TECHDIGEST – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has expressed his administration’s readiness to create one million new digital jobs for the economy.

President Tinubu, in his inaugural address recently in Abuja, stated this with an assurance that his administration must create meaningful opportunities for the teeming youths.

Digital jobs are created through the application of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to a new or existing activity or process.

Getting this one million jobs, Tinubu said the new government shall work with the National Assembly to fashion an omnibus Jobs and Prosperity bill.

He said this bill would give the administration the policy space to embark on labour-intensive infrastructural improvements, encourage light industry and provide improved social services for the poor, elderly and vulnerable.

READ ALSO: NIN enrolment hits 100 million in two years 

Recall that the immediate past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, disclosed earlier in the year that the digital economy sector created 2.2 million jobs in Nigeria between Q1 2020 and Q3 2022. Indeed, the rise in digital jobs in the country can be attributed to COVID-19, which triggered several online activities.

Nonetheless, stakeholders in the sector have also rated the outgone administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. While some applauded the performance of the sector, others castigated what they described as the overbearing influence of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

The achievements of the sector under Buhari include the huge contributions of the ICT sector to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). As of 2015, ICT contribution to the economy was somewhere around 11 per cent, but as of Q1 2023, the sector’s contribution increased to 17.47 per cent.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the ICT sector is composed of the four activities of telecommunications and information services – publishing, motion picture, sound recording, and music production; and broadcasting.

While the ICT sector recorded a growth rate of 10.32 per cent in real terms year on year in the quarter under review, the growth was driven largely by activities in the telecommunications sub-sector, which contributed 14.13 per cent to the GDP in real terms.

Also, the doggedness of Pantami saw the issuance of the National Identification Number (NIN) increase to 100 million within two years.

Specifically, under Pantami’s supervision from October 2020 to May 2023, more than 61 million citizens were successfully registered, leading to the current database of 100 million individuals with NIN.

However, the perceived regulatory capture of the NCC and other agencies by the Minister didn’t sit well with stakeholders.

Commenting, a telecoms lawyer, Ayoola Oke, described the sector under Buhari as a disaster, “particularly because of the last minister.”

Oke said there was “too much interference with regulatory powers of NCC, especially the last minute desperate effort to reassign and duplicate regulatory duties to NITDA through the Executive NITDA Bill.”

To the chairman, Mobile Software Nigeria, Chris Uwaje, the ICT ecosystem suffered a traumatic setback – centrally governed by the quest to deliver individual interests and benefits at the altar of greed where national interests were slaughtered and consumed with ferocious intensity and gross impunity.

Uwaje said these non-inclusive features of stakeholders consequently derailed all positive expectations for constructive and sustainable development of digital transformation.

“Evidence of the above is visible from the rate of ICT startup companies, which died before the cab scale. And in particular the national unemployment of (23.7 million) and underemployed (42.1 million) rate of youths.

“All in all, my deepest regret is that the nation experienced a gross deficit in software development growth. Inflamed capital flights and human resources (IP Japa syndrome).

“It is fair to state that the minister of Communications & Digital Economy established some landscape policies that will take decades to mature, it should equally be noted that with all due respect, my contribution was instrumental to the change of name of the ministry,” he stated.

According to him, an analytical post-mortem shows that the ICT response failed to lift Nigeria out of chronic economic inflation and stagflation, “for this and other reasons there is a need to establish ‘A National Software Commission’ and the Office of the ICT General of the Federation.”

From his perspective, the founder, Jidaw Systems, Jide Awe, said despite some improvements in ICT infrastructure, Nigeria still faces infrastructure deficiencies that hinder the growth of online businesses, services, and the digital economy.

Awe said limited access to reliable electricity and the Internet remains a major concern, especially in rural areas and disadvantaged communities with poor network coverage and insufficient broadband connectivity.

He said addressing issues such as multiple taxation, right-of-way, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and regulatory challenges are crucial to promoting telecoms infrastructure development.

According to him, another challenge is the shortage of skilled professionals in the ICT sector. He said the demand for industry-relevant skills surpasses the workforce’s current capabilities, which is exacerbated by the migration of skilled ICT experts due to the “Japa syndrome” phenomenon.

