Speeches

ENABLING CLOUD ADOPTION IN GOVERNMENT DATA CLASSIFICATION

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you!

I am indeed glad and honored to be invited to the Oracle Nigeria 2019 Summit which focuses on Cloud Computing and strategies for adoption in government organizations. I must say that the chosen theme for this conference cannot come at a better time than now, when the President Muhammad Buhari, GCFR is focused on reducing the running cost of governance and inefficiencies within the public sector. If you notice recently, the Ministry of Communications was changed to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. Cloud is a critical enabler of Digital Economy.

It is not a gainsaying that our lives and socioeconomic activities are increasingly dependent on ICT. The need to make these computing resources available and accessible is critical to the country’s continuous growth and sustainable development. Cloud Computing is defined by National Institute of Standards and Technology as a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service interaction.

Cloud computing model ensures that users and organizations can access resources without massively investing in IT infrastructure. Cloud Computing delivers computing services in a way similar to metered utility services such as water, electricity, and gas. There is a belief that Cloud Computing is the fifth utility service after water, electricity, oil or gas, and phone utilities. Cloud Computing exists either as public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, and can be implemented as Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS), Platform as a Service (PAAS), Software as a Service (SAAS).

Usually, because of the Cloud Computing’s ability to provide on-demand provision to computing resources and pay as you use option, its adoption, among other things, has been associated with capital costs reduction; improved efficiency, responsiveness and quality of service delivery; removal of barrier to early IT capital investments requirements for businesses; efficiency in the management of computing resources; shift of focus and responsibility of IT professionals from routine IT service management to undertaking strategic IT initiatives.

In Nigeria, we are facing a number of challenges in the areas of non-matching cost of IT investments with expected values, poor sustainability of IT projects, shadow IT, poor interoperability of IT systems, among others. Substantially, these challenges do consequently lead to poor quality of digital services and as well hinder innovation in digital service delivery. Believe me, most of these challenges and their resultant effects can be resolved with adoption of suitable Cloud Computing models.

Ladies and Gentlemen, It may delight you to know that Nigeria is one of the leading adopters of Cloud Computing in Africa with about 36% adoption rate. However, a large percentage of this adoption can be credited to individuals and private organizations. Few government organizations adopt cloud computing, while majority still implement cost-prohibitive and inefficient on-premise Information Systems (IS). This is evident in the IT project clearance requests NITDA receives from MDAs to procure very expensive large number of servers, connectivity devices, and silo applications. Whereas, these MDAs can significantly reduce the cost of their procurement by opting for a cloud solution that aggregates applications and ensures that payment is only made for required applications.

NITDA has engaged stakeholders to develop Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy which was launched recently. The launching was follow up with the development of an implementation strategy to address this challenges mentioned earlier and promote adoption of the Cloud by Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) and Small Medium Enterprise (SMEs). The Policy has a value proposition of “Cloud First” to promote cloud computing as a “first choice” consideration for acquiring and deploying computing resources by public institutions and SMEs that provide digital-enabled services to the government except where the cause of deployment is related to national security concerns or cloud is not the best option politically and economically. The national strategic intent for Cloud adoption is hinged on the need to promote real time access to computing resources required by the government in order to provide highly responsive and efficient public service delivery; foster local ICT industry development and growth, cut down the cost of IT investments and save resources; create opportunities to better manage human resources and prepare the country for digital economy and transformation.

The objectives in the next five (5) years are to create enabling environment for private sector to increase cloud computing infrastructure investments by 35%; provide clear direction and programs that ensure attainment of 30% increase in cloud adoption and migration by public sector and SMEs that provide service for the government; and promote enabling and competitive business environment for Nigerian cloud service providers (CPS) and/or cloud service consulting (CSC) to operate efficiently and profitably in the Nigerian cloud market place.

The last objective is to ensure in the long run, we have Cloud Computing infrastructure and resources to host our data within the shore of the country. Countries across the world are increasingly holding data generated by their citizens in data centers located within their borders. “There has been a lot of talk about data being the new oil. If that is true, then should we allow other countries to be in custody of our ‘oil’? Therefore, we must begin to get ourselves prepared for the next digital economy to be fueled by data, new business models and digital technologies. Our economy could make significant gains by leveraging on Cloud facilities built within the country.

