The National Information Technology Development Agency’s commitment to nurture an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem as enshrined in its Strategic Road-map and Action Plan 2.0 received a major boost in Lagos at NITDA Co-Create West Africa Tech Expo, an event put together by GAGE Award in partnership with the Agency to showcase innovative businesses locally and across the globe with physical presence in Nigeria.

The NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE while delivering his keynote address at the event which has its theme as “Evolve” averred that both the government and ecosystem need to work together to nurture the younger ones and help them to transform their ideas from conceptualisation to impact.

He said, “We need to help our start-ups to have access to capital for that will enhance their ideas and provide platform for them to network and learn from the ecosystem.

While acknowledging that the Nigerian Start-up Act Implementation is one of the several initiatives under the pillar, the NITDA boss urged the participants to forge a strategic partnership and collaborate to develop the ecosystem.

He said, “This event is one of them. This is a private-public partnership. We co-created the conference, and the conference itself is to promote co-creation. We do a lot of these activities. We believe no one should live in isolation, so we need to work as an ecosystem to create value together.”

Inuwa, while using the occasion to share the new NITDA’s Strategic Road-map and Action Plan 2024-2027 which is in sync with one of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s defined priority areas of “Accelerating Diversification through Industrialisation and Digitisation” to the participants who were majorly IT stakeholders and tech enthusiasts maintained that for the ecosystem to succeed, stakeholders must join hands with government to build a strong institution which could only be achieved by transforming government’s services into solutions.

He said, “I want to invite you to embrace the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. If you and government can work together, we can do better things; because there are things you can do, government cannot do and there are things government can do, you cannot do, but together, we can do greater things.”

The new NITDA’s Strategic Road-map and Action Plan which is billed to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2024 provides for eight pillars which are; Foster Digital Literacy and Cultivate Talents, Robust Technology Research Ecosystem, Strengthen Policy Implementation and Legal Framework, and Promote Inclusive Access to Digital Infrastructure and Services.

Others include Strengthen Cybersecurity and Enhance Digital Trust, Nurture an Innovative and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Forge Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration and Cultivate a Vibrant Work Culture and an Agile Workforce in NITDA.

Meanwhile, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission, who was represented at the event by the Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Rueben Mouka in his goodwill address advised that Nigeria should approach the tech global market with a clear understanding of its strength, challenges and realistic potentials adding that although Nigeria possesses three comparative advantage of vibrant and youthful population, strategic location and the gateway to African market, the nation must be ready to also confront the challenges that threaten to impede its progress.

While identifying infrastructure deficits, unreliable power supply and poor internet connectivity as some of the barriers that affect investor and innovators alike admonished that Nigeria should focus on “fostering an enabling environment that nurtures innovation, promotes entrepreneurship and addresses the underlying infrastructure and infrastructure challenges.”

He said, “the nation must leverage unique strengths such as a deep understanding of local markets to develop solutions that address the needs and preferences of not just African consumers but the world at large.”

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the convener, GAGE Award, Mr. Johnson Aroh described that the NITDA Co-Create West Africa is more than just a showcase of the latest technological concepts that exist in the ecosystem but a platform that fosters creativity, drives digital transformation and builds the ecosystem where ideas flourish.

He stated that the conference would offers a rare privilege of experiencing first-hand cutting edge solutions and groundbreaking projects that embody the spirit of technological excellence and ingenuity.

He said, “ Let us embrace the diversity of perspectives and expertise that enrich our collective understanding of technology transformative power. Together, we can chart the course toward the future of technology as a force for driving positive change and empowering individuals and communities across Africa.

While commending NITDA the leadership of NITDA for its vision in co-creating the event, Mr. Aina said the Agency’s unwavering commitment to promoting technological innovation and digital inclusion have been instrumental to the level the nation has attained today.

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TECHDIGEST – Breakthroughs in medicine, technology and science through innovations and innovative products have had significant impact in the economic advancement of the society by improving the lives of citizens and offering more opportunities which the government and the tech ecosystem can collectively leverage on.

Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy (Nigeria), reiterated this at the Co-Create 2022 International Tech Exhibition and Gage Awards.

