TECHDIGEST – Federal Government’s Investor-Friendly Administrative Reforms were highlighted at the just concluded Collision Conference, held at the Enercare Centre, Toronto, Canada, from 26th to 29th June, 2023.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, the Director General/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), was in attendance as a Special Guest, participated in several sessions and delivered a speech on How to Foster Healthy Tech Ecosystems.

The DG represented by Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, used the opportunity to highlight key Federal Government’s investor-friendly reforms that are making Nigeria the destination of choice for foreign investors.

Inuwa informed that Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with the sixth largest population in the world; it is being projected to be the third largest population in the world and one of the world’s top 10 economies by 2050, surpassing the economies of countries like France, the UK, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. That the country is an excellent investment destination for investors thinking about investing in Africa. That the country is strategically located and positioned between West and Central Africa and serves as Africa’s business hub with easy access to other regions of the world.

READ ALSO: NDPC: SRAP necessary for implementing harmonized data privacy, protection – CEO

The NITDA boss further informed that Nigeria has been regarded as Africa’s largest digital technologies market with 82% of the continent’s telecommunication subscribers and 29% of internet usage. That Sub Saharan Africa is projected to be the fastest growing region with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.6% and an additional subscribers enrolment of over 167 million in the next five years.

Realizing these potentials, Inuwa said, Federal Government of Nigeria made deliberate efforts to attract investors through strategic reforms aimed at creating a business-friendly environment. That key to these reforms was the setting up of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in July 2016, aimed at improving the doing business environment in Nigeria. That the Council worked towards eliminating critical bottlenecks and procedural restrictions to doing business in the country as well as attract foreign direct investment.

The DG further indicated that through the efforts of PEBEC’s Chairman, the former Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, the Council was able to implement series of reforms that include providing tax-free incentives, free fiscal duty for imported goods, machinery and equipment, exemption from levies, the opportunity for foreigners wholly own enterprises and being exempted from expatriate quota, as well as simplifying regulations and making it easier for businesses to start and operate. That these reforms resulted in an unprecedented improvement in Nigeria’s ranking in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index, from 169 with a score of 48.40% in 2016 to 131 with a score of 56.90% in 2019, growing at an average annual rate of 4.17%.

Inuwa informed that to effectively harness the country’s digital technologies market and beyond, Federal Government re-designated the Federal Ministry of Communications to Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in October 2019. That with the re-designation, the Ministry’s mandate was expanded to capture the goals of digitalisation of the Nigerian economy in line with Federal Government’s economic reform initiatives. Furthermore, that the launching and unveiling of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria, with the vision of transforming Nigeria into a leading digital economy, providing quality life and digital economies for all a month later, was a turning point for the country.

The DG outlined other reforms to include the Nigeria Startup Act and the ongoing plans to kick-start its full implementation, which will further strengthen the ecosystem and create an enabling environment for the development and growth of Startups, the National Digital Talent Strategy which aims to position Nigeria as one of the largest tech talent factory in the world, the National Blockchain Policy developed to help Nigeria’s transition into the digital economy by using Blockchain technology in boosting innovation, improving public services, creating job opportunities, reducing corruption and driving economic growth, the National Blockchain Adoption Strategy which aims to harness a $1.76 Trillion Global Economy by 2030, driving sector-wide adoption, and generating 250,000 Jobs by 2024, the National Outsourcing Strategy implementation aimed at creating about 5 Million jobs by 2027, increase revenue, and attract FDI through a thriving global outsourcing industry, and the National Data Strategy which aims at creating a Data Analytics industry, drive security and economic growth with a ₦‎20 trillion Data Market by 2025.

Inuwa informed that the current administration is committed to these and many more reforms are expected in the coming months.

To buttress this, Mr Inuwa made reference to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inauguration speech on May 29th, 2023, part of which was where he said “…I have a message for our investors, local and foreign; our government shall review all complaints about multiple taxation and anti-investment policies. And review various anti-investment inhibitions…”

.Further, that Mr President’s participation at the New Global Finance Pact Summit in Paris, held between 22nd and 23rd June, 2023, was strategic and aimed at wooing the international community to invest in Nigeria. He therefore encouraged those in attendance to look the way of Nigeria in their investment plans.

The Collision Conference, tagged “The Olympics of Tech”, is one of the world’s biggest tech conferences and brings together Fortune companies, groundbreaking startups, world-class speakers and the people redefining the global tech industry. The 2023 event attracted more than 36,000 attendees from 118 countries.