For the country to remain globally competitive, the education system, industry, and government must prioritise reskilling and upskilling programmes to equip students and citizens with the necessary technological and innovative skills.

He said the implementation of the Startup Act is vital for supporting youth innovation and ensuring the growth and sustainability of ICT startups, adding that access to funding and investment opportunities should be given priority.

“Additionally, increased commitment and investment in local technology research and development are essential for fostering innovation and growth,” he stated.

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TECHDIGEST – The Federal Government says Nigerians can now request their commercial banks to issue them with a debit card which doubles as their National Identity Card at no extra cost.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami, who disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja, said the approval was obtained at the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

The meeting was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He explained that the approval followed a memo from the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) allowing banks to print a multipurpose debit cards that double as National identity cards.

He said: ”It is going to be a form of multipurpose card where it will serve as your national identity card on one hand and also your bank card on the other hand, either Mastercard, Visa or any other kind of card.”

According to Pantami, although the NIMC Act 2007 only mandates Nigerians to have a National Identity Number and not necessarily a printout card, demands for cards have swelled nonetheless.

“As in the NIMC Act 2007, section 27, what is mandatory for our citizens and legal residents is the acquiring of the National Identity Number, not the card. However, the card is optional.

“But many citizens, particularly those living in rural communities, always go to NIMC offices complaining that they need the card at hand, even though it’s optional.

“To make it easier, NIMC last year, we introduced a smart ID card you can download from NIMC app. It is just a smart card. You don’t need to have it physically, but that is becoming difficult for our people living in rural communities.”

To ease the difficulty, Pantami said NIMC had partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria ”so that citizens who are interested in having a card at hand can easily go to the relevant banks.”

According to him, the bank is permitted to print the card along with either Mastercard or Visa card.

”It is going to be a form of multipurpose card that will serve as your national identity card on one hand and also your bank card on the other. And based on the agreement, it is without any additional costs on our citizens.

“So when you apply for a card at your bank, you can indicate that ‘I want this card to be multiple purpose where it will serve as my bank card and also my national identity card’.

”Both of them are going to be printed on the same card and it is going to serve the same purposes without any additional costs,”.

The Minister disclosed that NIMC and the CBN signed a nondisclosure agreement to protect the privacy and confidentiality of card applicants.

“NIMC and the central bank signed a nondisclosure agreement where your privacy and your confidentiality must be respected in the course of providing the card for you.

“When you apply for the card, the bank will apply online to NIMC through their database.

”When they verify and confirm that your record in the database is in alignment with your record in NIMC database, it will be permitted and the card is going to be printed for you immediately,” the minister added.

The Minister also said that FEC also approved a memo proposing the deployment of an automated system to integrate NINs with individual SIM cards.

The system, he noted, would consolidate the implementation of the NIN-SIM linkage.

He said “As we all know that previous administrations made efforts to verify NIN and SIM starting from 2011 without success.

”In February 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the implementation of the policy and the revised version of the policy was also launched and unveiled by Mr. President on May 6, 2021.

“As it stands today, the NIN and SIM policy registration is being implemented. In order to consolidate the implementation.

“The Nigerian Communications Commission came up with a proposal that will enhance the implementation of the policy and bring many more benefits to it.”

Pantami said the automated system would sanitise the database and ease the process of SIM replacement for Nigerians or legal residents.

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TECHDIGEST – The Federal Government through the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Professor, Isa Pantami, has revealed that a total of 3,834,244 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria were recorded during the 2023 Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections.

A statement on Wednesday by the spokesperson for the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Uwa Sulaiman, noted that during this period, series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service, email and IPS attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing.

“It may be recalled that on the 14th March, 2023, the Office of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy released a Press Statement regarding the activities of the Ministry and its parastatals before, during and after the Presidential and National Assembly elections”.

The statement noted, the Minister directed the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure to further enhance the cyberspace surveillance activities of the three cybersecurity centres of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB).

