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 – After the presentation of my book on Crisis Communication Strategies last year, Abdullahi O. Haruna breezed into my office and announced his forthcoming book too.

Popularly known as Haruspice on social media, Haruna describes himself as a ‘Proud Buharideen’ and an unapologetic Buharist. We have had very several private conversations on the socio-political, as well as economic developments of Nigeria.

From the onset, Haruna has been a fanatical supporter of General Muhammadu Buhari, even before the 2015 elections, after which he became President.
In his characteristic writing style, Haruna has a unique way of weaving together pungent, punchy and persuasive narratives, all delivered with a peculiar choice of words to convey his meaning. And, as a professional communicator, he remains focused on projecting, defending, and protecting the person of the president, sometimes at great risk to him, as a social media influencer.

I could therefore easily second-guess the theme of the book, particularly on the basis of some of our conversations and engagements on national issues.

“The title of my book is ‘The Buhari in Us!’”, he quickly but wittily interjected into my thought.

Although I was not the least surprised by the title of Haruspice’s proposed book, yet I found in it an interesting and amusing metaphor. In our private conversations, I had expressed my misgivings, following the emergence of the Buhari administration in 2015. I then raised concerns over the persecution of opposition politicians, some of who were arraigned before courts for financing elections, while a number of the members of the new ruling party – some of who also deployed public funds to prosecuting the elections – were rewarded with juicy government patronage and appointments.

I was also bothered by the significant imbalances in federal appointments, in which public organisations and agencies in a particular sector were manned by people from specific geopolitical zones, coupled by the additional burden of the sector being one that was facing monumental challenges.

The issue of the swelling concerns around insecurity in the country, alongside arbitrary detentions and the government’s disobedience of court orders gradually became matters of deepening apprehension.

“Sir, ‘the Buhari in Us is’ would answer some of the issues we discussed and allay all your fears….”, Haruspice once again reassuringly interjected into, like a mind reader.

A few months later, the 112-page book, published by Entourage Publishing Limited, was released in a timely fashion that coincided with a period of the national blaming of President Buhari for a number of societal challenges.

In the Foreword to the book, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo writes that, “The Buhari in Us which is a series of short articles written in free-flowing prose, with some occasional interludes of poetic expressions, captures the thoughts and summations of the writer about the man called Muhammadu Buhari.”

Even though critics may disagree with some of his views, Haruspice delivers his message in excellent prose, marshaling convincing arguments, which are incisive and occasionally laced with political rhetoric. He’s is probably the best collection of hagiographical writings on President Buhari.

Nevertheless, after reading the book, I realised that some of his narratives fit into the Image Repair (Restoration) Theory (IRT) propounded in Crisis Communication, as a sub-speciality of the public relations profession, and which is designed to protect and defend an individual or organisation facing reputational challenges.

The image repair theory (IRT), recommended by Professor William Benoit of the University of Missouri, identifies five general approaches to responding to accusations or suspicions. These are Denial, Evading Responsibility, Reducing Offensiveness, Corrective Action, and Mortification.

One of Haruna’s repeated communication strategies in defending the reputation of the President is the utilisation of  the denial approach, which is either to refute any wrongdoing in an outright manner or to project a one-sided argument as fact, by negating the possibility of other sides to such argument. For instance, he writes that, “a former president’s timidity allowed Boko Haram (to) capture 23 Local Government Areas,” but refused to add that almost all of these local government areas were subsequently recovered by the same administration before the election that brought Buhari to power. There are many times when his arguments and the damages they seek to do are erected on the fallacy of the single story.

Similarly, in another chapter he mentions that President Buhari hosted some of his ardent supporters (Buharists) to a breakfast in the State House and that “these young people defied insult(s), malice and psychological torture to stand by him without …any monetary motivation.” Surprisingly, in another section of the book, Haruspice accuses some of these Buharists, saying that, “If you can’t support PMB to succeed, please denounce your earlier support. The battle for restoration of Nigeria is not for (the) faint-heart(ed), it is for real patriots.” While initially claiming that the support of the Buharists was total and not dependent on monetary or other forms of inducement, the writer yet rails against this same group in a bitter manner and questions their purported loyalty, without supplying the context for the change in behaviour.

