TECHDIGEST – The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, has reiterated the commitment of the Agency to creating and sustaining a life transforming opportunities for girl-child and women in the country.

This was disclosed by the DG through his representative, Mrs Iklima Musa Salihu, Special Assistant, Strategy and Innovation, while delivering a goodwill message at the National Technical Working Group Meeting on ‘Coordination of Service Providers to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls in States’ organised by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in Abuja.

According to the DG, “NITDA bears the responsibility of encouraging innovation, and has created several initiatives. The agency is committed to creating life-transforming opportunities for girls and women by taking the necessary steps to maximise their potentials.

“This is being accomplished through the NITDA Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2021 to 2024.”

The essence of the one-day meeting was to support a comprehensive and coordinated approach to addressing violence against women, including prevention, protection, care, and support that will contribute to a shared vision and integrated strategy among stakeholders through a survival-centered and right-space approach.

Inuwa stated that one of the key achievements of the agency is the issuance of the Code of Practice for Interactive Online Platforms, which set out measures to combat online harm and the interest of Nigerians in the digital space and the ecosystem.

He added that the Agency has been collaborating with several bodies such as the World Bank where several trainings were executed on digital innovation, entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and many more.

“We have trained over 560 women and still counting. We have also been running several programmes such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT-REAP), that has helped to inculcate entrepreneurship within the regions. Other programmes that we have are; the ihatch programmes, the Technology Innovation, Entrepreneurship Support, Skill programmes, (TIES), and many others. All these programmes are meant to support young people and women to thrive within the digital sector,” he remarked.

While explaining further, the DG said, “however, we risk losing their invaluable contributions to the threat of unsafe online environment. In light of this, I want to encourage us to take the opportunity to encourage our wholehearted participation at this gathering and to emphasise the act of violence against women and girls, which, if not addressed, can bring issues to our nation.

In attendance were the host Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs Monilola Udoh; representatives from the World Bank; United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA); United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UNWOMEN); United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office (UNRCO); United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other relevant stakeholders.

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TECHDIGEST – In a bid to unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s digital economy and promote greater social and economic development for all Nigerians, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, has revealed that the NITDA is currently prioritising the development of a Gender Digital Inclusion Strategy (DGIS).

Inuwa who was represented by his Special Assistant on Strategy and Innovation Mrs Iklima Musa Salihu, made this statement at the United Nations International Women’s Day celebration organised by FGN Women Ambassadors Network (FWAN-NET) in Abuja. The theme for this year’s celebration is “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.”

According to him, the strategy is to address the existing barriers that prevent women from fully participating in the IT sector and reaping the benefits of digital inclusion.

He said through the DGIS, NITDA plans to outline specific steps that will be taken to bridge this gap and ensure greater gender parity in Nigeria’s digital economy, by creating a more inclusive and diverse tech industry.

He noted that the Agency has identified innovation as a critical tool for implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), adding that it has the advantageous objective of bridging the digital gender gap by ensuring that the digital literacy and skills pillar incorporates children, women, internally displaced persons, and the physically challenged and aligns with the Agency’s mandate of empowering all Nigerian citizens with digital skills.

“In fulfilment of this strategy, we have taken many steps to drive our nation’s prosperity by boosting digital innovation for women, creating an enabling environment that maximises the potential of all Nigerian women, promoting their ability to contribute to the economy, and ensuring their improved quality of life and well-being,” he said.

While noting NITDA’s belief that technology can bridge these gaps as women have unequal access to the same economic opportunities as men, Inuwa said it was not surprising that Nigeria, as Africa’s most vibrant ecosystem, was making waves both within and outside the continent, attracting 22% (1.2B USD) of Africa’s total investment inflow in 2022.

Inuwa also celebrated Nigerian female talents such as Kemisola Bolarinwa, founder of Next Wear Technology, a wearable/fashion technology company that designs and develops technology including the Smart Bra for breast cancer detection which uses embedded programmable electronics and sensors on clothing to solve health, security, and communication problems.

