TECHDIGEST – The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, had meetings at Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (Space X) headquarters in Hawthorne, California, as well as a meeting at the World Bank Headquarters and another meeting with Google Corporation in a bid to strengthen partnerships for the development of Nigeria’s digital economy. 

The meetings with the World Bank and Google were held on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders’ Forum (USALF), which took place in Washington DC, United States of America, while the visit to Space X was a follow up to the events at the USALF.

Professor Pantami was received at Space X by Samuel (Chad) Gibbs IV, the Vice President of Business Operations, on behalf of Elon Musk, Founder and CEO of Space X. At the visit, both parties discussed how Space X can expand its presence in Nigeria, following their entry into the Nigerian market through the Starlink broadband service.

The Honourable Minister also asked the Space X team to consider sourcing some of its engineers from Nigeria’s digital talent pool.  During the visit, the Honourable Minister and his team were given a personalised tour of the SpaceX Rocket Manufacturing Facility, Starlink Assembly Line, and Product Development Facility.  He also witnessed the live Space X rocket launch of 2 telecom satellites into orbit. 

READ ALSO: U.S.-Africa Forum Partners Nigeria, Rwanda on Space Exploration

On the invitation of the World Bank Group, the Honourable Minister had a meeting with top officials of the Bank, including Vyjayanti Desai, the Practice Manager for the World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitizing Government to Person Payments (G2Px) Programs.  Also at the meeting were Franz Drees-Gross, Director of Infrastructure, World Bank West African Region and Michel Rogy, World Bank’s Digital Development Practice Manager for Africa and the Middle East. 

The World Bank team commended the Minister for his great leadership, which has led to significant development in Nigeria’s digital economy sector. The meeting also discussed how the Bank can further partner with Nigeria to strengthen the digital economy ecosystem in areas such as infrastructure, skilling, cybersecurity, and digital identity.

Professor Pantami also had a meeting with Karan Bhatia, Vice-President, Government Affairs, and Public Policy at Google.  Mr. Bhatia was full of praise for the Honourable Minister for the significant progress that has been made in the digital transformation of the Nigerian economy. 

He also commended the Minister for Nigeria Startup Act, noting the potential of the legislation to serve as a catalyst for rapid development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. 

The Google Vice-President discussed the company’s growing focus on Africa and looks forward to expanding partnerships with Nigeria in areas such as skilling, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, among others.

The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under Professor Pantami’s leadership, remains committed to implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) in order to ensure that Nigeria’s digital economy remains a leading light, both in Africa and across the globe.

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TECHDIGEST – Elon Musk’ Space X is to provide broadband access across the whole of Nigeria, enabling nation-wide access to broadband connectivity way ahead of the December 2025 schedule.

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Nigeria even as he announced partnership with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to provide broadband access across the whole of Nigeria.

These two events took place at the ongoing US-Africa Leaders’ Forum (USALF), happening in Washington DC, United States of America. The Summit is hosted by President Joe Biden of the United States and brought together leaders from across Africa.

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Pantami signed the Accords to signal Nigeria’s participation in the next phase of space exploration to be coordinated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). President Paul Kagame also announced Rwanda’s endorsement of the Accord.  President Paul Biya of Cameroon, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and the Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Mr. Don Graves, also spoke at the event. Nigeria and Rwanda were the first two African countries to sign the Accord and the 22nd and 23rd in the world.  The signing took place on the 13th of December 2022 at the U.S.-Africa Space Forum- a side event at the USALF.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said “I’m thrilled Nigeria and Rwanda are committing to the safe, sustainable use of outer space. In an era where more nations than ever have space programs, today’s signings highlight a growing commitment to ensure space exploration is conducted responsibly.” He also stated that “as the first African nations to sign the Artemis Accords, Nigeria and Rwanda exemplify the global reach of the accords and are demonstrating their leadership in space exploration.”

Artemis Accords were established by NASA in 2020, as a set of principles to guide the next phase of space exploration, reinforcing and providing for important operational implementation of key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. The Accords also serve to reinforce the commitment of the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as guidelines and best practices NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

The minister also announced Nigeria’s partnership with SpaceX, having approved their application as a High Throughput Satellite (HTS) Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Operator in the Nigerian telecommunications sector.

As part of the partnership, “Space X is to provide broadband access across the whole of Nigeria, enabling nation-wide access to broadband connectivity way ahead of the December 2025 schedule, as outlined in our National Broadband Plan.  With this collaboration with SpaceX’s Starlink, Nigeria is set to be the 1st African country to introduce the service. The nation-wide rollout shall take place before the end of 2022, after conclusion of a few administrative processes.  The announcement was made at the US-Space Forum, where Professor Pantami also served as a speaker,” said Pantami’s Technical Assistant (Research & Development), Dr. Femi Adeluyi, in a statement issued this morning.

Adding: “The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under Professor Pantami’s leadership, will continue its committed implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) to ensure that Nigeria’s digital economy remains a leading light, both in Africa and across the globe.”

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