In order to be strategic and maximally benefit from the data economy, we should not lose focus on data privacy issues. We should ensure our systems are designed with “privacy by default” in mind. One of the core strategies in the Cloud Computing Policy is data classification. Data classification ensures that government organizations objectively classify their data according to specified security and sensitivity criteria before migration to a cloud computing platform. This ensures that adequate information security controls are defined and implemented on such data while at rest, during processing, and in transit within or outside a cloud computing platform.

The policy mandates four types of data classification namely: Official, public or non-confidential Data (data of limited sensitivity), Confidential, routine government business data (data of moderate sensitivity), Secret, sensitive government and citizen data, and Classified or National security information. The security and sensitivity consideration of the different data classification increases from the first to the fourth class, and therefore requires the application of varying levels of information security controls. Data in class one (1) to three (3) may be migrated to a Public Cloud Computing platform with the application of requisite information security controls while data in class four (4) should be restricted to a private cloud computing platform located on-premise or a commercial private cloud computing platform located within the geography of Nigeria with the services being managed by appropriate cloud SLAs.

It is obvious that one of the objectives of this summit is to share knowledge on Cloud Computing adoption strategies for government organizations. However, sharing knowledge about cloud adoption challenges should precede adoption strategies. That said, I will expect Oracle Cloud experts and participants to share knowledge about Cloud adoption challenges such as financial implication of adoption, data/application security, data autonomy, data/application migration issues, application integration issues, training, management buy-in, vendor lock-in, and poor underlying infrastructure for Cloud Computing. I strongly believe that sharing knowledge about these challenges will help provide a lucid anchor for adoption strategies.

We at NITDA welcome foreign players such as Oracle in the Nigerian Cloud Computing market. However, foreign companies should ensure that they comply with the Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy, especially in the areas of customer data protection, localization of cloud data and infrastructure in Nigerian data centers, local capacity development in Cloud Computing, and prevention of vendor lock-in. Oracle should not view the Nigeria Cloud Computing market as an opportunity to only address its organizational objectives, but an opportunity to help build a vibrant Cloud Computing ecosystem in Nigeria.

Distinguished Participants, Public sector adoption of Cloud Computing will improve government service delivery to citizens and businesses. The front-end applications for delivery of government services such as company registration, tax payment, vehicle registration, drivers’ licensing, national identity number registration, and passport registration among others can be made available on the cloud. This will drastically reduce the level of interruption, inefficiency and inconsistency we experienced today in getting Government services. Citizens and businesses can access the cloud-based e-government platform through a single-window portal.

Additionally, integrated government data and services hosted on a cloud platform will help the government reduce the cost of IT infrastructure while increasing efficiency, productivity, and performance. When government organizations can successfully adopt cloud computing, then we would worry less about our information systems and focus more on increasing the performance and efficiency of government services. Consequently, improved services from the government will ensure that citizens and businesses benefit from government policies. I want us to strongly ponder on this as we come up with actionable strategies for Cloud Computing adoption. I wish you a happy and fruitful deliberation. And we hope to work with your recommendations.

Thank you for your attention indeed.

The 2019 Oracle Summit

Thursday, 21st November, 2019

LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY AND INDIGENOUS INNOVATION TO ATTAIN THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

May Peace, Mercy and Blessing be upon you All.

All protocols duly observed.

I am pleased and honored to attend the 6th Big Data Analytics and Innovation Conference 2019. I would like to use this opportunity to express my profound appreciation to the Chairperson, Dr. James Ogunleye and all the organizations and Institutes under the umbrella of the KIE Conference, for hosting the Big Data Analytics and Innovation Conference. It is also my pleasure to be one of the Keynote Speakers for this conference with the theme; Big Data Analytics, Tertiary Education, & Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria. So, please allow me to thank you warmly for granting me the honor to stand before you all.

I must also say that I am delighted that this conference, is an initiative in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Strategic Road Map of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). As you may be aware, NITDA is the government’s agency responsible for the development and regulation of the IT sector of the country.

Big Data Analytics, Developing Entrepreneurship & Enhancing innovation are some of the key strategies to develop the economy of the Nation and create jobs. NITDA, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders is working hard to ensure that the nation benefits from the opportunities presented by these innovations. Ma I use this opportunity to invite you to the upcoming annual e-Nigeria International Conference hosted by NITDA scheduled for the 28th and 29th of November 2019; and also the confirmation by President Muhammadu Buhari to attend and declare the event open.