READ ALSO: Digital Economy: NITDA Boss Assures Ghanaian Counterpart Of Effective Collaboration 

“It may also be recalled that the Committee, inaugurated by the Honourable Minister on the eve of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, was charged with the responsibilities monitoring of Telecommunication Infrastructure for the successful conduct of the 2023 General Elections; Developing and implementing plans to enhance the resilience of critical digital infrastructure against cyber threats; among others”.

The statement also noted that the activities of cyberthreat actors on the Nigerian cyberspace during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections are much lower than those during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“This is neither surprising nor unexpected as, Nigeria being Africa’s largest democracy, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are bound to attract much attention of everyone, including cyberthreat actors, than during the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections”.

The Honourable Minister also reiterates that these attainments would not have been possible without the continued support of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR in particular, and the administration in general, towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.

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TECHDIGEST – The Federal Government has announced the removal of excise duty for telecom sub-sector of Nigeria’s Digital Economy Industry in line with the recommendations of the Committee it constituted to review the applicability of the Duty to the telecom sector which is considered already overburdened with taxation and sundry levies.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this on Tuesday (today) at a press briefing organised to provide updates on the status of the 5 per cent excise duty, whose applicability to the telecom sector was objected by the Minister in August 2022, following which President Muhammadu Buhari suspended its application to the telecom sector and set up a Presidential Review Committee on Excise Duty in the Digital Economy Sector.

Pantami, who is the Chairman of the Committee, specifically set up for the purpose of reviewing the proposed excise duty in the telecom sector, said the Committee had carried out its national assignment and accordingly submitted its report to the President, justifying why the sector should be exempted.

READ ALSO: NCC Unveils Consumer TELCARE Centre  

The Minister said the Committee’s submissions can be summed up in three arguments put forward to justify why additional burden in form of taxes or any level should not be imposed on the telecom sector to prevent a reversal of the important contribution the sector is making to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

“Our justifications are based on three premises: First, is the fact that operators in the telecoms sub-sector of the digital economy industry currently pay no fewer than 41 different categories of taxes, levies and charges; secondly, that telecoms has continued to be a major contributor to Nigerian economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product Contribution (GDP).

“The third ground for contesting the Excise Duty in telecom sector is the fact that, despite increase in the cost of all factors of production across sector, and naturally leading to increase in costs of products and services, telecom sector is the only sector where cost of service has been stable and in many cases continued to go down over the past years and therefore, adding more burden will destroy the sector,” the Minister said.

The Minister also informed the gathering that the President, having looked into the arguments put forward by the Committee and relying on the provision of the Section 5 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, as amended, has therefore, exempted telecom sector from the list of sectors to pay the excise duty as stated in Finance Act of 2021 and other subsidiary legislations, all of which are not as superior as the Constitution which permits the President to grant such waiver.

Pantami said: “I am happy to report to you that President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has approved the exemption of the digital economy sector from the five percent excise duty to be paid and this is because of the strength of the argument presented to him by the Committee that additional burden on telecom sector will increase the sufferings of Nigerians and that other sectors that are not making as much contribution to the economy should be challenged to do more and pay the 5 per cent excise duty.”

The Minister assured Nigerians, who are telecom consumers, that the presidential exemption given to the telecom sector shall be sustained by the incoming administration as “the decision by the President is not about any political party or any administration but about Nigeria and welfare of Nigerian citizens.”

The Minister further noted that the Digital Economy Sector has continued to contribute significantly to the growth of the Nigerian economy, having contributed 14.07 per cent to the GDP in the first quarter of 2020; 17.79 per cent in the second quarter of 2021; and 18.44 per cent in the second quarter of 2022.

He said the sector has also increased its quarterly revenue generation for government from N51 billion to over N480 billion, representing a growth of 594 per cent; while the cost of buying data has also reduced from N1,200 in 2019 to N350 presently, despite the increase in the cost of operations, including the energy challenge that has caused mobile network operators to power base stations with over 32,000 power generating to provide seamless services to their teeming consumers.

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TECHDIGEST – Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has  unveiled 618 million dollars funds for Nigerian Startups at the Official Inauguration of the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme and the Unveiling of iDICE logo on Tuesday at the State House Banquet

The vice president said that the iDICE is a government initiative to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital tech and creative industries, especially targeted at job creation.