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TECHDIGEST – The Director General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE woos global investors at this year’s London Tech Week. The event, scheduled ending today Friday 16th June, 2023, started on Monday 12th June, 2023 at the Queen Elizabeth II International Conference Centre, Westminster, London, United Kingdom as well as other venues across the City of London.

The DG/CEO, represented by Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, coordinated a roundtable discussion on “How to Build a Viable Tech Ecosystem Between United Kingdom and Emerging Markets”.

He used the opportunity to inform those in attendance various of investment opportunities in Nigeria’s digital economy sector.

Inuwa informed that Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy with the sixth largest population in the world, and an excellent investment destination. That Africa has emerged as a continent of immense opportunities and innovation in recent years.

“With a rapidly growing population, rising middle class, and increasing internet penetration rates on the continent, Africa presents a unique proposition for technological advancement and investment. Furthermore, that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement further enhances Africa’s appeal as a business destination, with the potential to create the largest free trade area in the world”, He added.

The NITDA Boss further informed that Nigeria is part of MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey) countries, labelled as emerging markets with the potential to realise rapid economic growth. That Nigeria has the largest economy and population in Africa. It is a major player in the tech space, home to five out of Africa’s seven unicorns and has attracted about US$4.4 billion in FDI in the past four years – demonstrating Nigeria’s potential to create world-class tech solutions. That the Nigerian startup ecosystem attracted an estimated US$1.2 billion, representing about 36% of total funding to African startups in 2022.

READ ALSO: Tinubu Signs Data Protection Bill into law 

Additionally, he  highlighted that series of reforms aimed at creating a business-friendly environment as key attractions to investors. These include providing tax-free incentives, free fiscal duty for imported goods, machinery and equipment, exemption from levies, the opportunity for foreigners wholly own enterprises and being exempted from expatriate quota, as well as simplifying regulations and making it easier for businesses to start and operate.

“Some of these policies include the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria, the Nigeria Startup Act and the ongoing plans to kick-start its full implementation, which will further strengthen the ecosystem and create an enabling environment for the development and growth of Startups.

“The National Digital Talent Strategy which aims to position Nigeria as one of the largest tech talent factory in the world, the National Blockchain Policy developed to help Nigeria’s transition into the digital economy by using Blockchain technology in boosting innovation, improving public services, creating job opportunities, reducing corruption and driving economic growth, the National Blockchain Adoption Strategy which aims to harness a $1.76 Trillion Global Economy by 2030, driving sector-wide adoption, and generating 250,000 Jobs by 2024.

“The National Outsourcing Strategy implementation aimed at creating about 5 Million jobs by 2027, increase revenue, and attract FDI through a thriving global outsourcing industry, the National Data Strategy which aims at creating a Data Analytics industry, drive security and economic growth with a ₦‎20 trillion Data Market by 2025, and several other business-enabling initiatives under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) such as online business registration, online visa processing and visa on arrival are aimed at attracting investments and other business opportunities”, Kashifu said.

The NITDA Boss further reiterated that these and many other government polices make Nigeria a strategic gateway for investment in Africa. He therefore encouraged those in attendance to look the way of Nigeria in their investment plans.

Those that attended the roundtable include delegates and investors from Malaysia, Australia, Austria, India, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Germany, Argentina, Turkey, United States of America and United Kingdom – the host country.

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TECHDIGEST – The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, has stated that the Federal Government’s strategic objective of bridging the digital gender gap, in line with the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), is yielding positive results toward development of digital economy in Nigeria.

Inuwa made this statement while declaring open, the ‘One-Day Free Training on Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ in Abuja, as part of activities to commemorate the 2023 International Women’s Day.

The event’s theme, “Digital Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality,” was aimed at training women between the ages of 18 and 30 on Digital Marketing and 3D printing.

Represented by Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director IT Infrastructure Solutions, Inuwa noted that the policy implementation was increasingly recording success by ensuring that the digital skills training programme incorporated children, women, internally displaced persons, and the physically challenged.

READ ALSO: IWD 2023: Lagos NIPR Advocates Access to Technology, Digital Literacy for Women 

He emphasised that women are the best teachers on digital transformation and education, adding that the agency had taken many steps to drive the nation’s prosperity by boosting digital innovation for women and creating an enabling environment that maximises the potentials of all Nigerian women.
He stated that Nigeria’s female population was about 104 million, and the country had much to gain by facilitating the inclusion of women in the technological industry and bridging the digital gender divide.