Technology and innovation provides us with various unprecedented opportunities for Sustainable National Development. Business has transformed from Survival of the fittest to Survival of the smartest. Big Data Analytics for instance provides us with rich data and possible insights for descriptive, predictive and prescriptive purposes. Data Analytics can be helpful for sustainable development in all facet of the economy and especially in higher education, entrepreneurship development and Innovation. Big Data can help in collecting, collating and analyzing with higher accuracy the data set of a region for various purposes. No doubt, the application of ICT to the various spheres of our lives is a critical option for National growth and development.

Apart from the regulatory efforts (like development of the First-Cloud Policy, NDPR, NeGIF etc.) and interventions in developing the IT sector, NITDA has been supporting innovators to actualize their dreams. The Gulf Information & Technology Exhibition (GITEX) is an example of NITDA’s support for sustainable job creation, which has enabled many young innovators to participate and pitch their ideas during the annual Global event. This has further created opportunities for networking and investments. NITDA with the support of its stakeholders are looking into several innovative ideas to promote the digital economy. Our focus is to develop, rather than strangulate innovation.

As we all know, we are in the digital age where Data is critical to promoting sustainable development. NITDA has recently made appreciable efforts through the drafting and lunching of the Data Protection Guidelines, National Cloud Policy, and Nigerian e-Government Interoperability Framework (NeGIF), all in an attempt to promote a sustainable ecosystem for development.

Entrepreneurship development can have rapid growth through digital entrepreneurship, technology-oriented entrepreneurship, analyzing market activities and making professional investment. Thus, the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with the use of new innovations can lead to the following:

Increased user participation;
Improved organizational management process
Cost control and strengthen cash flow
Improving inventory management
Collaboration and encouragement of affiliates

Improve customer responsiveness and use of data analytics improves the understanding of the consumer culture and behavior
Encourage Innovation
Informed market analysis for proper planning, prediction and description.

As you can see, NITDA is not resting on its oars in adoption of emerging technologies and new innovations for sustainable development. Innovation and Entrepreneurship are important pillars for the Federal Government of Nigeria and NITDA is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the area receives all the necessary attention.

In conclusion, I will like to thank the KIE once again and the Executive Board for acknowledging NITDA’s contributions towards the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy in Nigeria. As the Chief Information Technology Officer of the country, it is my dream to ensure a firm foundation for digitally transformed Nigeria is built and also ensure that proper frameworks are put in place for Nigerians to leverage on. We look forward to receiving input from this conference to support our regulatory and development work in the area of IT. We hope our humble contribution is supporting the achievement of a steady growth in our economy in a way that it will extend throughout the Continent of Africa; and also help us to harness our collective innovative efforts for sustainable development.

Thank you and God Bless.

6th Big Data Analytics and Innovation Conference

Tuesday 26th November, 2019

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my great pleasure to be with you today and deliver the keynote address at this 6th International Conference on Information and Communications Technology and Sustainable Development Goal 3 “Health and Wellbeing” here in Kaduna State.

First, let me take this opportunity to thank the Government of Kaduna and the Vice Chancellor for hosting us with profound hospitality.

I am also grateful to the International Information Technology and Economic Development Association for partnering with this prestigious institution to host this conference.

SDG 3 seeks to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well being for all at all ages”.

Information and Communications Technology is key to the accelerated attainment of the sustainable development goals and in particular SDG Goal 3, which is captured in the World Summit on the Information Society and SDG matrix (WSIS-SDG Matrix). The United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/70/125 that was adopted on 16 December 2015, provides guidance on the implementation of the WSIS Outcomes till 2025.

In particular it calls for close alignment between the WSIS process and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and requests all stakeholders to integrate ICTs into their approaches to implementing the Goals.

Under this alignment and linkages of the WSIS SDG matrix the following actions lines are linked to SDG Goal 3 and they include lines C1 which addresses role of stakeholders in promotion of ICT4SDG through cooperation and partnerships, C3 focusing on access to information and knowledge, C4 which addresses digital literacy and lifelong learning and line C7 which looks at applications of ICT in several areas amongst which are e-Health and e-Agriculture.

Following its vision of “being the prime catalyst for transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-based economy”, NITDA continues to “develop and regulate IT for sustainable national development”, as well as increase the integration of ICTs across all sectors and under-served communities in a manner that supports the key objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

NITDA is implementing a Road map that is aimed at transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-based society. The 7 key pillars of our Road map are IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Local Content Development & promotion and Cyber security.

The vision of ICT in Healthcare captured under the National Health ICT Strategic Framework for Nigeria (2015-2020) is “By 2020, health ICT will help enable and deliver universal health coverage in Nigeria.”

