TECHDIGEST– If newly-established start-ups must weather the storm and break even in the country’s Information Communication Technology, ICT, sector, they need to recruit only capable hands at their formation stage.

This was the position of the speakers of a panel session at the 2022 DigitalNigeriaDay Conference and Exhibition, in Abuja.

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The panelists, comprising ICT firms’ CEOs and seasoned tech experts, spoke on “Exploring Funding Opportunities for Nigerian Start-Ups”.

Lead Speaker of the session, Gbemi Akande, Managing Partner, Pacer Ventures, advised creative youths, who wish to launch their own ICT start-ups, to immediately assemble the necessary human resources, after they have raised the needed capital.

He said: “Every kind of company needs the right people at the right time, for things to work efficiently.

“Once a founder of a start-up is able to recognize this, his or her company will thrive successfully, in our fast-growing ICT and Digital Economy market.

“And once a start-up begins to grow, there is a need for the CEO to constantly appreciate his or her tech team, the management team also, together with the front- and back-end developers”.

Another panel member, Adedeji Owonibi, who is the Co-Founder of Convexity Hub, said: “Getting the capital for a startup may not really matter in the tech space. But what it is used for.

“That will determine the success of that startup. There is also the need for young start-ups not to underestimate the power of networking with other ICT firms in the country”.

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TECH DIGEST – The government of President Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), has finally reacted to calls for the resignation or sack of the embattled member of the cabinet, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).

The administration declared support for the Minister, depicting the calls for his sack as not out of genuine concerns.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), Garba Shehu, made the position of the government known in a press statement this evening, Thursday, April 22, 2021.

The Presidency described the calls for Pantami’s sack “as unfortunate fashion in public discourse that makes leaders in politics, religion, and civil society liable in the present for every statement they have ever made in the past , no matter how long ago and even after they have later rejected them”.

“This insidious phenomenon seeks to cancel the careers of others on the basis of a thing they have said, regardless of when they said it.

The Presidency also said that the calls for Pantami’s sack are “cancel campaign” instigated by those who seek his removal.

“They do not really care what he may or may not have said some 20 years ago, that is merely the instrument they are using to attempt to “cancel” him but they will profit, should he be stopped from making decisions that improve the lives of everyday Nigerians.

“The Minister has, rightly, apologized for what he said in the early 2000s. The views were absolutely unacceptable then, and would be equally unacceptable today, were he to repeat them. But he will not repeat them, for he has publicly and permanently condemned his earlier utterances as wrong.

“In the 2000s, the Minister was a man in his twenties; next year he will be 50. Time has passed, and people and their opinions often rightly change.

“But all discerning Nigerians know this manufactured dispute is nothing to do with the Minister’s prior words, but solely concern his actions in the present.

“This Administration is committed to improving the lives of all Nigerians and that includes ensuring they are not over-charged or under-protected for those services on which modern life depends.

“The Minister has been leading the charge against illegal data deductions and pricing; he has revolutionized the government’s virtual public engagement to respond to COVID-19 and save taxpayers’ money; he has established ICT start-up centres to boost youth entrepreneurship and create jobs; he has changed policy to ensure locally produced ICT content is used by ministries, starting with his own; and he has deregistered some 9.2 million SIMs, ending the ability for criminals and terrorists to flagrantly use mobile networks undetected. In two short years, Minister Pantami has driven the contribution of the ICT sector to the GDP to more than 18 percent, making it one of the top two playing a critical role in the emergence of the economy from the COVID 19-induced recession.

“In putting people first, the Minister and this administration have made enemies. There are those in the opposition who see success and want it halted by any means. And there is now well-reported information that alleges newspaper editors rebuffed an attempt to financially induce them to run a smear campaign against the minister by some ICT companies, many of which do indeed stand to lose financially through lower prices and greater consumer protections. The government is now investigating the veracity behind these claims of attempted inducement, and should they be found to hold credence, police and judicial action must be expected.

“The Administration stands behind Minister Pantami and all Nigerian citizens to ensure they receive fair treatment, fair prices, and fair protection in ICT services.”

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