According to him, the total fund is 618 million dollars, out of which the AFDB provides 170 million dollars, the Agence Francaise de Development, 100 million dollars and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), 70 million dollars in co-financing.

“The Bank of Industry (BOI) will provide 45 million dollars as Federal Government’s counterpart contribution to be availed through loans for qualifying startups.

READ ALSO: Nigerians To Pay N1,000 Fee For NIN Integration, Verification

“We expect another 271 million dollars from the private sector and institutional investors.

“I think it is important to mention that private capital has usually been ahead of government effort, the last few years have seen a consistent rise in venture capital investments in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.

“According to Disrupt Africa’s 2022 Tech Funding Report, Nigeria was the best-funded country in Africa for the second year running, with a minimum of 180 startups.

“Making up approximately 30 per cent of Africa’s funded ventures, raising approximately one billion dollars – substantially ahead of all other countries on the continent on both counts.

“This influx of private capital has enabled startups to expand operations and create new jobs while contributing significantly toward overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of the country.

“There are of course thousands of startups that have used private funds or debt that goes unrecorded.’’

He said it had become imperative to commence a coordinated approach toward innovation on the continent, bringing together all stakeholders to coordinate efforts at scaling up investments and building programmes that support innovation.

Osinbajo said that the government must provide more support for startups and small businesses while investors must provide more funding.

“This is why the iDICE is important, it brings together the public sector, and our development partners – the AfDB, IDB, and French Development Agency.

“To design a Programme that supports innovation across very critical pillars including policy, infrastructure, access to finance and talent.

“These pillars have been identified as very critical to the growth and sustenance of innovation on the continent.

“As a government, we have consistently provided support to the innovation ecosystem over the last eight years,’’ he said.

He said that in 2028, the Technology and Creativity Advisory Group was set up.

The vice president said that the group brought together stakeholders in the technology and creative industries, to contribute directly to policy formulation, articulation and the design of the technology and creative sectors of our economy.

He said that in Oct; 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari signed Nigeria’s Startup Bill into law, making it the Nigeria Startup Act.

Osinbajo said that the Act would provide a legal and institutional framework for the development of startups in Nigeria, and provide an enabling environment for the growth of startups in the country.

On his part, AFDB’s President, Akinwumi Adesina, said that the digital trends held great promise to help create a massive number of jobs.

According to him, estimates by Endeavor (2022) show that expanding digital infrastructure by 10 per cent will lead to a 2.5 per cent annual growth in GDP in Africa.

“Furthermore, expanding access to the internet in Africa from the current 33 per cent to 75 per cent can help create 44 million jobs, including three million jobs in online services by 2025.

“We are already witnessing in Nigeria the power of digital technologies, tools, and platforms. Nigeria currently has five out of the 11 digital companies that have reached the status of a unicorn with a market valuation of one billion dollars.

“Names that come to mind include Jumia, Interswitch, Opay, Flutterwave and Andela, mainly in the fintech space,’’ he said.

In his remarks, Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, said that Nigeria’s creative industry was not about music and film.

He said the industry comprised other sectors such as advertising, hospitality, writing, comedy, photography, hair and beauty among others.

According to him, the industry employs millions of Nigerians.

“While the music and film industry have combined to put Nigeria on the world map, in terms of revenue generation, fashion generates N2 trillion against music’s N200 billion, hair and beauty generates N1.52 trillion against film’s N140 billion.

“So, I hope that when we start administering these funds, we will look at these figures and we are very glad to share this report with the advisory council,’’ he said.

Other speakers at the event included Niyi Adebayo, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and representative of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami.

Olukayode Pitan, the Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), and representatives of the French Development Agency and IsDB also spoke at the event.

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TECHDIGEST – The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FCIIS, FBCS, FNCS, wishes to bring to the attention of the public the Ministry’s activities towards ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace for Nigerians before, during, and after the 2023 Presidential Elections.

As part of its mandate, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is expected to ensure adequate protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace to a level that citizens will have confidence in digital services. This mandate aligns with the goals and objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS).