This National strategy was developed using the WHO-ITU toolkit and has the following thrusts to create the enabling environment for Digital Health in Nigeria. They are:

Leadership and Governance
Strategy and Investment
Legislation, Policy and Compliance

Architecture, Standards and Interoperability
Capacity building
Infrastructure
Solutions (Services and Applications)

While ICT has become a powerful catalyst for socio economic development, the health, security and safety of citizens has been and will continue to be the first priority of government. Healthy citizens are an essential part of the fabric of all great nations providing the human capital for the knowledge societies of the future.

As you are aware we have had a name change from “Ministry of communications” to “Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy” to reflect global realities that Knowledge is now posed as the main driving force of innovation and development.

As Nigeria seeks to integrate into the global economy, which is an increasingly information and knowledge based economy, the creation of a dedicated department for e-Government Development and Regulations department was undertaken in NITDA aimed at contributing to the attainment of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Nigeria.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The proper use of ICT creates a conducive environment for knowledge to flow at all levels of society and thus enriching all socioeconomic activities. The judicious use of the ICT is a determining factor for knowledge to be properly distributed to the ever demanding society with a quest to know more and more.

The gap between developed and under developed countries, is decreased by the proper proliferation of knowledge.

ICT can facilitate Smart Education, Smart Healthcare, Smart Governance, Smart Business, Smart Agriculture, Smart Environment, Smart Infrastructure, and Smart cities all of which aim to enhance delivery of key services to citizens.

As smartphones become ever-more widespread in the developing world, we can also expect to see an increase in the number of healthcare applications being developed.

Broadband has also the power not just to revolutionize healthcare, but to bring it into the lives of everyone, no matter where they live.

Distance learning could never have happened without ICTs and broadband, which have brought two crucial new forces to play: the death of distance, and the democratization of information and knowledge.

There can be no doubt that ICT has changed Nigeria fundamentally in the past decade. Information and Communication Technology has already enabled Nigeria to make a tremendous leap in delivering public and private sector services, and in improving transparency and accountability.

Indeed, there is hardly any Nigerian socioeconomic activity that has not benefited from information and communications technologies in the last decade. The financial services sector is the biggest adopter so far.

But we are still at the very early stage of harnessing its potential to generate greater prosperity by connecting our Nation to global networks of business, knowledge and productivity.

I am pleased that the Nigerian Leadership in ICT under the able stewardship of the Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami is one aimed at building the capacity to contribute to the advancement of knowledge societal development in Nigeria.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) reiterates its continued support to harness the potential of technology and knowledge, and to find effective and innovative ways to put this potential at the service of Nigerian citizens.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate today’s attendees at this conference for laying another milestone on our journey toward achieving UHC through the use of digital technologies.

I wish you all the best in your future endeavors that will be aimed at contributing towards the advancement of ICT4Development in Nigeria and especially in achieving SDG 3.

I Thank You

6th International Conference on Information and Communications Technology and Sustainable Development Goal 3

06 December 2019

COMMISSIONING OF NITDA’S ICT INNOVATION AND INCUBATION PARK

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure and delight to be with you today to witness the Commissioning of one of NITDA’s Intervention Projects – the Information Technology Innovation and Incubation Park, deployed at this citadel of learning, the University of Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

You may be aware that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is saddled with the task of developing and regulating the IT sector of the country, backed by the NITDA Act, 2007. The Agency is mandated to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives. NITDA’s role is to ensure Information Technology enables every sector of our economy, creates jobs through ICT innovation and entrepreneurship and eventually bring about the kind of digital transformation as seen in developed nations.

You may also recall that the current administration under the leadership of His Excellency, President Muhammad Buhari, GCFR, as part of the key objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), is making giant strides aimed at minimizing the country’s dependence on oil by diversifying the economy to evolve entirely new industries as well as enable the existing ones. We in NITDA believe that the main driver of these industries is ICT. Therefore, we must encourage and empower our pool of young talented youths to take advantage of the digital era.

Having lost the opportunities of the industrial age, Africa, with 15% of the world population, cannot afford to miss the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution. Nigeria and her sub-nationals are major factors in the African and global digital transformation. As an Agency, our responsibility is to encourage and coordinate ICT innovation that can transform our dear country. We believe critical drivers of the digital economy and engine room of economic growth are the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) that are empowered with ICT tools.