“In 2021, the United Nations estimated that Nigeria’s female population was about 104 million out of its over 220 people. As Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria has much to gain by facilitating the inclusion of women in technological industry and bridging the digital gender divide,” he added.

Inuwa further revealed that the Agency has implemented several strategic programs and initiatives, with over 4.4 billion dollars invested in the last four years.

While describing women as the best teachers on digital transformation and education, Inuwa said, “If you are looking for an innovator and you find a woman, you have gotten one. Because the first teacher that one gets is his mother and a mother remains with us from that cradle.”

“Some of our key initiatives designed to support technology innovation are the key technology. I mean the technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support Schemes. These have translated into the creation of a vibrant innovation ecosystem that have created over 35,000 direct jobs.

“As indicated earlier, today’s programme is part of our initiative plan as part of the agency’s efforts and celebrating this year’s international women’s day, he said.

Inuwa urged participants to make good use of their smartphones beyond answering calls and sending text messages, adding that they could use their smartphones as an office and make the best use of them to market whatever they are doing and to also get opportunities.

He also advised them to make the best use of the opportunity afforded to them by the agency during the training workshop.
Certificates of Participation were later issued to all the attendees by the Acting Director Digital Literacy and Capacity Development Department of the Agency, Dr Amina Sambo Magaji.

Aisha Yusuf Mahmoud, one of the beneficiaries, thanked the agency for giving her the opportunity to develop her skills on digital marketing.

Mahmoud said that she couldn’t thank NITDA enough for exposing her and many other young ladies to the opportunities awaiting them in the global digital business environment.

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TECHDIGEST – In furtherance to the delivery of the President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, administrative ambitious policy of uplifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is harnessing the innovative talent of the nation’s youths and providing them with the necessary support to build the required digital skills and viable tech businesses to significantly contribute to job creation and economic prosperity for Nigeria through the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme.

The Director General and CEO of NITDA Kashifu Inuwa CCIE officially flagged off the TIES Scheme during a hybrid session that took place live at the Venture Park Hub in Abuja while other locations like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Katsina, Kano, and Enugu joined virtually.

While applauding the startups stride towards the pursuit of providing solution to identified gaps in the society, he gave a brief narrative of the impact of the startup community on the Nation’s economy within the last two years.

He said, “Nigeria’s flourishing startup ecosystem has continued to attract global attention as evidenced by a total investment of $2.9 billion between 2021 and 2022 as reported by Africa: The Big Deal; the highest raised by any startup ecosystem in Africa. Additionally, Nigeria is home to 5 unicorn startups out of the 7 in Africa. These and other significant milestones point to the enormous potential of the ecosystem in contributing to creating wealth and economic growth for Nigeria’’.

Kashifu additionally noted that, President Buhari’s administration had recently enacted the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA), which is aimed at, among others: to provide a legal and institutional framework for the development of startups; to provide an enabling environment for establishment and operation of startups; to provide opportunities for the development and growth of tech-related talents; and to position Nigeria’s startup ecosystem as the leading digital technology center in Africa.

He affirmed that the NSA was the outcome of the collaborative efforts of the ecosystem and the Presidency, as spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under the leadership of the Honourable Minister, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), and a clear pointer to the government’s commitment to developing a more successful and thriving tech ecosystem for the development of Nigeria’s digital economy into a knowledge-based and IT-driven economy.

READ ALSO: 2023 Elections: NITDA Boss Calls For Indigenous Fact Checkers In Combating Fake News

He further disclosed how NITDA had conceptualised and designed the TIES Scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a capacity building programme targeted at addressing the digital skills gaps through trainings for hub managers, provision of incubation work to ensure massive creation of entrepreneurs and jobs within the ecosystem for young Nigerians.

“As an Agency, we noticed that most of the young talented people who have ideas lack mentorship.” He added that “innovative solutions are needed to tackle the problems in the country which NITDA is helping by creating the avenue that would provide a balance between the innovators and the markets,” he added.

He was optimistic that the TIES Scheme would accelerate the prosperity of the country, while enabling NITDA on delivering the target of achieving 95% digital literacy by the year 2030.

