Minister of Communications, Mrs Omobola Johnson

By Amaka Eze

The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has said that the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to build four software incubation centres to enable indigenous software developers in the nation’s burgeoning Information Communication Technology (ICT) landscape, tap into the multi-million dollar global applications development market.

Johnson made this disclosure in Lagos yesterday, while declaring open a Youth Empowerment and ICT Foundation programme sponsored by the Jim Ovia Foundation.

She added that with the right training and capacity building, Nigeria youths would not only be able to develop the necessary skills that would enable them innovate and create software applications to be reckoned with, but will also enable them establish IT businesses that can thrive and make a difference.

“The youth of Nigerian are dynamic, hardworking, entrepreneurial in nature and hungry for technology. If given the chance and the enabling environment to develop their inherent skills, they will not only thrive but will make Nigerians and Africans proud.

“We have seen the result of what exposure to ICT can do with the remarkable achievement of some of our youths who have excelled in several local and international software competitions,” the  minister said.

Johnson further noted that the training programme was in line with the ministry objective of developing relevant and up-to-date software development skills – including solution architecting and testing.
The software incubation centres, according to the ICT minister, will go a long way in accelerating the development of a commercial software industry by ensuring that appropriate support and funding is available to software and other IT entrepreneurs.

Alluding to the establishment of a professionally managed IT innovation venture capital fund that will have the initial seed capital provided by government with contributions from private sector, Johnson also disclosed that a joint committee of the private and public sector had been instituted to swiftly develop a fit for purpose framework for the establishment of incubation centres across the country. 
The launch of this fund, according to her, will coincide with the rollout of incubation centres in the 3 – 4 initial pilots across the country.

“This framework will include minimum IT infrastructure requirements,  the creation of a technology innovation venture capital fund, avenues for the commissioning of bespoke software by the business community,   institutional support for incubates in the form of business services and a strong mentoring framework by successful business entrepreneurs and a transparent and credible process to select incubates”, she added.

She said the move would foster the development of software industry, bearing in mind that Nigeria had lost about N18.9 billion, in the last five years, to capital flight from importation of foreign software, according to the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).
According to her, the draft ICT policy makes a strong case for software development. 

With regards to industry collaboration and the role of government in the development of the industry, according to her, software developers had complained that government had at no time been supportive enough either through technology biased policies like tax-breaks, tariffs/levies concession, or providing the enabling infrastructure and environment for innovation to blossom.

Software practitioners have also complained about the absence of funding bodies focused essentially on technology. According to them, venture capitalist shy away from funding start-ups, more so technology ideas that seems complicated.

“We in the Ministry understand these issues well and there is clarity about the role that government can and should play.  Let me mention briefly what the Ministry is doing to ensure that we build a software industry.

“As I mention these initiatives it is important that I state categorically that everything is being done in strong partnership and collaboration with the private sector and industry stakeholders. We hope that business entrepreneurs, state governments, unilateral bodies and even likeminded groups of youths will adopt this framework and help to establish Information Technology (IT) incubation centres in parts of the country that meet the defined criteria”, she posited.  
The foundation, which is in strategic partnership with technology giants, Google, Microsoft, IBM, QT yesterday began a world class software training programme for 350 Africa youths in Lagos.

Chairman of the foundation, Mr. Jim Ovia, while stating the rationale behind the training,  noted that “if Nigerian youths are fully equipped with the appropriate training and capacity building, they will not only create software applications to be reckoned with globally but also establish IT business that can thrive and make a significant difference in terms of wealth creation and revenue generation.”

With the theme “Developing Nigeria’s Next Generation of ICT Entrepreneurs’’, Ovia said that there was need for us to inspire, train and engage our youths in the area of technology, so Nigerians can also have its own success stories.

“Google has a market capitalisation of N200 billion. Nigeria’s foreign reserves is only N30 billion. Apple at one time made a profit of $1 billion in a week. Technology brands like Microsoft, Google, and IBM are more recognisable than the national flags of some countries that have been in existence for centuries. This is why we need to empower our youths in the area of ICT. These firms were founded by young men in their twenties at the time,” he noted.