Furthermore, Nigeria as a country has invested over the years in projects and programmes that are supposed to speed up development. However, most of these activities have not really produced the desired outcome. There is also over reliance on foreign products instead of harnessing indigenous capacity. For any meaningful progress to be made, there is need to bridge the gap between policy makers, academia and the market.

We in NITDA are confident that establishment of Information Technology Innovation and Incubation Parks across the country will help bridge this gap. It is in the light of this that the Agency initiated the establishment of Information Technology Innovation and Incubation Parks in strategic locations to support the country’s transition from resource-based economy to knowledge-based as well as a Hub for African development. University of Port-Harcourt was carefully chosen for deployment of this State-of-the-Art facility, considering the University’s strategic location and potentials for attracting investors to the IT sector.

In an effort to effectively coordinate the Agency’s support for ICT innovation and entrepreneurship, NITDA has a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) that is focused on identifying and supporting “techpreneurs” and ICT start-ups in the ICT space. The activities of the OIIE have enabled the ICT start–up innovation ecosystem in Nigeria to grow at a remarkable pace.

There is also the Office for Nigerian Content Development in ICT (ONC), another Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) established as part of a sustainable institutional framework to enforce compliance with the Regulatory Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT under the NITDA ACT, 2007. The strategic role of the ONC is to help develop a truly indigenous ICT industry for wealth creation in the Local Economy through the implementation of the guidelines. This way, we monitor and enforce compliance of local technologies to help and support our entrepreneurs and start-ups in the ICT ecosystem.

Our goal at NITDA is to develop indigenous IT industry in our quest to diversify our economy for sustainable national development and the growth of global IT market. We believe with strategic partnership and collaboration, especially with higher institutions of learning, this can be achieved significantly.

Let me therefore use this opportunity to call on the University to put strategies, sustainable programs and plans in place to ensure the Park is adequately utilized. Nigerian youths are digital natives; the language they understand is ICT and collectively we must support provide opportunities for them to make the best use of their talents. The University expected to key into Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV), develop strategic road map, operational and sustainability plans for the park, working closely with NITDA while implementing the plans.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State

17th December, 2019

DIGITAL IDENTITY FOR DEVELOPMENT (ID4D) WORKSHOP

Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is my great pleasure to be with you today for this very important workshop on Digital Identity for development. This workshop in organized in line with the directives of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), directing through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to amongst other priorities ““Support The Implementation Of The Digital Identity Program”.

This directive supports the current trajectory of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), under the its supervising ministry to support the development of the Digital Economy.

Globally, Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals aims to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”. Under this, Goal 16.9 aims that “By 2030, to provide legal identity for all, including birth registration”.

I am pleased to note the significant progress made in Strategic Road map for Developing Digital Identification in Nigeria. The progress thus far is a testament to our even closer collaboration and cooperation to creating a more secure environment, building a more competitive economy and ensuring accountable investment in the Nigerian people.

Digital Identity is key for without it, we quickly become marginalized from modern life and the safety nets of society. Our existence is not accounted for, our needs are not met, we have no access to financial services or economic opportunities. Trust and identity form key pillars of the Digital economy and we must all aim to ensure that we build it sustainably for our country.

Looking forward, the 4th Industrial revolution and the Internet of Things are poised to significantly reshape the world. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us and it requires concerted action and greater collaboration across all players. In this regard, trust is the foundation for any and all interactions. Without trust, we will not provide our information, exchange goods or services or act upon the information given.

In a digital context, trust is created through effective and enforceable privacy, security, accountability, transparency and participatory practices. Increasingly, as more business and government activity is mediated online, online trust and societal trust levels correlate ever more strongly.

NITDA through the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation 2019, is also contributing significantly to creating a safer and enabling environment for the digital society as a whole.

In conclusion, I wish to congratulate all attendees at this workshop for laying another milestone on our journey toward achieving Identity for all through the use of technology.

Thank You

19 December 2019

PROMOTING EFFECTIVE USE OF ICT IN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure and honor to be here at this very important workshop by the Nigerian Army on curbing hate speech, fake news, financial and cyber-crimes towards enhancing a digital economy. We salute the courage of the army in her continuous effort to making the country both in the physical and virtual realm a safe place to leave. This discussion could not have come at a better time in the history of the country than now. It is so apt!