He added that through the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), the Agency has worked with its foreign-based collaborators to support 753 female and male-led start-ups through grants and sponsorships to local and global conferences and exhibitions, acceleration and incubation programmes.

“At NITDA, we have identified innovation as a critical tool for implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS). Launched in 2019, the NDEPS provides a holistic and sustainable approach towards the development of Nigeria’s digital economy,” he stated.

He added that “NITDA’s deep commitment to fostering digital innovation among Nigerians is evident in several programmes and initiatives aimed at boosting the innovative capacity of our youths and women to ensure they receive the support they require.

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“Through hackathons and innovation challenges, we have seen the conceptualisation of innovative ideas in an ecosystem that is primarily dominated by men, thus giving female innovators an equal opportunity. We also conducted capacity-building programmes on ICT and entrepreneurship for 360 women in various geopolitical zones,” he said.

Speaking on the Nigeria Startup Act, Inuwa said Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, the Presidency, and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy come up with the idea of Nigeria Startup Bill, which was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, that will serve as the means in harnessing the potential of digital economy by providing an enabling environment that can foster the growth and development of innovation for local startups.

He said the regulation will put Nigeria in a position to take advantage of the African Digital Economy estimated to be worth 300B USD by 2025, as reported by McKinsey.

Inuwa expressed his deep concern that despite the remarkable progress made in the digital arena, there remains a striking absence of women’s representation.

He lamented the fact that women are still significantly underrepresented in digital spaces, despite their undeniable competence and potential to contribute immensely to the field.

He said there is need for concerted efforts to promote gender equality and inclusivity in the digital world, where all individuals, regardless of gender, can thrive and excel.

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TECHDIGEST – The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, has said that Nigeria can potentially and significantly boost its digital economy by ensuring equal participation of women in the digital economy.

According to him, women’s participation in all sub-sectors of the digital economy is equivalent to men’s participation, and the country stands to gain a whopping 230 billion USD in GDP growth by the year 2025.

Inuwa made this state at the stakeholder press briefing organised by the Ministry of Women Affairs in commemoration of the 2023 International Women’s Day in Abuja with the theme ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.”

Represented by his Special Assistant on Strategy and Innovation, Mrs. Iklima Musa Salihu, Inuwa stated that in 2021, the UN estimated that Nigeria’s female population was 104 million; as Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria has much to gain by facilitating the inclusion of women in technology industries and bridging the digital divide.

He said that NITDA has over the years been implementing several strategic programmes and initiatives which have seen an investment of 4.4B USD in the last four years.

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The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) which NITDA is primarily implementing has the objective of bridging the digital gender gap by ensuring that the digital skills training programmes incorporate children, women, internally displaced persons, and the physically challenged.

“In fulfilment of this strategy, we have taken many steps to drive our nation’s prosperity by boosting digital innovation for women, creating an enabling environment that maximizes the potential of all Nigerian women, promoting their ability to contribute to the economy, and ensuring their improved quality of life and well-being,” he mentioned

He highlighted some of the key initiatives designed to support technology innovation including the Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support Scheme (TIES); Idea Hatch (iHatch); Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria and MIT-REAP Abuja, which has translated into establishment of vibrant innovation ecosystem and creation of 33,500 direct jobs in 2020.

He said, “In a bid to support digital literacy in women, we have conducted capacity-building programmes on ICT and entrepreneurship for 360 women in the various geopolitical zones.”

Inuwa stated that implementation of the Digital Literacy initiative increases women’s awareness, knowledge, and use of business tools that can help promote their entrepreneurial and career pursuits, increase distance learning and distance work programmes and opportunities, as well as financial inclusion.

He said, “this year, the United Nation (UN) wishes to recognise the women and girls in our lives who are championing the advancement of digital transformation and education.”

“We recognise that different challenges arise in the form of social, economic, and cultural barriers, which are hindrances that forestall this inclusion.

“That is why we have worked to create barrier-circumventing opportunities that will transform lives and create a positive domino effect that cascades greater values into our societies,” Inuwa added.

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