The Chairman of the TIES committee Dr. Abdullahi Usman Gambo, Director of Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions (ITIS) NITDA expressed his optimism about the success of the program through the support of the industry partners. He said that NITDA is expecting the partners to help achieve the target number of trainers within the stipulated time frame through the train-the-trainer method.

The General Manager of Venture Park Hub Mr. Jayeola Okuazun in his remarks expressed his gratitude to the Federal government for providing a bridging the gap for your young talented entrepreneurs.

“Our mission is very clear, we are here to build the future of Africa and to be able to do that in my language we speak a lot of proverbs, there is one that says one hand cannot lift a load on one’s head”, indicating that collaborative measures between the Federal Government and the various Hubs would enhance the development of the nation.

Other Tech partners include Quantum Business, Blue Saphire Hub, Venture Park, Young Innovators, and Cherish Enterprise Institute.

Mr. Okuazun later took the NITDA team on a tour of the facility, showcasing the various opportunities available to young digital natives.

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TECHDIGEST – The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE has said that his Agency is working with other stakeholders towards creating an irreversible transformative change in the way people live and work in the country, especially with the widespread of Evolution and adoption of the 4th Industrial Revolution globally, which ushers in the fusion of the Physical, Digital and Biological works, the 

Inuwa said this at the 7th College of Fellows Roundtable Symposium of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), held in Abuja.

Represented by the Director IT Infrastructure Solutions Department, Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Inuwa noted that 4th Industrial Revolution has created opportunities for most existing Engineers and people to stand out in their respective fields, with a view to becoming drivers of innovation, creating new inventions to press global challenges.

“In the past decade, as large projects require more companies and stakeholders to work together across time zones around the world, new ways of workings are demanding more seamless connections and faster access to real time information, that ushered in the next significant transformation which is cloud”.

“NITDA, as the nations apex I T regulatory body, believed that it will be difficult for Nigerians to catch up with its developmental pursuit without developing engineering and technology professions,” he said.

READ ALSO: NITDA Boss Reiterates Digital Transformation Adoption For Economic Growth

He added that, “Our Scientists, Engineers and Technologists are critical to solving our societal problems and challenges.

“The focus of Engineering is the making of things and work efficiently and effectively by applying the theories and principles of science and mathematics to research and develop economic solutions to technical problems” he maintained.

Inuwa also averred the role of Engineers as critical to the well being of human existence, cognizance of their innovative, maintaining of products and system equipment, thereby making a country habitable for the citizenry.

He also commended the resilience of Engineers, Architects and the construction industries in the last 41 years in changing the narrative towards attaining the accelerated Digitally Transformed sector.

“It started with Digitalisation, which is transition from paper drawings and analogue processes to digital tools and later computer system designs.

“As Digitalisation was ongoing, Architects encountered increasingly complex design problems, such as global growing population, urbanization and climate change”, he noted.

Inuwa admonished participants the imperative of keying into the current realities of the Digitalisation agenda, as the process needs holistic evaluation and approach by relevant actors, so as to make it more beneficial to the future.

“On the Digitalisation agenda, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) has been strategically set towards transforming the country into a leading Digital Economy; providing quality life and digital economies for all. And also, a mission of building a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship will be used to create value and prosperity for all,” he added.

The NITDA Boss enumerated eight pillars on which the policy/strategy is anchored, which are; Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure. Other pillars are Digital Services Development and Prevention, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society and Emerging Technologies and lastly Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.

He added that, “these pillars apply to Engineering sector and every other sector in Nigeria. Digital Technology is at the heart of the engineering sectors, regulations and Engineering Literacy and Skills should be driven by digital technology.”

On the challenges the Engineering sector may face, Inuwa identify the demand for new skills in place, for the 4th Industrial Revolution, as some jobs including Engineering will disappear and new ones will emerge.

He urged the Enginners to constantly update themselves with new trends such as Big Data, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, as the future remains unpredictable, as digitalisation has provided businesses and organisations with a better view of what the future could look like, with the endless possibilities offered by technology.

The DG was amongst recipients of NSE Honorary Awards conferred on selected individuals and corporate bodies, for their contribution to the development of the highest Engineering regulatory body in the country.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has continued to display its commitment to the sustainability of a digitally transformed Nigeria by engaging the workforce of various Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) in capacity development programmes to create a digitally formidable federal public service towards the realization of a digital Nigeria.