In line with this mandate and in our efforts at supporting the initiatives of securing the Nigerian cyberspace, the parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry have established Cybersecurity Centres, namely, the National Information Technology (NITDA)’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and Galaxy Backbone (GBB)’s Security Operations Centre (SOC). These Centres were established between 2020 and 2022 in line with the Honourable Minister’s policy directives and have been monitoring Nigerian cyberspace for potential threats and taking appropriate actions to mitigate them, both individually and collectively as well as in collaboration with other stakeholders.

It is worth noting that in the run-up to the 2023 General Elections, threat intelligence revealed an astronomical increase in cyber threats to Nigerian cyberspace. Generally, threats to public websites and portals averaged around 1,550,000 daily. However, this skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on Presidential Election Day.

READ ALSO: NCC approves harmonized short codes, directs implementation

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, as a Professor of Cybersecurity and one that is very passionate about ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace, directed all the parastatals to enhance their 24/7 monitoring of the networks and traffic for potential attacks from 24th February 2023 to 27th February 2023. Furthermore, on 24th February 2023, the Honourable Minister inaugurated the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure. The Committee, chaired by the Board Chairman of NCC and with the CEOs of NCC, NITDA and GBB as members, was charged with the following responsibilities, among others:

1.     Monitoring of Telecommunication Infrastructure for the successful conduct of credible, free, fair, and transparent elections;

2.     Developing and implementing plans to enhance the resilience of critical digital infrastructure against cyber threats;

3.     Designing procedures and using technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks, as well as developing the ability to recover from any damage that is done quickly;

4.     Developing a comprehensive risk assessment, analysing the nation’s current cybersecurity capabilities, and identifying gaps that need to be addressed; and

5.     Providing professional advice to the Government on the effective utilization of digital technologies in the conduct of the 2023 General Elections.

The Committee’s activity started on 24th February 2023 and ended on 28th February 2023. During this period, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and IPS attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing. A total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria. It is worth noting that the Centres successfully blocked these attacks and/or escalated them to the relevant institutions for appropriate action.

The parastatals, under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, have played a crucial role in providing the enabling environment for the successful conduct of a credible, free, fair, and transparent election. The Honourable Minister commends all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for their support that resulted into this this unprecedented success.

More importantly, the Honourable Minister notes that these attainments are as a result of the commitment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy. The digital economy sector has enjoyed continued support of the President and it is highly appreciated. He also hopes that lessons learned during the process will be put to effective use in subsequent elections.

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TECHDIGEST – Google’s Doodle transformed on Saturday, portraying the Nigerian flag and a ballot box to indicate the country was having its election today.

The Doodle typically depicts Google’s logo; however, it temporarily changes to celebrate special occasions in certain countries.

Ripples Nigeria understands that the Doodle is limited to region or countries, which means when it transforms, only the people living in the country being celebrated would see it – in some cases, the reach of the Doodle could extend beyond the shores of the nation.

Although the Doodle also transforms to persons who have impacted the world through their works. It is also used to create awareness.

READ ALSO: 2023 General Elections: Pantami Inaugurates Committee for Cyberspace, ICT Infrastructure Protection

Each country has its own Google Doodle, and that of Nigeria is currently depicting the Nigerian flag and a ballot box. Ripples Nigeria confirmed that the reach is restricted to the country, which means individuals in other countries are unaware of it, as they are currently seeing a different image.

Google Doodle has previously transformed into Nigerian educator, ceramicist, glassworker, and potter, Ladi Kwali and Nigerian playwright, Ola Rotimi.

The Doodle had also honoured Nigerian filmmaker, Amaka Igwe. It honours Nigeria’s Independence Day yearly and had also transformed to jollof rice as well.

Meanwhile, Nigerians are voting today to elect their President, as Peter Obi, Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu contest for the Aso Rock top job.

The winner of the election will take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in late May 2023. Buhari was first elected in March 2015. He won re-election in February 2019.

In Nigeria, Presidents are entitled to a maximum two terms, of four years each, after which he or she hands over to a newly elected President.