In also utilising  the evasion of responsibility approach, which shifts blame and provides excuses for the evolution of issues, Haruna tackles those who were criticising President Buhari for choosing to seek remedy to his medical conditions in a foreign hospital by saying that, “For 16 years you (critics) endured the building of no single world class hospital by OBJ, Yar’Adua and Jonathan but you are angry that in three years Buhari didn’t build hospitals across the federation. Being bias(ed) is also corruption.”

Similarly, when members of the opposition were accusing the Buhari administration of being too slow in taking action on national issues, to this Haruspice retorted that, “Nigeria would have become a global reference in economic growth, political strength, religious reference if not for the way things were badly managed in the past.”

There is also a section on “Buhari’s Certificate of Integrity”, where he writes that, “even those who didn’t graduate properly are saying Buhari has no WAEC certificate.” Meanwhile, in that chapter the names of former Presidents Ibrahim Babangida and Goodluck Jonathan were conspicuously cited.

In taking on the Reducing Offensiveness approach, which is a strategy of attempting a balance by first admitting the existence of problems, and then revealing the solutions that were proffered to these concerns, Haruna titles one of the chapters in the book as, “May Buhari Fail in Politics and Get it Right in Governance.” The reason for this chapter is quite obvious. In another chapter titled, “How not to Change a Government,” Haruna writes that, “You don’t change a government with hate and malice; you change a government with tact and intelligence.”

Another strategy in IRT theory deployed by Haruna, in the reputation building effort of his book, is the Corrective Action Approach which seeks to resolve a problem by promising to do the right things necessary for making this happen. In the chapter titled, “Getting Nigeria out of the Miry Clay,” Haruspice first admits that, “There is no denying the obvious that things are hard and families have been experiencing the most difficult time of existence; people are finding it hard to feed and pay the school fees.” He then quickly concludes that, “This is unfortunate, but we do hope that quick win solutions come to our ways, soon.”

In the Buhari In Us, Haruspice attempts a bit of political clairvoyance of his own. In the section, “Buhari and the Yorubas”, after praising and appeasing one of the APC leaders, Chief Bola Tinubu, Haruspice writes that, “With a Buhari’s candidature in 2019, all would be set for an Osinbajo to succeed his boss…. It’s going to be difficult to deny him the Yoruba representation…. The candidacy of Yemi Osinbajo in 2023 will sell like a virgin bride.”

The Mortification as the last approach in the IRT theory of Crisis Communication is the deployment of a strategy of contrition, which could involve a heart-felt confession, as well as a persuasive apology over an issue or incident of grave import for a community or nation. In this mode, evident in “Righting the Wrongs of Yesterday”, Haruna explains the circumstances of the posthumous honours bestowed on the late Chief MKO Abiola, more than 20 years, after his widely proclaimed victory at the presidential election of June 12, 1993, almost as a way of drawing the audience into an emotional acknowledgement of the restorative purpose of the Buhari administration in healing deep national wounds.

Also, in writing “Why Buhari Can’t Fail”, Haruna declares that the President has no reason to fail because this would be really bad for his image, convictions and would hence damage what he projects as Buhari’s impeccable brand. He says that, “When the body is hungry, the mind becomes weak, forlorn and despondent. What we have now is the realisation that the government is doing all it can to make things right.”

In the book, Haruspice doesn’t only eulogise President Buhari, he also speaks truth to power on some national challenges. In his “Open Letter to the President” in the book, Haruspice laments the deprecating issues of insecurity in the country, noting that, “Killers are having field days, maiming and killing at will… Leadership is nothing if the people are not secured. You can do it, Mr. President, provide more leadership in this regard.”

