TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian Government through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has assured that it would intensify effort at partnering with the industry stakeholders to help evolve, enable broad opportunities, foster innovation and build the African tech innovation ecosystem.

This assurance was made today at the maiden edition of the Global Tech Africa (GTA) Summit, an initiative designed to help Africa transform and ignite a flame of innovation that will illuminate the path towards creating a digital future in the continent.

The event was organised in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), United States Consulate General, Ascends Studios Foundation, and Future Map Foundation.

In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy Dr. William Nwankwo Alo who was represented by the Director of Information Communication Technology, (ICT) Mr. Samuel Okoye noted that the Summit presents a pathway for embarking on a journey to explore the immense opportunities that lies at the intersection of innovation, technology, and human progress.

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Dr. Alo emphasised that the potential of technological advancements is to bridge gaps, foster inclusivity, and ignite economic growth, therefore, the Summit catalyses the unlocking of these potentials and empowers Africans to become global leaders in technology.

He said the Pan-African Summit would foster a collective vision and help in harnessing technological power that could uplift communities, improve healthcare, education, access to information, drive sustainable agriculture, and improve innovation in all sectors of the economy.

“Today, we stand on the precipice of a transformative journey — one that will redefine the future of Africa and her people, and I believe with this kind of summit, which has congregated some of the best minds in the industry, we will shape a destiny where access to technology is no longer a privilege but a fundamental right for all Africans,” he added.

On his part, the Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE while delivering his keynote address said Africa is blessed with abundant talent, untapped potential, and a vibrant youthful population to play pivotal roles in the global tech ecosystem.

He posits the necessity of recognising the importance of uniting to reap the potential that lies ahead in the areas of e-commerce, fintech, and digital economy in general under the banner of Global Tech Africa (GTA).

Expressing optimism, he said that GTA would provide a powerful platform to unlock all these opportunities in Africa; though he expressed some skepticism about this, but he is convinced that with the playbook that has been developed to propel the realisation of these potentials, and has identified three steps that would ensure the unlocking of these potentials in a digital economy.

He believed that there is no reason for Africa to be left out in this Fourth Industrial Revolution after being left out in the first, second and third Industrial Revolutions.

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is about talent and technology. In Africa, we have the talent. The developed world has the technology. Technology will not work without talent; therefore, they need us to develop the technology while we need the technology to boast our economy,” he said.

While noting the need for talent development in Africa by saying that by 2030, there is going to be 85 million talent deficits globally, which will result in 8.5 trillion US dollars annualised value, Inuwa maintained that “Nigeria have proven that we have the talent. We have done that in sports, the music industry, the film industry, and we can do it in the technology ecosystem.”

He called for the need to embrace and create value via the ecosystem, saying that no one succeeds in isolation.

He said, “Looking at it globally, innovation is not evenly distributed but in clusters as ecosystem; therefore, the reason for this platform is to create a strong ecosystem in Nigeria and in Africa by partnering with all the key stakeholders that are captured under five categories in the ecosystem.

He listed the ecosystem partners as the high institutions that produce human capital, corporate organisations that absorb the human capital, entrepreneurs who can start and grow businesses, venture capital that can invest in those innovative ideas and lastly the government that makes policies and provide infrastructure in un-served and underserved communities.

Referring to the World Intellectual Property Organisation, (WIPO), the Director General noted that innovation ecosystem is worth more than five billion US dollars.

Citing Coferry report, Inuwa said a country or a region with a strong innovation ecosystem creates jobs at twice the rate of countries or regions with a weak innovation ecosystem, adding that according to Statista, digitally transformed enterprises contributed 13.5 trillion US dollars to the global GDP in 2018 and are projected to contribute 53.3 trillion US dollars this year, in 2023.

“That means innovation is winning when it comes to wealth creation, and we need the ecosystem to be able to benefit from it. This is what we are trying to build with GTA,” he said.

Apologetically he asserts that currently, the ecosystem is weak and needs to be reinvented through rebuilding the trust among stakeholders to aid the social contract within the system.

He described the government’s role from two angles as the rule-based and non-rule-based regulations. Stating that the objectives of all regulatory instruments are to create a market to enable innovation within the ecosystem, protect consumers and make service delivery more efficient.

In his conclusion, he appealed to the audience to welcome the goals of GTA Summit as a platform that places Africans at the forefront of innovation, growth, and prosperity.

“As a nation and continent, together we can make it possible; and together, we can unlock the boundless potentials in our continent, forging a future where technology drives positive change and creates opportunities for all,” Inuwa assured.

Other speakers at the event were, Will Stevens, the United State Consular General; Steffi Czerny, Co-founder, Digital Life Design (DLD); Bunmi Akinyemiju, Co-founder, Venture Garden Group; Emmanuel Tarfa, GTA Team and the Chief Convener, Dr Inya Lawal.

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TECHDIGEST – As part of measures toward strengthening the nation’s Digital Economy, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has inaugurated the Technical Working Committee (TWC) on the implementation of the National Data Strategy (NDS).

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr William Alo who formally inaugurated the Committee noted that the National Data Strategy which was developed by the National Data Technical Working Group, comprising experts from various sectors of the economy to address the critical role of data utilisation in Nigeria also aims to harness the power of data to drive innovation, economic growth, and social development throughout the country.

