Minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has revealed that the federal government has launched a fund of $609 million for tech entrepreneurs in Nigeria over the next four years.

Speaking at the ongoing 2023 Nordic Nigeria Connect in Lagos, Tijani said the biggest contributor of services is telecommunication hence the country should build partnerships that would help its citizens get there.

“In a connected world, our role is to build relationships with countries, organisation with innovation and a body of knowledge.

Nigeria doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel in what is already known in other countries but we can leverage the opportunity,” he added.

According to the minister, the government should build a country that we need to see, which is not just the role of government but also the private sector.

“The role of criticism of the government should be to make the government learn, hence we should criticise with facts and evidence to let the government be better.”

Recall that former vice president of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, in March, launched a $600 million programme for young Nigerians in the technology and creative sectors with a call on African governments and the private sector to do more to support the growth of innovation in the continent

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TECHDIGEST – With no fewer than 3,471 likes, 783 retweets and 607 comments on his Twitter space, where he shared photos from his recent presidential declaration in Abuja under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s former Vice President Abubakar Atiku is ahead many other contenders in the 2023 Presidential race, at least online.

Atiku’s Facebook page elicited over 2, 000 reactions in the ‘Comment Section’ and more than 3,000 shares.

READ ALSO : Osinbajo Flags off Edo Tech Park for Software Engineers, Developers

Former Governor of Lagos state and National leader of the All Progressives Party (APC), Bola Tinubu, received above 208 retweets and 647 likes for his Presidential bid on his Twitter handle.

But here’s the killer score! Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra state, also of the PDP, has lapped up 41, 000 retweets and 108,000 likes on Twitter since declaring his intention to run for the highest political office in Nigeria. There are over 27, 000 reactions on his ‘Comment Section’ and 3,000 shares following a post on this in his Facebook page.

Others are still not so feasible online. They include Governor of Nyesom Wike (PDP) of Rivers state and Governor David Umahi (APC) of Ebonyi state.

Current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, even though has not made an official declaration to run for the office under the APC, has an active online community making numerous retweets, and reshares across several social media handles to make him extremely visible online.

Read more : ITedgenews

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TECH DIGEST – Following Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s relentless efforts in attracting tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Huawei and others to the country, a cross-section of Nigerians have taken to social media to acknowledge and commend his commitment to issues affecting youths, saying the move will lead to the creation of jobs for them.

They bared their minds via comments posted on different social media channels, expressing their gratitude to the Vice President and urged him not to relent in his efforts to transform the tech space in Nigeria.

Prof. Osinbajo met with the Microsoft Corporation team led by its President, Mr Brad Smith on 8 January in a virtual meeting and the tech giant committed to partnering the Federal Government in its Economic Sustainability Plan.

At the meeting Vice President urged Microsoft to engage young Nigerians, stating that, “It seems to me that there is just a wave of general anger around the world and people are generally impatient. Impatient with government, impatient with practically all of the formal structures there are.”

“But I am open and happy to hear what views there might be on trying to engage and engage even more with young people (and in our case, that is 70% of our population, if not more). So, we are really talking not just about the youth population but the Nigerian populace because that is the majority.”

It would be recalled that Prof. Osinbajo also met with other global technology giants including Google Inc., Huawei, and top social networking company, Facebook, to discuss plans to partner with the Federal Government for the benefit of the Nigerian people, especially young people.

Using the hashtag, MicrosoftNaija, a Twitter user, Bola Daunsi said the Vice President’s impact on the tech sector is profound. “VP Osinbajo’s impact on the tech sector has produced a whole lot of desirable results in terms of attracting tech giants like Facebook, Google, Huawei, Jack Ma and more recently Microsoft to Nigeria for investment purpose. #MicrosoftNaija isn’t just wishful thinking, It is real,” she said.

Doctor Frank in a tweet said for many years Prof. Osinbajo has been pushing tech initiative in Nigeria. “The ease of using Microsoft in achieving many things is only happening because VP Osinbajo has been building and sustaining our economy specifically through technology advancement and establishments since 2017.”

