Europe’s Tech Sovereignty Push Offers Blueprint for Africa’s Digital Future, Says Airvend CEO
Turin, Italy – The drive for technological self-reliance, championed by European leaders at Italian Tech Week 2025, provides a critical model for African nations seeking to build independent digital economies, according to Precious Ekezie, CEO of Nigerian fintech firm Airvend Payments.
A Strategic Shift from Consumption to Creation
Speaking at the conference, which gathered over 200 global leaders under the theme “The Wave Ahead,” Ekezie articulated a vision for Africa that mirrors Europe’s ambition. He emphasized that the continent must transition from being a consumer of foreign technology to a creator of homegrown solutions.
“Europe’s journey toward tech independence demonstrates what happens when innovation is driven by purpose, supported by aligned policies, and reflects your own priorities,” Ekezie stated, drawing a direct parallel to Africa’s situation. “For Africa, this means deepening collaboration, investing in infrastructure, implementing realistic policies, and scaling our homegrown ideas with the confidence that we can shape our own future.”
The Imperative of Digital Sovereignty
The CEO’s comments reflect a growing consensus among emerging market leaders about the strategic importance of digital sovereignty. Ekezie argued that controlling core infrastructure and data is not just an economic imperative but a foundational element of sustainable development.
“We must build technology that reflects our realities, control our data, and strengthen intra-African collaboration to achieve sustainable growth,” he explained. “At Airvend, we see this as a call to action: to invest in our own digital infrastructure and empower local talent to create tools that work for African economies.”
AI and Fintech: Africa’s Next Competitive Edge
Ekezie positioned artificial intelligence as the next frontier for African innovation, particularly within the financial services sector. He described a fundamental shift from transactional fintech to intelligent, context-aware systems.
“Fintech in Africa is evolving from enabling transactions to enabling intelligence, and that’s where AI comes in,” he said. “Startups that combine fintech with AI aren’t just improving efficiency; they’re redefining how trust, credit, and access are built across informal economies.”
Innovating Within Constraints
Rather than viewing infrastructure gaps as liabilities, Ekezie framed them as catalysts for breakthrough innovation. He suggested that Africa’s experience in solving complex problems with limited resources provides a unique advantage in the global AI race.
“Africa’s edge comes from solving complex problems with limited infrastructure. That forces creativity,” he noted. “As AI becomes central to digital infrastructure, our startups can lead with context, building solutions that global players may overlook because they’re rooted in real-world constraints.”
Riding “The Wave Ahead” in Practice
Ekezie connected the conference’s central theme to Airvend’s own origin story, illustrating how anticipating market needs before they become obvious drives successful innovation.
“Italian Tech Week celebrates people who don’t wait for the signal; they are the signal. That’s how Airvend was built,” he reflected. “When we started, digital agent networks in Nigeria were still an idea most people thought couldn’t scale. But we saw the wave forming—the need for small merchants to become the backbone of financial access.”
This forward-looking approach has enabled Airvend to connect thousands of agents and retailers across Nigeria, providing digital payment services that form critical infrastructure for small businesses and individuals.
A New Paradigm for Global Tech Engagement
The key takeaway from Ekezie’s analysis is the need for a fundamental shift in how African tech ecosystems engage with the global landscape. The objective, he argued, should be partnership based on innovation rather than dependency.
“Collaboration will be vital, but the goal is to engage the world on our terms as innovators, not imitators,” Ekezie concluded. “Europe’s example proves that ecosystems flourish when they trust their capacity to build innovation, not just consume it. Africa has that same potential and perhaps an even greater urgency to act.”
This report is based on coverage from the The Independent Nigeria.