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TECHDIGEST – Since its launch in 2021, the usage of the eNaira — Nigeria’s digital currency — has refused to pick up, the International Monetary Fund has disclosed.

According to the fund, only about eight per cent of eNaira wallets are in use, with an average transaction value of N53,000.

It stated that as of November 2022, total eNaira wallet downloads amounted to 942,000.

It revealed this in its ‘Staff Report for the 2022 Article IV Consultation: Key Issues’ and ‘Nigeria: Selected Issues’ reports.

The IMF said, “Despite some initial technical glitches (Coincu, 2022), no major risk factors (e.g., a large-scale cybersecurity event) have materialised.

“However, the adoption of eNaira by households and merchants has been rather slow. After a strong initial uptake, wallet downloads have slowed, reaching 0.8 per cent of bank accounts, and merchant wallet downloads amount to about 10 per cent of merchants with Point-of-Sale terminals.

READ ALSO: NAVSA: NITDA Adopts Another 75 Smart Farmers At UI

“Similarly, wallet activity is low, with most wallets appearing inactive. The average number of weekly eNaira transactions since the launch amounts to only eight per cent of wallets, with an average transaction value of N53,000 (about $120).”

When Nigeria launched its central bank Digital Currency, it became the second country after The Bahamas to launch a CBDC.

At the launch, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), noted that the eNaira would help more people and businesses move from the informal to the formal sector.

He said, “Let me note that aside from the global trend to create Digital Currencies, we believe that there are Nigeria-specific benefits that cut across different sectors of and concerns of the economy.

“The use of CBDCs can help move many more people and businesses from the informal into the formal sector, thereby increasing the tax base of the country.”

According to IMF, the eNaira is supposed to increase financial inclusion. It noted that for this goal to reach, the CBN needs to allow those without bank accounts but with mobile phones access the digital currency.

It also noted that the use of digital currency could lower remittance fees in the country.

Commenting on how the country can drive increased usage of the eNaira, the Washington-based lender noted the apex bank needs to create the right relationships with mobile money operators and engage in public and private partnerships.

It said, “Setting the right relationship with mobile money.

“A well-designed public and private partnership are required to ensure the proper safeguard of e-money/mobile money, considering that the private financial sector’s contributions to financial inclusions could be negatively affected depending on the design of eNaira’s use for financial inclusion.

“eNaira could be usefully integrated into the existing mobile payment system by (i) functioning as a safer store of value for mobile money users through an integrated mobile-CBDC wallet.”

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TECHDIGEST – The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has said that the operation of Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service and the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA) will propel the success of the startup ecosystem in Nigeria.

The Minister stated this on Friday when he officially received two Nigerian Startups that were among the winners at the LEAP Rocket Fuel pitch competition which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The startups were RiceAfrika Technologies, a tech-driven agriculture optimization service provider, and Wicrypt, a start-up innovation that enables for sharing of the internet to people anywhere.

According to him, Starlink has covered the entire landscape of Nigeria, making it possible for startups to access fast-speed internet from any part of the country.

While noting that the Federal Government would continue to make efforts to provide the enabling environment for innovators and startups to continue to amplify the positive image of the country.

READ ALSO: Elon Musk Plans to Find New CEO for Stable Twitter by End of 2023

The Minister said: “Recently, we initiated the Nigeria Startup Act which is among the most important legislations we have in Nigeria particularly when it comes to addressing the challenges confronted by our innovators.

“Also, after my visit to the US SpaceX, a few days later Nigeria happened to be the first country to have Starlink. As of today, Starlink covers the entire landmass of Nigeria approximately 920,000 square kilometers.

“These are some things that will drive the sector and the ecosystem to succeed.”
Pantami commended the two startups that emerged winners at the Dubai competition, saying that their efforts promote the image of Nigeria on the global stage. He added that Nigeria’s participation at the event, which was facilitated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) happened because the nation is a member of the Digital Corporation Organisation (DCO).

DCO is a global multilateral body that aims at enabling digital prosperity for all by accelerating inclusive growth of the digital economy.