Technology in government has become a global phenomenon and an essential required feature of all governments in both the developed and developing societies. Applying technology in governance holds tremendous potential to improve the way governments deliver public services and enhance broad stakeholders’ involvement. Before now, ICT’s main objectives were to ensure efficiency and transparency in governance. Beyond these objectives, it has been recognized as a major driver of government transformation in all aspects. It is a known fact that ICT or e-Government tools can among other things if applied effectively, reduce corruption and cut down the cost of governance; enhance access and quality of services; render public agencies more transparent and accountable; increase public service productivity; improve the relationship between the government and the governed and transform government as a whole thereby improve national socioeconomic growth and development. Nigeria as a developing country has her own share of good experience of e-government or ICT adoption to streamline and improve government business activities. Such a good experience where Nigeria has recorded success in using ICT to drive government policies are TSA, IPPIS, GIFMIS, BVN, JAMB online, WEAC online, e-Taxation, NIN, e-passport, e-wallet for farmers, business name registration automation by CAC among others.

The 2018 United Nations’ e-Government Development Index (EGDI) report recognized ICT as a development resource and a tool for achieving sustainable development goals. The correlation between the socioeconomic development of a country and ICT/e-Government development to some extent is evident in the report. Denmark, Australia, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and Sweden are the top five. Nigeria is ranked 143rd. Gone is the period when a nation’s development is determined by the number of its natural resources. Natural resources are no longer sustainable as a means of economic development for a country. Economies of the developed countries are now knowledge and digital-based. This is why the current name of our supervisory Ministry was changed from communications to communications and the digital economy. The foundation of a digital economy is technology especially ICT. However, the integration of ICT in governance and economy must be effective and holistic before ICT gains are realized.

The current trend is the adoption of social media technologies and platforms by citizens and governments. It offers a unique opportunity to reform the relationship between the government and the governed from a one-directional mode of interaction and information exchange to bidirectional. Effective use of social media presents powerful tools for public institutions to enhance public engagement, improve the delivery of service, enhance transparency and accountability, encourage participatory governance and open government. Social media platforms have become a critical part of the digital transformation for any organization or government. It is one of the most important aspects of globalization, as it is considered to be the main tool that is contributing to the growing interconnections of societies, the fast flow of information, and the overall increase in global communication. It has disrupted business strategy of many sectors of the global economy and the way our societies are governed.

In April 2016, the world economic forum estimated that by 2018, 2.44 billion people will be using social networks, up from 970,000 in 2010. In January 2017, the global digital snapshot already revealed that there were about 2.789 Billion active social media users which represented about 37% of the world population. This surpassed the prediction of the world economic forum. As of the third quarter of 2018, Facebook alone had 2.27 billion monthly active users. Twitter, on the other hand, has more than 336 million monthly active global users as of the first quarters of 2018. In March 2019, Nigeria internet users were put at about 115 Million. Statistics have also shown that Facebook has 26 Million active users in Nigeria as of May 2018. Thus, using social media and the internet by the governments to reach out to the stakeholders could be very effective and engaging. These technologies critical tool for sustaining democracy, building an information society, knowledge-based/digital economy and to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

We all know the role the social media played in the 2012 fuel subsidy announcement and in the 2015 elections. It played a critical role in bringing political change, brought about electioneering innovation and deepened government-citizen engagement. Social media bridged the gap between the North and the South, as the messages shared had no boundaries or religion.

In as much as this medium has been proved globally to be very effective for social, political and economic development, it is highly unregulated. Governance structure and culture is missing. Concerns have been raised about the potential challenges of ICT especially social media to security and privacy breach of personal information and impersonation. Entities have equally lost their hard-earned fortunes through the use of ICT. Some people who fell to the antics of their online assailants have equally lost their lives. Findings have suggested that social media platforms are impacting on public servants’ productivity. Most times it has proved to be a great distraction to employees who may show more interest in posts than in their work tasks.

In the recent past, social media platforms had been used as vehicles for escalating herdsmen/farmers clashes, disseminating terrorist information, propagating hate speeches, passing wrong information to heat the polity and promoting political propaganda across the country. There is also a great deal of abuse of social media accounts by public officials. They use their organization social media accounts for personal communications even after leaving the office. The real challenge for government is to facilitate the behavioral change of its officials and opening up acceptable culture and use of social media within government structures with utmost responsibility and accountability.

Despite all these challenges, the benefits of social media have been proved to outweigh their disadvantages. Governments should (must) consider the use of social media as part of the overall policy and communications mix. However, there should be some levels of education for public officials to understand that on social media, messaging can’t be easily controlled, reputations of their organizations need to be strongly managed and the right information needs to be provided at the right time. This applies to everyone using social media as a means of communication.