Yushau A. Shuaib
Author of “An Encounter with the Spymaster” and “Crisis Communication Strategies”
www.YAShuaib.com

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TECH DIGEST – An ex-aide to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has knocked the National Broadcasting Commission for ordering broadcast stations to deactivate their Twitter accounts when the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, still have active accounts on Twitter.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Commission directed broadcast stations to “de-install Twitter handles and desist from using Twitter as a source of information gathering for News and programmes presentation, especially phone-in.”

According to the NBC, the decision followed the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government over the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining the corporate existence of Nigeria.

Checks by our correspondent as of the time of filing this report show that the handles of the President and the Vice-President are still active.

Reacting to this, Omokri called out the NBC for asking Nigerian stations to deactivate their Twitter accounts when top government officials are still active on Twitter.

“How can the NBC direct all Nigerian stations to deactivate their Twitter profiles, when General Buhari and VP Osinbajo haven’t deactivated theirs and when El-Rufai is still tweeting?” Omokri asked.

“Start from the head and the body will follow,” he added.

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TECH DIGEST – President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday received the first made in Nigeria cell phone, known as ITF Mobile.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Minister of Industry, trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, presented the phone to the president, before the commencement of Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja.

According to Adebayo, the phone is one of the 12 cell phones produced, using locally sourced components, by the Electrical/Electronics Technology Department of the Industrial Training Fund’s (ITF) Model Skills Training Centre.

He said: “Twelve indigenous mobile cell phones produced by the Model Skills Training Centre of the Industrial Training Fund; an agency under Ministry of Industry Trade and Investment was launched.

“It gives me great pleasure Mr President, to present you with one of the phones.”

NAN reports the president also presided over the swearing-in of one Commissioner each, for the National Population Commission (NPC) and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCC) ahead of deliberations at the cabinet meeting.

Those sworn-in were Wakil Bukar as Commissioner of the FCC and Mohammed Dattijo Usman as Commissioner of the NPC.

Bukar replaces the FCC Commissioner from Bauchi State while Usman replaces the NPC Commissioner from Niger.

NAN observed that the representatives from the two states died recently.

Meanwhile, President Buhari is presiding over the meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the conference room of the First Lady’s office.

Among those physically attending the meeting are Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari.

Others include the Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Finance, Zainab Ahmed, Justice, Abubakar Malami and Trade and investment; Niyi Adebayo.

The Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan and other Ministers are participating in the meeting from their various offices in Abuja online. (NAN)

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TECH DIGEST – The Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency Professor Yemi Osinbanjo, said that startup ecosystem is one of the vital tools in finding solutions to Africa’s various challenges, according to him, these challenges will determine if the continent’s future as the next frontier for economic opportunities will fully be realised.

The VP, represented by Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, said this at the Startup and Developer event organised by Google.

He stated the topic – The African Start-up Ecosystem Opportunity – is exciting because startup ecosystem is extremely critical to the future of Nigeria and Africa at large.

“Globally, the Startup ecosystem is the most viable platform for innovators and entrepreneurs to take their ideas from inception to impact. It brings relevant stakeholders together to collaborate and bring something new to the world or new to an industry. There will never be a more perfect time to strengthen the African startup ecosystem than now, on the verge of the 4th industrial revolution,” he said.

Osinbanjo  noted that the 3rd industrial revolution was pivotal to unprecedented global economic growth in the 21st century, as it disrupted traditional service delivery channels and accelerated the automation of factories and manufacturing processes, using electronics and information technologies to expand the reach and create prosperity but Africa hopped along and missed out.

“The countries that captured maximum value from the 3rd industrial revolution have become more prosperous and built solutions that improved service delivery in all aspects of lives, from education, healthcare and food production to efficiency and speed in manufacturing.

“Today, Africa is presented with another opportunity, the 4th industrial revolution, which is shaping and creating economic activities. It is proving to be the catalyst for future economic activities that will bridge the divide between rich and developing countries, and remove physical borders and barriers while maximising the utilisation of digital technologies as a source of inspiration across economic sectors,” he added.