The Minister who was represented by Kashifu Inuwa, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), expressed his utmost pleasure at the event which he delineated as being timely and strategic.

While describing the theme of the event ‘collaborative innovation for a better tomorrow’ as exciting, Pantami stated that the most important part of the innovative process is commercializing it.

READ ALSO: ITU Appoints Pantami To Lead World Summit On Information Society Forum 2022

He stated that “Innovation is a process of taking an idea from inception all the way to impact and while many people think innovation and invention mean the same thing, innovation is actually creating a market or democratizing access to your solution, product or services”

Underpinning his point with an illustration, Pantami cited that the telecommunications sector which was orchestrated by Mo Ibrahim in Africa about 20 years ago and which encountered so many challenges has now evolved into the biggest sector in Africa.

Giving assurances of the government’s support to Innovators in the country, he urged all players in the tech ecosystem to think and act like Mo Ibrahim with the mindset of creating solutions to solve the country’s problems.

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“In Nigeria, we have many problems and we need more innovations to solve them. This kind of collaborations we are having here today can open doors for this because you cannot survive in isolation. Everything is about ecosystem”, he noted.

Buttressing his point further, the Minister holistically averred that the 5 critical stakeholders in an ecosystem are the Innovators otherwise known as the Entrepreneurs who start and grow businesses with ideas and solutions, the Human Capital Developers who discover talents and are the human components of technology, the Government who are the enablers of a level playing field for innovators, the Risk Capitals who invest money in startups and the Corporate Organizations who buy the products.

He further asserted that an effective collaboration of these 5 stakeholders in Nigeria will produce an excellent and viable ecosystem in the country.

Emphasizing the present administration’s commitment to the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) by effectively collaborating with innovators in the industry, Pantami disclosed that the Federal Executive Council has given approval for the Ministry and Agencies under its supervision to co-create solutions with the ecosystem in areas of procurement, IP & Patenting and giving Incentives to encourage the startups.

The Honorable Minister while giving further disclosure on how co-creating with the ecosystem can be achievable, highlighted that showing clarity on processes by all parties, unleashing energy, building trust, building stronger startups and devising policies to shape the future are key indices into establishing and sustaining a formidable ecosystem in the country.

“Whatever we do, we don’t do in isolation. We work with the ecosystem to co-create policies and co-create the regulations. Whatever we do, we do together. We believe that together, we can do greater things. That is why we are here to work with you and to co-create our future”, he concluded.

The technology exhibition, which was occasioned at the Landmark Centre, Lagos had in attendance, Mr Olatunbosun Alake, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Science and Technology; Dr. Krish Ranganath, the Chief Technical Officer of the African Data Centre; 100 tech exhibitors and other key players in the tech ecosystem and was geared at showcasing innovative businesses locally and across the globe with a physical presence in Nigeria.

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TECHDIGEST – The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and its agencies like NITDA will work closely with Nigerian startups to ensure the procurement of technology solutions without going through unnecessary bureaucratic processes, an official said.

Upon approval by the Federal Executive Council recently, the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA) is billed to invite all startups to come and showcase their solutions, while all government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) will also be there to look at solutions that can meet their needs.

Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), disclosed this at Co-Create 2022, a tech exhibition event organized by Gage Awards in Lagos.

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Inuwa said: “In the area of government procurement, we know that some of you are having challenges because of the bureaucratic processes involved. But the Federal Executive Council has approved that we should work with you to come up with a simpler process so that government can buy from you.”

“We have so many problems in Nigeria today which require innovative solutions. So, this kind of collaboration can open doors for that. And collaboration is very important because, in innovation, you cannot succeed in isolation; it is about the ecosystem. If you look around the world, innovation is not distributed evenly. It happens in clusters. Then what is so unique about those clusters? It is all about the ecosystem.

“The government as a key component of the ecosystem will continue to create the enabling environment and interventions in terms of policy and infrastructure. But you also need capital to grow.

One of the major challenges we’re having in Nigeria is that every startup needs a seed fund from the government, and we know this is not possible. Government cannot provide seed funding for everyone, but we have people with money, and if you can convince them, they can invest in your startup,” he added.

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