While inaugurating the Committee, Dr Alo stressed that “The government recognises the significance of data access, ethical and responsible data usage, data privacy, data protection and data governance in ensuring the well-being and privacy of citizens while promoting innovation. We must collaborate across sectors, engage stakeholders and ensure that every voice is heard to harness the full potential of data.”

According to the Perm Sec, “the NDS roadmap will guide Nigeria in leveraging data to identify new opportunities, optimise existing processes and make informed decisions that accelerate economic growth.

He expressed gratitude to Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering commitment to the “Renewed Hope” agenda and his vision for a data-driven Nigeria.

Dr. Alo commended Participants for their dedication and expertise which he described as the eventual driving force behind the successful implementation of the Nigeria Data Strategy.

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The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, while presenting a keynote address said the strategy, which was launched this year, aims to harness the power of data to stimulate economic growth, innovation, and inclusivity in the country.

Inuwa while emphasising the strategic importance of data in driving the digital economy, made reference to some figures from the World Economic Forum and Statistics, where he highlighted the substantial value of the data driven economy as currently estimated to be over $3 trillion and projected to reach $5 trillion in the future.

“The digital economy is worth more than $16 trillion, and digitally transformed enterprises contributed $13.5 trillion to the global GDP in 2018. This year, it is projected to contribute a staggering $53.5 trillion, accounting for over 50% of the global GDP,” Inuwa said.

He maintained that the National Data Strategy revolves around seven key pillars that are crucial to Nigeria’s successful transition to a digital economy, which he enumerated to include Data Literacy and Skills, Data Security and Privacy, Data Sovereignty, Data Infrastructure, Data Harmonisation, Data Usability, Inclusivity and Accessibility.

Inuwa who further emphasised that data is the currency of the digital economy, urged the Technical Working Group to provide productive recommendations that will help regulatory agencies to effectively implement the strategy.

The event also featured presentation on the expectations and deliverables of the workshop, TWC Terms of Reference, Breakout and Plenary Sessions.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Commissioner/CEO of Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Dr. Vincent Olatunji, recently expressed his excitement about the signing of the Nigeria Data Protection Act into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He reiterated that the success of data protection and privacy regulation in the country will be facilitated through the implementation of the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) by the Nigeria Data Protection Commission ( NDPC). He made the statements at the National Validation workshop recently organised by Nigeria Data Protection Commission.

The event, which took place recently in Abuja, was chaired by Dr. William Alo, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, who declared the workshop open.

The National Commissioner reiterated the capability of the law to create over 500,000 jobs in Nigeria as part of the fulfillment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign promise of creating One Million.

Mr. Segun Olugbile, who is the National Coordinator of NACCIMA Digital Economy Trade Group, representing the private sector, and is the chair of the sub-committee workgroup on the SRAP Committee, presented a session on the governance and technology ecosystem components of the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan.

Mr. Segun stated that these components will fastrack strategic direction and navigation toward achieving national and inclusive data protection and privacy regulation objectives.

He further stated that the expected outcomes of SRAP will help harmonise national data privacy governance and protection regulatory framework; create a sustainable mechanism for an independent and effective supervisory authority; increased public trust; open up opportunities for growth within the data protection ecosystem for Nigerian businesses, enhanced private sector investment in the requisite infrastructure, among others.

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Mr. Olugbile also elaborates on the objectives of the pillar, which include strengthening regulatory conformance to national data privacy and protection imperatives; establishment of an independent NDPC with solid oversight, investigative, enforcement, corrective, and authorization powers and adequate resources to discharge its responsibilities; collaboration to encourage disruptive innovations and provide guidelines for ensuring compliance with data protection legislation; encourage hosting of data within the country; collaboration with research institution on breakthrough innovations in data privacy and protection; among others.

He served as one of the expert reviewers of the draft Nigeria Data Protection Bill representing the private sector, where he provided strategic technology policy and regulatory insights that led to the enhancement of the Bill under the auspices of the National Data Protection Commission, Ministry of Justice, National Identity Management Commission, and the World Bank ID4D project office in Nigeria.

He is an expert in cybersecurity governance, internet governance, data protection and privacy, and emerging technology for development, and the United Nations, Germany government, G-7, African Union, and ECOWAS have globally recognized his various works and professional contributions.

Recently, he was invited by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to help shape Africa’s contributions to the United Nations Global Digital Compact in South Africa. Olugbile pioneered the formulation of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy. He has served as a pioneer member of the national cybercrime advisory council and member of the Global Skills Development Council Technical Advisory Board on Cybersecurity. He also formerly served as United Nations Internet Governance Advisor, where he was honored as Internet Governance Ambassador for Nigeria and co-founder of Nigeria Internet Governance Forum.

Other dignitaries which include the Director General (DG), National Lottery Regulatory Commission, Lanre Gbajabiamila, DG, National IT Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, DG, NIMC, Aliyu A. Aziz, National Coordinator, Would ID4D project office in Nigeria, Musa Odole Solomon, and Chairman of the SRAP, Mr. Hakeem Ajijola.

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