Therefore, there is a need for orchestrated policy framework and strategies to ensure its effective usage in the government for good governance. It is on this note that NITDA as the IT regulatory Agency came up with the framework and guidelines for the use of social media in Federal Public Institutions. The main objective of the framework and guidelines is for social media to become a critical component of good governance with transparency, accountability, ease of doing business, participatory governance and democracy strengthening focal principles guiding its use and adoption.

On a general note, the government will continue to put measures in place, create awareness and sensitize the general public on the good, the ugly and the bad of social media. The emphasis would be on how the general public can use the platforms to enhance good governance rather than its use for propagating negative acts.

NITDA will be more than happy to facilitate implementation of workable recommendations from this submit. My dream as the Chief Information Technology Officer of the country is to lay the foundation for digitally transformed government by ensuring application of ICT turns poor public services to improved and satisfactory services; widespread corruption to a transparent and accountable government; and information poverty to a knowledge-based and digital economy.

In conclusion, I hope the workshop will be able to come up with strategy and recommendations to address issues around hate speech, fake news, financial and cyber-crime threats mitigation towards a sound digital economy. I wish you a productive deliberation. Thank you for your attention.

Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Mambila Barracks, Abuja

Thursday, 19 December, 2019

NIGERIA’S STARTUPS ECOSYSTEM AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

All protocols duly observed.

It is with a deep sense of excitement that I am here today at the at the Nigeria-Australia business and investment summit to speak on Nigeria’s startup ecosystem and the opportunities in the the sector and country at large.

Introduction

Over the last decade, a storm of innovation has spread across Nigeria, led by bright and innovative individuals, who are attracting investors and venture capitalists in numbers. The country’s ecosystem has seen a drastic increase in the number of hubs, incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship summits in the last 2 years. Innovators now leverage technology to solve human problems, resulting in an uptake in entrepreneurship and economic diversification. The volume of investment attracted, jobs created, and service offerings has sky-rocketed and increased dramatically over the years.

According to Toby Shapshak, an enterprise Tech researcher and writer, 2019, was the year in which ecosystem players began questioning ineffective strategies and opting for more consolidation. In Nigeria, clusters of innovation and acceleration hubs keep springing up across Nigeria. As at today, there are more than 70 hubs across the country that help startups in terms of capacity building, networking and incubation.

In another report published by Briter Bridges in 2019, Nigeria and Kenya alone raised over $1 billion, a figure that marks over 80% of disclosed funding across Africa for the year in view. This is the biggest total ever achieved for a calendar year. Companies like Interswitch, Opay, and Andela were the biggest earners, raising a whopping $470 million of the total $663.24 Million raised by startups in Nigeria in 2019.

Startup Companies like Amergy, Fairmoney, Rensource, Migo, Jiji, Kobo360, Palmpay across the Fintech, energy, and healthtech sectors have attracted the most funding in the last 5 years (Over 800 million dollars). Interswitch’s $200m funding from Visa was the largest single investment of 2019 and one that reiterates the Fintech industry as the most attractive and dominant business industry in Nigeria and Africa today.

The Federal Government of Nigeria as well as Private corporations are increasingly supporting enterprises as a tool for National growth, Economic development and Business expansion. Multinationals like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Alibaba and other global tech giants have extended operations into Nigeria to take advantage of this fertile business market. The government through its agencies including National Information Technology development Agency (NITDA), NITDA’s Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship as well as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy are working tirelessly to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks and enable an investor safe environment through programs and policies.

It is worthy to note that Lagos city has the highest number of successful startups and SME’s currently operating in the country with a total of about 11,663. Through innovation centres such as CC hub alongside other innovation hubs, Lagos has graduated more than 50 successful startups that have raised seed funding of over $500,000 USD in the last 5 years.

The rate at which startups obtain funding has also improved. According to the 2018 Genome Report, the Lagos startup ecosystem was worth $2 billion as of 2017 making it the most valuable ecosystem in Africa and only second in number of start-ups after Cape Town. In the last quarter of 2019, Nigerian ventures recorded investment of $663.24M in total funding garnered. The amount of venture capital channeled into the country was well over $500M more compared to that in 2018. The top three deals in Nigeria in 2019 were all valued over $100M. Apart from the $100M round secured by Andela, Nigeria saw $120M going into Opay as well as a 20% acquisition deal worth $200M of Interswitch and Interswitch confirms $1B valuation after visa investment. the top two deals were from the fintech sector and, one of the sectors that put Nigeria on the African entrepreneurship map. Fintech recorded 32 deals, but to bring this point closer to home, 50% of the total companies that raised $1M and more in Nigeria were fintech companies.

