Across the turquoise shimmer of the Atlantic, beyond the tangle of Lagos traffic and the hum of its concrete sprawl, a new silhouette rises on the eastern edge of the city. It is not just another tower or block of flats. It is a different kind of city — virtual, experimental, and ambitious. Deep in the Lekki Free Zone corridor, where cranes hover and the skyline is dotted with steel bones of half-built futures, Nigeria’s first digital special economic zone is coming alive. They call it Itana — a city built not of bricks alone, but of code, bandwidth, and policy.

Just this week, Itana signed a landmark memorandum of understanding with Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The aim is clear: retool the Nigerian economy to export digital services at scale, generate high-quality jobs, and entice foreign tech firms to operate — not just in Nigeria — but from Nigeria, for the world.

Backed by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Itana represents a novel experiment: a legally distinct, digitally native jurisdiction where global companies can incorporate, hire, and operate virtually — without the drag of Nigeria’s traditional bureaucracy. “You can launch from Nairobi, scale from Lagos, and serve London — all from your laptop,” says Luqman Edu, co-founder and CEO of Itana. “That’s the point.”

Edu’s vision is bold. But so is the terrain on which it stands.

A City, Designed to Be Elsewhere

Physically, Itana’s first district is located in Alaro City, a 2,000-hectare development within Lagos State’s broader Lekki Free Zone. It’s 72,000 square meters of planned tech campuses, co-living pods, startup labs, outdoor workspaces, and smart infrastructure — powered by gas-fired energy plants and piped water, with dual fiber-optic connections coursing beneath the pavement.

But spiritually, Itana is not in Nigeria — not in the way Lagos is. It is deliberately far removed from the rest of the country’s cumbersome business environment, or so it seems. “We’ve streamlined everything,” says Adetayo Oduwole, Director of Business and Compliance. “From incorporation to tax handling, it’s digital-first and borderless. You don’t need to show up in person. You don’t need to wait.”

Inspired by Delaware in the U.S. and Dubai’s Internet City, Itana is built on existing Nigerian free zone laws. That’s intentional: instead of reinventing the wheel, the founders repurposed it. For a $2,000 setup fee and $1,150 annual renewal, startups can register, access Itana’s legal protections, and enjoy incentives designed for digital firms: lighter taxes, fewer restrictions, and regulatory predictability.

For years, Nigeria’s tech sector has been defined by two paradoxes: a surge in global venture capital, and a steady departure of local talent. “Brain drain” became a shorthand for frustration. Itana wants to also flip that script — not by stopping talent from leaving, but by making it unnecessary to do so.

The MOU signed with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment — under the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP) — commits to creating 100,000 high-value digital jobs over five years. The goal: turn Nigeria into a global hub for digital services like software engineering, UI/UX design, and customer support, without forcing Nigerians to migrate.

“This isn’t about stopping people from traveling,” Oduwole says. “It’s about giving them a choice. You can stay in Lagos and work for a company in Berlin. You don’t have to leave your family, or your home country, to earn in dollars.”

To achieve this, Itana is building more than offices and regulations. It is building a pipeline. By partnering with training institutions and linking them to employers abroad, the zone seeks to ensure the local workforce is not only skilled — but credible and connected. “A lot of Africa’s job problems come down to poor matching and bad trust infrastructure,” Oduwole explains. “We’re solving both.”

The New Face of Free Zones

Africa’s free zones have long been oriented around manufacturing — textiles, plastics, export logistics. Itana represents a pivot: from goods to services, from factories to fiber.

“The world’s economy is now driven by services,” says Edu. “But most African zones are still built for yesterday’s industries. We’re building for tomorrow’s.”

By focusing on tech-enabled services, Itana aligns with broader shifts across the continent. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which promises seamless trade across borders, provides an added boost. With Itana, a software firm in Lagos can serve clients in Accra, Kigali, or Cape Town — without incorporating in each country separately.

This pan-African lens is crucial. “Scaling across Africa is hard,” says Oduwole. “Every country has its own rules. With Itana, we offer one door to the continent.”

A New African Prototype?

Still, Itana is not without risk. It is, after all, a prototype — not yet a proven model. Questions remain about scalability, long-term investor confidence, and whether Nigeria’s broader policy environment can keep pace.

Yet what seems to set Itana apart is not just infrastructure or tax incentives. It’s a bet on ecosystem design. By working closely with venture capital firms like Future Africa, Itana is trying to embed startups, regulators, policymakers, and investors into a single, functional unit — a rare feat in a country where these actors often work at cross-purposes.

In doing so, Itana avoids a common pitfall: building a zone in isolation. Instead, it wants to serve as a bridge — between Nigeria and the global tech economy, between talent and opportunity, between what is and what could be.

“We’re not looking to build five more Itanas across Nigeria,” says Oduwole. “We’re building one — the right way — so others can learn from it.”

Africa’s population is expected to double by 2050. The global demand for digital services is exploding. And many countries are still unsure how to compete.

Itana, if successful, offers an answer — a way for nations to export talent, not just oil; to welcome global capital without losing control of local growth; to shape globalization, rather than be shaped by it.

“This is not just a zone,” says Edu. “It’s a new economic architecture — one that understands the 21st century.”

As the Atlantic laps gently against the shores of Lagos and cranes tilt into the dusty skyline of Alaro City, Itana stands — half-built, but boldly envisioned. It is not just far removed from the country. It may also be a step ahead.