This was revealed at the closing ceremony of a capacity-building programme organised by NITDA for 100 participants from Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Military and Paramilitary agencies who were trained on Digital Literacy and Skills, Cybersecurity Essentials and Cloud Computing.

Giving his closing remark at the event, the NITDA Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE expressed his pleasure at the participants for their active participation and contribution to class activities throughout the programme while urging them to be good ambassadors of the knowledge gained in their various organisations.

READ ALSO: DG NITDA Honoured As The African Information Technology Icon Of The Year 2022

The DG who was represented at by the Agency’s Director Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, Dr. Usman Abdullahi, stated that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has developed initiatives to ensure that the digital transformation of the country is achieved.

Echoing the agency’s ambitious target of attaining 95% digital literacy by the 2030, the DG said that digital literacy and skill is a key pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDPES) strategic document which was launched by Mr. President in 2019.

He said, “In order for Nigeria to attain 95% digital literacy by 2030, we need your collective effort in ensuring that the NDEPS serves as a guidance and guideline in all our processes at our various workplaces.”

Speaking on the NITDA’s effort on the implementation of NDEPS, Inuwa stated that the agency developed its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021-2024 document in which, Digital Literacy & Skill, Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies are part of the seven pillars which it is anchored on.

“Among the pillars are the Digital Literacy & Skill, Cybersecurity and you have been trained in Cybersecurity Essentials. Another pillar is emerging technologies and you have been trained in cloud computing. There are 7 pillars in total and each pillar is key to our journey towards the realization of the digital economy,” he noted.

While laying emphasis on the Agency’s commitment to implementing and complimenting the efforts of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy through the development of SRAP, Inuwa averred that the agency is focused on building the skills and capacity of people which is highly essential in digitally transforming the nation.

He added that NITDA has set up Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups (DTTWG) in 200 MDAs in the country with the aim of driving digital transformation agenda as well as adding value to their processes for the benefit of all Nigerians.

“The importance of this programme cannot be overemphasized and now that you have been taught, the expectation is that you go back to your various organisations and implement all you have been taught,” he concluded.

On her part, the Acting Director, Digital Literacy and Capacity Development department, Dr. Amina Sambo-Magaji appreciated Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) for starting the journey and extended her gratitude to the DG NITDA for creating the enabling environment in making the programme a success.

She congratulated all the participants and admonished them to be ambassadors of the programme by implementing all they have learnt and propagating the programme to their colleagues so that the entire citizenry can harness the benefits of digital technology.

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TECHDIGEST – In recognition of his judicious leadership style and unprecedented achievements towards the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria; the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, was honored with the prestigious Special African Leadership Commendation Award of the African Leadership Organisation.

The Summit which took place on Monday, at the House of Lords, London, United Kingdom, was hosted by Lord Dollar Popat, a member of the UK House of Lords and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda.

Inuwa was honoured with the award in recognition of his exceptional leadership achievements and contributions to Nigeria’s economy, his contributions to the growth of the Nigerian Information Technology (IT) sector and digital economy as well as his role in the unprecedented achievements recorded in the implementation of NDEPS.

During his acceptance speech, the NITDA boss who was represented by Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions, said that he was very delighted to receive the award.

He stated that the award would inspire him to do more as it offers the next level of motivation which could have a profound impact on the Agency, IT sector, and society.

He added that the award is unique and historic in the sense that it is received in the oldest house of Parliament in the world and one of Britain’s important Institutions, the UK House of Lords.

The event attracted leading African policy and business leaders, development finance players, professionals, and members of the Academic community.

In attendance were UK Ministers including the Honourable Vicky Ford, Minister for Africa; Honourable Renganden Padayachy, Minister of Finance; Economic Planning and Development, Mauritius, Dr. Akindele Akintoye; Chairman, Platform Capital Nigeria, Dr. Emmanuel Nwogbo; Group Managing Director, Alfa Centauri West Africa Limited, Nigeria; Dr. Ifie Sekibo, CEO Heritage Bank, Nigeria; Ruth Zaipuna, Chief Executive Officer; NMB Bank, Tanzania, Carlos Moore; President, National Bar Association, USA, and Sam Matekane; Group Chairman, Matekane Group of Companies; and Presidential Candidate of Lesotho’s Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) Party.