Kate Nnaji explained that the Vice President has a track record of attracting big tech companies. “While a lot of you are busy attacking @ProfOsinbajo, he has been busy building Nigeria’s tech sector by bringing different tech big guns to invest here. Just last week, Microsoft said it will be investing in Naija to build its tech sector & make it the best in Africa.” #MicrosoftNaija

Adelekan Adeoye cited the impact Osinbajo’s meeting with Facebook had on the Nigeria tech sector. “In May 2018, NG_HUB was launched in Yaba, Lagos. The training aspect of Facebook’s Nigeria Initiatives promises to train and support 50,000 students, SMEs and entrepreneurs across Nigeria through a series of digital skills training.” #MicrosoftNaija

Similarly, Adewumi Collins noted that over $350 million was pumped into Nigeria’s tech sector after he met with tech giants. “VP Osinbajo has been at the forefront of Nigeria’s investments in the tech sector. After his visit in 2018/2019, Nigerian got about $377million in investments in the tech sector. Job creation, hubs, training and so on.” #MicrosoftNaija

Mustapha Olatu described Prof. Osinbajo as a big brand that attracts other big brands. “Osinbajo is not only intelligent, he is also a brand. Osinbajo in a meeting with tech CEOs at the Silicon Valley asked them to invest in Nigeria. He also showcased Paystack in 2018 asking foreign and local investors to give it a try. Let’s not forget the role the VP has now played in #MicrosoftNaija,” he said.

Thomas Blessing was pleased that Microsoft obliged the Vice President request. “VP Osinbajo in a virtual meeting with Microsoft Corporation team led by its President, Mr Brad Smith noted that the company’s interest in supporting the efforts of the FG is a welcome development and could be leveraged to address issues affecting the youths.” #MicrosoftNaija

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TECH DIGEST – FG welcomes partnership with tech companies to build capacity, employ more Nigerians
The idea of a partnership between the Federal Government and technology companies to develop an eco-system of competent Nigerians working in the service sector and even outsourcing their expertise abroad is a welcome development and a step in the right direction in job creation.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, stated this during a virtual courtesy call from Huawei Nigeria, led by its new CEO, Trevor Liu, recently.

According to the Vice President, “I think that Huawei and the Federal Government should work as partners, not just a business relationship, but a relationship that also takes employment into account, especially with our young population.”

Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said, “we need to develop an ecosystem of competent Nigerians who can work locally and get international jobs as well, a business-outsourcing-type arrangement.”

He acknowledged the work Huawei had done in the past with training of Nigerians but reiterated the need for employment opportunities that go beyond capacity building.

Prof Osinbajo explained that “every other technology company does training programmes, but that is not what I am looking for. I am looking at something that shows Huawei wants to be a partner with Nigeria, working together as a corporate organization that sees itself as a part of Nigeria’s future. There are loads of people who have done training but have no work”

He further went on to say “I want us to do something groundbreaking and different.”

“Let’s see something that gives young people more than training, gives them some opportunity as well because this ecosystem will require a lot of people who see Huawei not just as a business but a brand that’s interested in them going forward”

Responding, the CEO of Huawei Nigeria, Trevor Liu, said that the strategy of the company is indeed to focus on investing in young people in every country in which they operate, adding that the company has invested in a lot of young people in Nigeria but would also like to do more.

He assured the Federal Government that Huawei would invest more resources in young people and give a progress update, adding that it’s the plan of the company to position Nigeria as a technology center for the continent.

Also present at the meeting were the Deputy Managing Director of Huawei, Otunba Lanre Odekunle and the General Manager of Huawei in Nigeria, Michael Zhuang.

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TECH DIGEST – The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has posited that there is the need for ethical leadership in order to realise the dream of economic growth using the fourth industrial revolution, also known as 4IR.

The NCC Boss posited this while delivering a speech at the 2020 Hybrid (ONLINE/ONSITE) Annual Directors Conference (ADC) organised By The Institute Of Directors (IoD) two days ago.

Describing the 4IR as the age of intelligence and encompasses technologies like high-speed mobile Internet, Artificial Intelligence, automation, the use of big data analytics and cloud computing, Danbatta noted that 4IR is the evolved new ways of doing things to ensure economic sustainability.

“The possibilities provided by the 4IR are limitless and can generate employment for Nigeria’s teeming youth population. Therefore, in order to achieve economic growth using the 4IR there is the need for ethical leadership,” he emphasised.

He explained that the 4IR is the information and digital economy age which if properly enhanced and exploited can serve as a major revenue earner for the Country in the post-oil era. This is because, according to him while natural resources such as oil, gas, etc are finite, data and information are infinite.

He however highlighted the major constraint in Nigeria facing the 4IR to include the inadequacy of digital skills, infrastructure deficit, enabling environment and inadequate infrastructure.

Speaking on what government is doing to address these challenges, the former University lecturer disclosed that the Federal Government in its bid to ensure economic growth and sustainability has collaborated with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) to discuss issues and challenges facing the development of Nigeria with a view to developing and harmonizing ideas towards diversification and sustaining the economy.

In addition, the National Sustainability Committee chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, developed a National Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP). The plan is aimed at overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, enhancing oil and non-oil revenues, creation of a financial stimulus package for the Nigerian economy, support for MSMEs and the creation of jobs.

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