“The African startup ecosystem opportunity is hinged on two key factors, which are anchored on the 4th industrial revolution and driven primarily by digital technologies. The first factor is innovation capacity, and the second one is entrepreneurial capacity. Both capacities depend on four key indicators, Human Capital, Infrastructure, Funding and Demand. Human capital being the first indicator means that African startups must realise that they are only as strong as the value of the human resources they have.

Therefore, startups like Andela, Wootlab Innovations and Decagon are vital as they are involved in producing skilled talent.

“With this, Africa can become the next hotbed for professional talent that will provide local solutions and export their skills and solutions to a global market that actively seeks such value. This is why we highly valued Google Developer Space in Lagos. It is the first in Africa and speaks to the position of Nigeria as a leader in the digital skills and startup ecosystem in Africa. The investments attracted by our startups confirm the position. Recently, Flutterwave announced new funding of $170m, and Stripe acquired Paystack for more than $200m. Other Nigerian technology companies like Interswitch have raised funding in hundreds of millions of dollars,” he noted.

The VP stated that according to startup Genome report, Lagos is the most valuable startup ecosystem on the continent, having 400 to 700 active startups valued at over $2B with Fintech being the most prominent in the Lagos technology startups ecosystem.

However, other industries are emerging with startups like Flying Doctors, 54gene, Helium Health and Life Bank blazing the trail in the healthcare sector and Thrive Agric, Afex Commodities, and Probity Farms making waves in the agriculture and commodities exchange space.

He said the opportunities for investment and disruption remain very high in the continent; same as the opportunity for hubs and other innovation centres to serve as enablers and anchors for our promising startups.

“As Government, we are working with the relevant stakeholders in the public and private sector to ensure that startups receive every support they require to take their ideas from inception to impact. As part of our Ease of Doing Business Reforms, we instituted the Visa on Arrival Policy which allows any person outside ECOWAS to get a visa on arrival in Nigeria.

This policy means all African startups and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their business into Nigeria will have a more straightforward process.

“We are also re-convening the Technology and Creativity Advisory Council, made up of public and private sector stakeholders in the ecosystem to advise Government on policies and programs to support the ecosystem. Through the work of this council, we are currently engaging with the African Development Bank to setup a $500million US Dollar Innovation Fund, which will provide support for the ecosystem across four pillars which include Infrastructure support, Finance, Skills Development and Technical Assistance.

“In 2019, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for Digital Nigeria as a sustainable roadmap to accelerate the development of the Digital Economy in Nigeria.

The policy is designed to catalyse the digital ecosystem development in Nigeria and deepen innovation quality to promote innovation-driven enterprises that target the global market.

“We also have many initiatives to support the ecosystem through various agencies. In this regard, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been at the forefront of supporting Nigeria’s digital innovation ecosystem. Last year, as the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc worldwide, NITDA engaged the ecosystem to devise strategies to aid business continuity for startups and developed schemes to support and sustain the ecosystem.

The engagement led to initiatives such as Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme, National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center etc, as sustainable programmes to continuously up-skill and supports the startup ecosystem.

“Secondly, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council introduced the Export Expansion Grant, which can be accessed by companies with a minimum annual export turnover of N5 million. This is particularly useful to Nigerian startups seeking an expansion into other African countries and those seeking to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area. Other opportunities, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Creative Sector Loan in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee and the Bank of Industry’s Technology Fund, are designed to create different ways through which startups can access the value they need to keep expanding their businesses.

“I must further re-iterate that there is no exhaustive list of approaches to make sure our Government creates an enabling environment. For example, we are working through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to deepen digital identity through NIN registration and build broadband infrastructure backbone across the country, this is part of our National Broadband Plan, which is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, providing access to at least 90% of the population by 2025 at affordable prices. Broadband infrastructure and digital identity are two critical factors that accelerate the digital economy. These are all avenues aimed at inspiring our startups to disrupt the conventional ways of service delivery,” he concluded.

