagship program and a clear mandate to expand into business cooperation. Code the Future will give 500 girls in Cabo Verde the skills to thrive, and the Corridor model will scale across Africa.”

Col Felix Alaita (rtd), CEO Kryterion Limited, Co-Convener/Facilitator explained that “Nigeria has a unique role to play as a facilitator of innovation diplomacy in Africa. This pilot corridor shows that when governments, innovators, and the private sector collaborate, the result is not talk, but programs and partnerships. Kryterion is proud to anchor Nigeria’s facilitation role.”

The Digital Africa Corridor (DAC) is a SheCode.ai initiative that transforms diplomatic goodwill into actionable innovation outcomes through a four-step model: Roundtable & Endorsement, Flagship Program, Business Mission, and Tangible Partnerships. The Nigeria–Cabo Verde corridor is its pilot, to be replicated across Africa.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.