NCC Identifies Eight Pillars That Guide Country’s Digital Economy Policy, Strategy

NCC Identifies Eight Pillars That Guide  Country’s Digital Economy Policy, Strategy

TECHDIGEST -The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has outlined the “Eight Pillars” that would guide the country’s digital economy policy and strategy, which is being spearheaded by the federal government’s Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

The eight pillars as contained in the NCC’s Strategic Management Plan 2020-2024  are:

1. Developmental Regulation: Effectively regulate the ICT & digital sector in a way that enables the development.
2. Digital Literacy & Skills: Providing policy backing for massive training of Nigerians in digital literacy & skills
3. Solid Infrastructure: Development of fixed & mobile infrastructure to deepen broadband penetration
4. Service Infrastructure: Support for Government digital services and provision of robust digital platforms to drive the digital economy
5. Soft Infrastructure: Strengthening public confidence in the use of digital technologies
6. Digital Economy Development & Promotion: Development of a vibrant digital ecosystem that supports Innovation-Driven Enterprises (IDE) and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME)
7. Digital Society and Emerging Technologies: Tying development of the digital economy to indices of the wellbeing of ordinary citizens
8. Indigenous Content Promotion & Adoption: Provision of a policy framework that gives preference to digitally skilled Nigerians in government-funded projects.

The vision of Nigeria’s digital economy strategy is: “To digitally transform the economy of Nigeria into a leading global economy providing quality life and digital opportunities for all her citizens.”

While the mission is: “We build a nation where every citizen, business and institution can utilize readily accessible digital technologies for improving themselves and developing the national economy.”

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Accelerating access to digital technologies promotes innovation, efficiency, and productivity, and as a result, brings about choice and prospects for higher growth and inclusion, according to a recent World Bank Nigeria Digital Economy Diagnostic Report released in 2019.

According to the survey, many Nigerian consumers and businesses are still left out of the digital ecosystem due to a lack of broadband connectivity and suitable hardware (mobile phones and PCs) to properly exploit the Internet.

Nigeria needs to enhance infrastructure investment and establish an enabling regulatory environment for the digital economy to thrive in order to satisfy the government’s 2030 objectives of increased access to the digital economy and meet the daring goal of producing 100 million jobs.