“This is supposed to be the beginning, not the end, we need to have many of you that will emerge because Nigeria is so passionate about innovation. You are job providers, not seekers because the challenge of unemployment, and underemployment can only be addressed by promoting our digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship.

“We are more interested in supporting job providers and if there is anything the government can do to support you to be successful, we are always ready. “We hope that in the next few years, you will be in the top class globally, don’t narrow your thinking only to Nigeria, think big where your innovation will be beneficial globally,’’ Pantami told the startups.

He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for approving Nigeria to be part of the DCO and also the DCO for supporting 16 Nigerians’ participation in the competition. According to him, Nigeria will actively promote the activities of the DCO and support the organization for global success.

Source: Nairametric

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TECHDIGEST – It was a proud moment of excitement for the Nigerian delegation, led by Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), accompanied by Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CEIE, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communication Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbattaamd Managing Director, Nigerian Communication Satellite, Engr. Tukur Muhammad Funtua, that participated at the 2nd edition of the LEAP Technology Exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as two Nigerian startups emerged winners in different categories at the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition, and are coming home with a combined total prize of $300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Dollars).

Over 10,000 Startups submitted applications from different countries. After rigorous scrutiny, the applicants were down to 220, and only 90 startups were selected to pitch their business ideas in the semi-final. Eight Nigerian Startups participated at the semi-final, and three reached the final stage.

RiceAfrika Technologies – is a tech-driven agric optimisation startup that deploys IoT-enabled harvester and its FARMEasy mobile app for smallholder farming communities in Africa. RiceAfrika believes Africa can feed itself and feed the world. It emerged as the global best in ‘The Tech for Humanity Award’ category and is coming home with 150,000 dollars.

While Wicrypt – An innovative Tech startup decentralising internet globally. The startup has a custom OS and hardware that allows users to share data with people around them and charge an affordable rate also won 150,000 dollars after he was announced as the global best in the ‘The Into New World Award’ category.

READ ALSO: FG targets three new tech unicorns in 2023

Professor Pantami leader of Nigerian delegation expressed his delight while maintaining that Nigerian Startups have all it takes to compete with their peers in the global stage.

“I am so proud of our Startups who emerged as the global best in these categories. It is quite a long journey that followed rigorous process until the end; from over 10,000 applications to the final 12, in which three Nigerians took part and two emerged winners. We are delighted that our startups are not only amazing but went through a lot of nurturing and mentorship to be the best in the world,” he noted.

The Minister stated that Nigeria is on the right track in implementing its National Digital Economy Policy and Strategies to ensure that Nigerian Startups add value to the global tech ecosystem. We are building the ecosystem and making it more conducive for nurturing innovation-driven enterprises. Our startups are creating solutions for the local market that can easily scale to the global market.

“The journey started in 2019 shortly after President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria. Now we are reaping the positive benefits of our commitment. In the space of five months, we have Nigerians that are making us proud on the global stage.

“The eight entries from Nigeria competed with over 90 Startups in the semi-finals, showcasing their innovative ideas that will transform economies and solve pertinent issues around the world. Therefore, they emerged global best. They did not only pitch to win grants but also attended various knowledge-sharing sessions, conferences and investor meetings that have exposed them to numerous ways to accelerate their products for the best market fit. The startups intracted with the world’s best mentors, angel investors and venture capitalists.

“It is also noteworthy that eight Startups we brought to this year’s LEAP, three made it the Grand Finale, two won, and are going back home to add value to our Digital Economy. On behalf of the Nigerian government, we sincerely appreciate the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) Headquarters, Riyadh, for sponsoring our innovative startups to participate and showcase their innovations to the world”, he added.

Prof. Pantami also said that the successes of Nigerian Startups in GITEX, Dubai, United Arab Emirates in October last year, and today in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is evident that the country’s innovators have accepted the challenge posed to them by the Federal Government to not stell as the African leaders but compute globally.

“The recent successes are the fruit of policies we put in place to ensure our Startups walk shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, the federal government appreciates the outstanding exploits of startups in the country, which are helping to create jobs, fast-track economic development, and also winning awards and grants amounting to millions of naira,” he concluded.

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