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TECHDIGEST – With the increasing integration of software into every sphere of human life and the need for a secure system, the Federal Government of Nigeria is set to collaborate with the Nigeria Software Testing Qualification Board (NGSTQB) in democratizing software testing; where licensed professionals would provide software testing services as the Board said it is working towards collaborating with major stakeholders in different sectors to train and certify 50,000 software testers in the next three years.

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami made this known while delivering his keynote address at a one-day virtual workshop organised by the Nigeria Software Testing Qualification Board (NGSTQB) with the theme “Role of Software Testing in Nigeria’s Digital Economy”.

Seeking cohesive cooperation of the NGSTQB the Minister, represented by the Director General National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa said, “We want to see how we can license some of you to provide these services, that means if I develop software, I need to come to a certified tester to make sure I meet the standard quality assurance; all the basic bug-free, and the vulnerability assessment before I am able to sell that software”. He Added that, “this will eliminate having the market loaded with software with a lot of vulnerabilities”

READ ALSO:NITDA Shares Country’s Roadmap With Stakeholders At Dubai’s Blockchain Gathering

“We are working on building the capacity of 1 million developers in the next 18 months and we know we cannot do it alone that is why we need people like you to help us achieve this,” said the Minister.

He said, “We are already working with some multinationals to help us on this and we also need the indigenous people to key into this initiative and we also need as many testers as developers”,

Prof. Pantami maintained that to achieve the ambitious target of 95% digital literacy we will need to build the literacy of citizens in order for them to understand and consume digital services.

“We can only achieve that if we can build error-free software locally so that we can build the confidence of trust of our consumers,” the minister declared.

While disagreeing with the procurement of off-the-shelf software, he asserted that there is no fit-all-size software developed and the only competitive advantage you can have as a business is to have digital offerings; as every company is unique and needs unique software.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the President NGSTQB, Mr. Boye Dare stated that NGSTQB aims to work assiduously to make Nigeria the software testing hub for the outsourcing software testing market in Africa.

Mr. Dare noted that by this effort, “we believe we can achieve this by collaborating with major stakeholders in all different sectors in Nigeria by training and certifying 50,000 software testers in the next 36 months”.

Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi, NITDA’s Director of Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions said as part of the Agency’s regulatory function, the Agency has established the Software Testing and Quality Assurance framework to help strengthen the software ecosystem.

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TECHDIGEST – As part of its efforts and commitment to reinforce and foster the digital transformation of the agricultural sector to support food security in Africa, the Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa CCIE said right policies, innovation, financing, and investment, Africa’s agriculture could be transformed into a powerhouse not only to feed a growing population but to create decent employment for millions of young people”.

Inuwa stated this during a public sector media webinar roundtable discussion, with the theme: “Digital Transformation for Food Security in Africa”.

The DG, who was represented by the Director of Information Technology Infrastructural Solutions (ITIS), Dr. Abdullahi Usman Gambo stated that digital agricultural transformation should be a priority on the policy agenda of African Governments in the quest to meet the challenges of food and nutrition, insecurity, climate change, youth unemployment, and overall economic growth, noting that it has been projected that the total worth of the African food industry will hit the $1 trillion mark by 2030.

READ ALSO: NITDA, JICA Open Application For Second Cohort Of iHatch Startup Incubation Programme

“Agricultural transformation remains one of Africa’s most pressing priorities but has been difficult to achieve. By all statistics, Africa needs to triple its current levels of agricultural productivity to meet the continent’s food and nutrition security. But we have the resources and potential to feed the whole world not just Africa while boosting the continent’s economic growth”.

The DG revealed that about 82 million hectares out of Nigeria’s total land area of 91 million hectares were found to be arable and that only about 42 percent of this cultivable area is farmed according to research.

He then advised that the untapped potential of the growing youth population which constitutes over 50 percent of the estimated 200 million population with about 200 million mobile subscribers, 150 million active internet subscription/users, and 42% broadband penetration could be a game-changer for the agriculture sector.

“In Nigeria, the importance of agriculture in boosting the economy, creating more jobs, reducing poverty, growing nutritious food to feed the population, exporting surplus, and safeguarding the country’s environment cannot be overstated. I am convinced that agriculture, agribusiness, and food sectors remain key pillars of Nigeria’s economy and will be essential to the country’s full recovery from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and future food security”, he added.