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TECH DIGEST – 21st Century Technologies L​​imited (21CTL), the foremost Information Communication Technology firm in Nigeria, has committed to Ogun State Digital Economic Empowerment Project (OGDEP).

The Company is partnering with Ogun state government to execute the all-important project hence the commitment of close to $75 Million to the project in expectation that the initiative would see the economy of Ogun state grow by additional $100 billion.

The Ogun State Digital Economy Infrastructure project was flagged off by Vice President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo in the presence of Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami (represented); representatives from the National Assembly and other industry stakeholders.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Osinbajo commended Ogun state for taking a bold step in spearheading the move for an overall digital economy in the country.

The Vice President who launched the project virtually, acknowledged a urgent need to democratise access to internet in the country, adding that digital technology is the future of all aspects of human existence.

He said, “This project is a critical component of Mr. President’s objective of broadband connectivity for all by 2023. This ambition is now enshrined in our Economic Sustainability Plan. As part of the national commitment to make broadband connectivity available to all, you would recall that in 2017, the State Governors under the auspices of the National Economic Council (NEC) in 2017 agreed to harmonize right of way charges which is presently being worked on.

“In another demonstration of government’s commitment , the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy launched the National Broadband Plan which is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90% of the population by 2025 at affordable prices”.

Osinbajo also commended 21st Century Technologies for its huge commitments to the project , adding that this would revolutionize every aspect of the socio-economic life of Ogun state.

Earlier, Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, stated that the strategy of OGDEP was to provide broadband connectivity to every corner of Ogun State.

“This is a joint project between our administration and our partner, 21st Century Technologies Limited , to deliver fibre-optic cables and mechanics across all our 20 Local Government Areas within the next two years.

“The first phase of OGDEP will establish a fibre optic network ring around the entire State that will ensure connectivity particularly for key educational institutions, government agencies and residents in unconnected and under-connected areas”.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Vice Chairman/CEO of 21st Century Technologies limited, Wale Ajisebutu affirmed that the initiative would see all business sectors and citizens of Ogun state operate digitally, using fibre networks infrastructure, knowledge infrastructure and marketing and network.

He said, “The network infrastructure will facilitate GSM services, financial inclusion , data storage, development of innovative ideas by startups and universities.

“This would also enable industries while placing Ogun state in the heart of the 4th industrial revolution where science, technology and social media are rapidly transforming the world “

He urged all hands to be on deck to ensure the project achieve enviable success.

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TECH DIGEST – In a move to spur the entertainment, creative, and technology sectors in the country, the Buhari administration has commenced a process that will provide the sectors with about N240 billion in financing and investment set to take off by the end of the year.q

The government says the $500 million equivalent financing, which is to be sourced from the AfDB, will be used for the establishment of a $500 million fund in support of what has been named the Nigeria Innovation Programme (NIP). A report of the first draft project proposal was presented by the AfDB to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last week. The AfDB is expected to give its approval in October.

Confirming the meeting, Laolu Akande, a Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity in the Presidency, said it is public knowledge that the vice president has spoken publicly about the $500m facility.

He added that details of how the facility will work were discussed on Thursday at a meeting presided over by Mr Osinbajo which had in attendance cabinet ministers, representative of the African Development Bank (AfDB), among others.

Mr Akande explained that the plan to get the funding is an outcome of the Technology and Creativity Working Group set up few years ago with members drawn from the private and public sectors chaired by the vice president. The working group was carved out of the Nigerian Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council earlier set up by President Muhammadu Buhari also chaired by the vice president.

The Nigeria Innovation Programme, NIP, proposed by the federal government, seeks to boost innovation and job creation, and foster growth in the technology and creativity entrepreneurship ecosystem.

According to Mr Akande, already nine states comprising Lagos, Osun, Edo, Cross River, Anambra, Kaduna, Adamawa and Plateau were initially selected as focus states, while Borno, Gombe and Kwara States were recommended by the Presidency for the programme.

Also PwC, which is consulting on the project during its feasibility study, considered potential innovation community and State cluster/innovation blocks in selecting more states, which resulted in the inclusion of Akwa-Ibom, Ogun, Delta, Edo, Enugu, and Oyo States.

