The United States Consulate in Lagos says it is actively working to facilitate technology and investment partnerships between Nigerian entrepreneurs and American businesses. The newly appointed US Consul General Brandon Hudspeth made this known on Wednesday at the GITEX Nigeria 2026 event in Lagos. Hudspeth said the work was being done under the U.S.-Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership (CIP), with the Consulate positioning itself as an active facilitator rather than a passive diplomatic presence. He said he expected the partnerships to grow significantly, describing the relationship between the two countries’ tech ecosystems as one capable of delivering prosperity, jobs, and services on both sides of the Atlantic. What Hudspeth is saying
Hudspeth said the Consulate’s role went beyond ceremony and into active deal facilitation and entrepreneur connection.
“At the Consulate, we are working to support these synergies, to drive mutual prosperity, facilitate deals, and bring Nigerian entrepreneurs together,” he said. “I know there is enormous potential for these partnerships to grow even further. I know that there is collaboration that will bring prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, will create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, and will deliver services on both sides of the Atlantic,” he added. He said American companies were also directly contributing to Nigeria’s digital talent development, citing Google, Cisco, Meta, and Microsoft as companies currently training hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in technology and AI. “U.S.
companies are working today to help build the Nigerian talent pool. These companies — Google, Cisco, Meta, Microsoft — they are training hundreds of thousands of people in the tech and AI sectors,” he said. “I believe that among us today are the developers of the next six unicorns,” he added, closing his remarks with a direct expression of confidence in Nigeria’s next generation of technology founders. Hudspeth grounded his optimism in data, citing Dealroom’s 2025 Global Tech Ecosystem Index, which ranked Lagos as the number one Rising Star globally, on the back of a twelve-fold valuation increase in the ecosystem since 2017. He said Lagos had produced six of the ten unicorns on the African continent and that the tech sector now represented more than 16% of Nigeria’s overall GDP. US-based investors have been the largest source of external capital for Nigeria’s technology ecosystem for the past decade, with American funding accounting for 60% of all venture capital entering the country, Hudspeth said.
That capital comes from a broad range of sources — large technology corporations including Google, Meta, Microsoft, Visa, and Mastercard, alongside venture capital firms and philanthropic foundations such as the Gates Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Get up to speed
The U.S.-Nigeria Commercial and Investment Partnership was established in July 2024 as a five-year framework to strengthen trade and investment between both countries, with a focus on removing commercial barriers and attracting investment. A year later, in July 2025, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria said working groups under the partnership had been formally launched to identify and develop action plans to address non-tariff barriers in sectors including agriculture, the digital economy and infrastructure. The U.S. said the initiative was intended to unlock investment and create well-paying jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. The U.S.
Mission has also continued to support commercial activity beyond technology. In August 2025, it joined the American Soybean Association and a Nigerian agribusiness to expand cooperation in aquaculture, including training young Nigerian industry leaders and strengthening trade ties. What you should know
As Nigeria strengthens its economic and technology ties with the U.S., the Federal Government is also stepping up efforts to connect Nigerian talent directly with international employers. On August 31, 2026, the government launched the “Hire from Nigeria” campaign, targeting one million export-linked jobs over five years by positioning Nigerian professionals, digital experts and service providers for opportunities with global employers while allowing them to work from Nigeria. The initiative is part of a broader push to turn Nigeria’s growing pool of skilled workers into export earnings, with the government seeking to expand the country’s participation in the global services economy.
