Emma Okonji
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has stressed the need for Nigeria to embrace digital entrepreneurship and innovation in order to remain relevant with the global digital transformation initiative.
Abdullahi gave the advice in Lagos, during the ICT Growth Conference and Awards 2021, organised recently by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA), with the theme: ‘Harmonising ICT Sub Sectors Towards A Digitalised Nigeria’.
Abdullahi who was represented by the Head, South-west Zonal Office of NITDA, Mrs. Chioma Okee-Aguguo, said although digital entrepreneurship and innovation were relatively new concepts in developing countries, business owners were already implementing the new standards in order to stay competitive and increase product and service efficiency, which is required in order to keep up with the new norm and avoid becoming obsolete.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, said the thematic focus of the event: ‘Harmonising ICT sub-Sectors towards a Digitised Nigeria’, was quite timely and apt, as it provided NCC as the telecoms industry regulator to share thoughts on how it could collectively create synergy among the various sub-sectors of the ICT industry towards achieving accelerated growth of the industry.
“The various sub-sectors of the entire value chain of our ICT industry, including the telecoms, software, hardware, infrastructure, Value Added Services (VAS), fin-tech, innovation and technology startups, among others are witnessing various degrees of growth with the rapid evolution digital technologies. Each of these sub-sectors of the ICT industry is very critical to the sustainability of the growth and contribution of ICT industry to the national economy,” Danbatta said.
In his goodwill message, the Executive Chairman of Tranter IT and IoT Africa Networks Limited, Mr. Lare Ayoola, said ultimately, the answer to a digitised Nigeria would be first of all to develop a clear understanding of the value that ICT brings to the nation. Secondly is the implementation of a comprehensive national ICT development plan that encompasses incentivised knowledge acquisition of the ICT leaders, decision makers, and management in the public and private sectors, relevant ICT manpower development subsidised by the ITF and other such organisations mandated to develop manpower in Nigeria.
Chairman of NITRA, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, said in line with efforts of the federal government through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to digitalise the economy, there was need to harmonise policies and growth initiatives in different areas of the ICT sector to achieve desire growth and development.