The NIP will focus on four development pillars namely: human capital, financing, infrastructure and enabling environment.

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….Nigeria’s tech space would become most viable in Africa — Microsoft
TECH DIGEST – Just as global technology giants including Google Inc., HUAWEI, and top social networking company, Facebook, another international tech heavyweight, Microsoft Corporation, has disclosed plans to partner with the Federal Government for the benefit of the Nigerian people, especially young people.

Specifically, Microsoft is now offering support for the Digital Transformation pillar of the Federal Government’s Economic Sustainability Plan. This will be a continuation of the technology company’s investment in Nigeria after the establishment of an African Technology Development Centre in 2020, all in affirmation of the efforts of the Buhari administration in the creation of a viable technology ecosystem in Nigeria.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, Thursday noted in a virtual meeting with Microsoft Corporation team led by its President, Mr Brad Smith that the company’s interest in supporting the efforts of the Federal Government is a welcome development and could be leveraged to address issues affecting the youths especially in engaging them productively.

While Google Inc. in July 2020 announced plans to establish its first Google Launchpad Space outside the United States in Lagos, Facebook, in September of same year made public its decision to open an office in Lagos as part of its planned expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa. HUAWEI on the other hand last November promised the Vice President that the company will position Nigeria as a technology center for the African continent.

Speaking on the need to constantly engage with the youths, the Vice President noted that Nigeria’s case is peculiar given that the youths constitute a larger percentage of the country’s population hence the need for all stakeholders to pay more attention to that demography.

His words: “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. So, whatever it is that we are able to deploy to be more inclusive, to engage even more, is really a solution for the entire populace as opposed to a solution for just a segment of our population especially given the fact that young people constitute 70% or even more.”

Speaking on the government efforts in developing the technology space especially in boosting viable sectors of the economy, Prof. Osinbajo noted that “we have a digital innovation initiative which we hope will be the foundation for doing far more in the digital space than we are doing at the moment.”

Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo emphasized that “just looking at agriculture, this is obviously something that we’ve spent quite a bit of time and resources on especially in the past few years. We have also seen the development of a good number of agric-tech type companies and fin-techs that are also working in the agric sector. So, it’s a whole load of innovation around the agric tech space, especially in the past few years. So, I think we really are up for programmes that will support these sorts of agric-tech initiatives”.

Referring to the partnership with Microsoft, especially the establishment of the development centre, the Vice President said “I have always wondered how Microsoft can just be a much more effective partner with us as a country.

“Beginning with the African Development Centre which I think is excellent, I think it shows the commitment of Microsoft in developing the digital centre here in Nigeria. And it also shows the company’s confidence in the sort of talents that we have and the commitment of government to ensuring that we develop that talent in the best possible ways that we can.”

Assuring investors in the Nigerian economy of the commitment of the Buhari administration in creating the right environment for businesses to thrive, the Vice President said “we are all working to create the right environment for innovation and creativity. That remains an issue that we are dealing with on a daily basis, and I think that the challenges are the challenges of the sort that we are going to have to be dealing with (in my view) even in the coming years.”

On his part, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Ali Isa Pantami, said the Federal Government has already put in place the necessary structures to partner with Microsoft and other tech companies in developing Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.

He said the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy, the National Policy on E-governance, among others, have been adopted by the Buhari administration to support the growth of technology and innovation in the country.

Earlier in his remarks, Mr. Smith, noted that his company’s vision for investment in Nigeria was one that would lead to the creation of Africa’s most viable technology ecosystem.

Mr Smith said the company’s investment in Nigeria is a demonstration of its enthusiasm about the digital transformation ongoing in Nigeria under the Buhari administration.

He proposed a 90-day timeline for stakeholders on the government side and from Microsoft, to iron out details of the various areas of collaboration.

Other participants at the meeting include Microsoft Corporation’s Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana, Mr Akin Banuso, among others.

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