Inuwa noted that technologies ranging from SMS, USSD, web, and mobile to the blockchain, robotics, geoinformation technologies, remote sensing technology, IoT, big data, analytics, AI, machine and deep learning among others, present a huge opportunity for Africa and in particular, Nigeria to change the narrative of low productivity, poor food quality, and food insecurity. There are a lot of use cases that present the potential of digital technologies, research, and innovations at addressing these challenges.

The DG avowed that NITDA in collaboration with relevant stakeholders had developed the Nigeria Digital Agriculture Strategy (NDAS) with a vision to make Nigeria one of the top three (3) most food-secure countries in Africa and the top 20 largest exporters of standard agricultural produce by 2030 through the use and application of digital technologies and innovations.

NDAS is at the heart of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) and the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) for agriculture transformation. NDEPS is the Federal Government’s Policy for accelerating digital transformation in every sector of the economy. NESP takes agriculture as a mainstay for economic recovery, diversification, and job creation after Covid-19 plunged the country into recession.

The plan proposed a mass agriculture programme to bring 20,000 to 100,000 hectares of new farmland under cultivation in every State of the Federation. The aim is to create 5 million job opportunities, directly and indirectly spanning the entire agricultural value chain, from ‘farm to table’. The policy is creating an enabling environment for the rapid deployment of digital solutions in our agri-food businesses, the DG said.

Inuwa also revealed that to implement the policy and plan, further digitise the agriculture sector, address obvious challenges, exploit the opportunities, create massive jobs, and accelerate economic diversification and growth, the Agency has come up with National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA).

NAVSA is a technology and innovation-driven agricultural initiative aimed at addressing low agriculture productivity and other challenges. Agriculture financing and repayment difficulties are being addressed through the introduction of closed and open wallet systems on mobile payment platforms.

“NAVSA is designed to allow every ecosystem player to participate based on win-win business models to create far-reaching network effects and offer values that never existed before. The concept of an adopted village implies that a farmer will have to be adopted before having access to all the benefits the platform offers”, he explained.

He further noted that measures are in place to identify a farmer thereby solving problems peculiar to identity. “So far, we have adopted 765 farmers across 68 local government areas in 4 states and consequently, this has created 2,500 jobs. Our target is to have adopted farmers from all over the country”.

In her remarks, the country manager of Microsoft, Mrs. Ola Williams said agriculture is now the main driver of employment in Nigeria as such it is important to explore ways to make farming in Nigeria to become more profitable and to encourage more entrepreneurs to consider farming as viable means of livelihood.

She stated that Microsoft is in partnership with the private sector and NITDA to ensure leverage on all the platforms provided by NITDA in digitizing the agricultural sector.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is considering a software development partnership with Independence Digital, a Russian based organization that specializes in software development.

This anticipated partnership is a display of NITDA’s commitment to the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) by constantly collaborating with relevant stakeholders with the aim of harnessing resources together to digitally transform Nigeria.

Speaking while receiving a team from Independence Digital, led by Pavel Maximenko, the Director General of NITDA, Mal. Kashifu Inuwa told the visitors that , a 10-year policy plan was launched in 2019 by the Federal Government of Nigeria to digitally transform the Nation.

According to him, the 10-year policy plan is contained in the Agency’s Strategic Road Map and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021-2024, which has remained a primary focus of the Director General, who has been relentlessly seeking collaborations within the Innovation Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in ensuring that indigenous startups are provided with the adequate motivation in conceiving and conceptualizing their ideas into impacting innovations.

“It is necessary to come up with policies and regulatory instruments which will help develop the sector in many ways. Since we are talking about software development, we need to come up with software related policies, standards and frameworks that will meet up with international standards,” said Mal. Inuwa, who was represented by Director of Information Technology Infrastructure Solutions, Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi.

While emphatically stating that Indigenous Content Development and Promotion remains a primary focus of the Agency which has necessitated collaborations with Developers, the DG noted that all government Ministries, Departments and Agencies need to be digitized and therefore sought for collaboration with the visitors in giving Nigeria a Digital Independence.

Meanwhile, Mr Pavel Maximenko in his earlier remark appreciated NITDA for meeting them and assured the Agency of their collaboration in areas of capacity building to improve the Nigerian Infrastructures already built.

He stated that their organization which is a certified partner of most major Russian software developers such as the Kaspersky Lab, eXpress, Infowatch, Security Code and others is excited about collaborating with NITDA on software development.

“We will provide solutions to your challenges and arrange for our engineers to meet with yours in building a supportive framework,” he promised.

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