The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, has said that promoting and supporting digital job creation for female folks in the country is a crucial step that would foster inclusivity and bridge the tech gender gap.

Inuwa, represented by Acting Director, Digital Literacy and Capacity Building Department, Dr Amina Magaji-Sambo, stated this at the opening ceremony of the Female Founder Training organised by the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), a subsidiary of the agency in Abuja.

He noted that the initiative is aimed at supporting and empowering women in Nigeria to leverage digital technologies for building viable and scalable businesses.

“This training program is dedicated to discovering and highlighting innovative and technology-based concepts, ideas and solutions created by women in Nigeria. The goal is to bridge gender disparities in the technological industry and encourage the creation of digital employment opportunities for women,” he said.

He added that “within just two weeks, the call for the Female Founders Training resonated across the country, eliciting an extraordinary response of 7,151 applications from the 36 states; this shows the overwhelming interest that underscores the untapped potential and enthusiasm that exists among our women in the field of technology.”

“The response to our call was amazing, and participants underwent a meticulous three-stage selection process to ensure the best fit for the program. At the end of this rigorous process, I’m proud to announce that 12 successful candidates emerged, and they are strategically chosen to represent each of the 6 geopolitical zones,” he added.

He further disclosed that the mission encompasses identifying and showcasing innovative tech-based ideas and solutions developed by Nigerian females. “We aim to promote and support these tech-based ventures founded by women which would enable the closure of gender gaps that exists in the tech ecosystem.

In his earlier remarks, the Acting National Coordinator of ONDI, Mr Yakubu Musa, affirmed the support for women’s inclusion in the tech ecosystem to bridge the gap.

While acknowledging that females are changing the narrative with a keen interest in innovative businesses that will change and shape their lives, Mr. Musa said, “this will pave way for women’s advancement in the tech ecosystem.”

Musa noted that the objectives of the program are rooted in empowerment, diversity, growth and network building to equip aspiring female entrepreneurs with not just knowledge but the practical skills and resources needed for building and nurturing start-ups through series of workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking opportunities.

He stated that business growth is not a mere goal, it is a commitment to guiding start-ups adding that “we aim not just for sustainability and profitability, but for the creation of opportunities that ripple through communities leading to the creation of jobs and empowerment.”

Musa pointed out that ONDI is ready to forge a network alliance of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors, a relationship that will fuel innovation and access to essential resources to build a community of tech experts for the advancement of the country.

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TECHDIGEST – The survival of the 21st century Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, (MSME) has been said to largely depend on the adoption and adaptation of digital technologies, hence, the call on entrepreneurs by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), to embrace it to increase productivity and profitability of their businesses. 

The NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, expressed this view as a keynote speaker at the 10th edition of Abuja Enterprise Agency’s Business 360 Clinics with the theme “Technology Utilisation and Innovation: Its Effect on SME Profitability and Productivity. 

The NITDA’s boss who was represented at the event by the Acting National Coordinator, Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation,(ONDI), Mr Yakubu Musa, said the effective utilisation of technology by SMEs will result in improved efficiency, and invariably leads to higher productivity. So, productivity increases when SMEs focuses on progress, rather than perfection.

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He maintained that there is a significant impact on the economic survival of the nation if technology is embraced. He said, “Technology utilisation exerts a significant impact on the economic survival of nations, particularly, in today’s high-technology market where technological innovations are rapid and disruptive. This has become the gains derived from the adoption and adaptation of existing technologies while also investing in the creation of new technologies to ensure sustained growth in Nigeria’s SMEs.

While acknowledging that technological progress allows for efficient production of superior goods and services by SME, Kashifu noted that it remains the drivers of global economic growth. ”They play a major role in the economies of all the countries in the world by their contribution to national economic growth and employment. SMEs contribute greatly to job creation and overall economic growth,” he added. 

The DG informed that NITDA has undertaken several collaborative initiatives and programmes that are positively impacting on Nigeria’s SME. He listed some of the collaborations to include partnership with Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), on Digital Marketing for SMEs, Gender Techpreneurship Workshop for Women, partnership with the AEA on Digital Innovation Training for 300 secondary school students in the Federal Capital Territory, and many more.

Earlier in his welcome address, the AEA Chief Executive Officer, Malam Shehu Abdulquadir, described the theme as very apt because it hinged on technological adaptation towards the profitability of SMEs because the outbreak of COVID-19 has brought a lot of distribution which has made technological adaptation compelling. 

He stated further that the program was aimed at supporting the recovery of SMEs from the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that, supporting SMEs after the pandemic would help them gain their traction back.   

He revealed that the Agency has disbursed N200 million to 850 SMEs in Abuja and by next month, it is expected to disburse other tranches of 3.5 million USD to over 2,500 SMEs. 

He said beneficiaries of the first tranches have retired the grant disbursed by the Agency from the World Bank assuring that “we are going to get more people from diverse stakeholders across all the six councils in the FCT to benefit from it. 

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