Companies like Iroko TV, for instance, has secured several funding rounds in excess of US$40m, since the company started in 2010. Machine Learning, Deep Tech and Artificial Intelligence are sectors that are currently experiencing improved and greater attraction in Nigeria. Global giants like Facebook and Google partner with regional heavyweights like Andela in terms of investing in skill and capacity development in the region. There is a higher level of global connection, that helps startups integrate into the global fabric and raise their level of performance.

Conclusion

The African continent is a den of problems waiting to be solved and presents the next biggest markets worldwide. Our youthful disposition and acceptance of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship makes a country with young persons, a very ready market. Our competitive advantage also lies in our favorable weather, youthful population, our entrepreneurship spirit and time difference for business round the globe. Other opportunities are embedded in the following;

Nigeria has 190+ million population with approximately 70% young people i.e. 130 Million.
Nigeria remains the world most mobilized country, with 81% of the internet traffic coming through mobiles.
There has been tremendous effort in the ease of doing business in Nigeria. Nigeria ranks has improved at 145 out of 190 countries on the global “doing business” index in 2018.

There is no better time to invest in Nigeria. We at NITDA are committed to facilitate the supportive environment for your engagement with the technology ecosystem. Finally, we want to use this opportunity to invite you to our national innovation portal (innovationportal.nitda.gov.ng) where you will meet invest-able Nigerian startups.

God bless Nigeria, God bless you all

NATION’S CYBERSECURITY CHALLENGES

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It gives me greatest pleasure to see many like-minded people here to attend today’s stakeholders’ meeting on Nation’s Cybersecurity Challenges. I hope this will increase our public’s awareness on cybersecurity and bring us together for a closer collaboration on this very important subject.

You may be aware that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is saddled with the task of developing and regulating the IT sector of the country, backed by the NITDA Act, 2007. The Agency is mandated to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives. NITDA’s role is to ensure Information Technology enables every sector of our economy, create jobs through ICT innovation and entrepreneurship and eventually bring about the kind of digital transformation as seen in developed nations.

Since cybercrimes are very critical these days and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, it is important to find means or actions to be taken in order to reduce the impact or level of any threat. To achieve this, we need to understand what risks, threats, and vulnerabilities currently exist in our environment. Secondly, we need to learn as much as possible about the problems so that we can formulate a solid response. This implies that we must develop and implement a comprehensive protection and response plan or policy in order to prevent or minimize attacks. The policy should provide response guidelines that cover every phase of an attack in the fastest, most efficient manner. Finally, we need to intelligently deploy our selected countermeasures and safeguards to erect protections around our most mission-critical assets. While there is no silver bullet to eliminate all threats, vulnerabilities and breaches, we at NITDA focus on addressing attacks during the most dangerous time. The costs associated with each individual attack are directly proportional to the amount of time that it takes an organization to approach the attack. Thus, the better prepared an organization is to detect, protect, and take down attacks proactively, the more likely that the organization will be able to prevent and/or recover from attacks. By trying to nip the problem in the bud, an organization can greatly reduce the amount of time wasted and money lost due to protecting the impact of a potential attack.

Our Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) was set up to provide support to MDAs on IT security issues. Also part of its objectives is to create an information security network across MDAs by training ISO who will in turn manage their respective information security services and report or share their findings and development with other government CERRTs.

Over the years, CERRT has been able to aid the development of requisite capacities in cybersecurity tools and technology, built synergies between MDAs and appropriate private entities in handling cybersecurity, assisting and empowering IT personnel from MDAs in achieving their own mandate and visions and improved security culture of citizens through security awareness campaign.

Let me therefore use this opportunity to call on NCS to put strategies, sustainable programs and plans to enhance cybersecurity in Nigeria.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

NCS Stakeholders Meeting at LCCI Building, Lagos

January 9, 2020

ICT EMPOWERMENT TRAINING AND PROVISION OF TOOLS FOR WOMEN

NORTH CENTRAL ZONE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

I am highly delighted and honored to be in your midst today and welcome you all to the launching of the National Information Development Agency (NITDA) initiative on ICT Empowerment Training And Provision Of Tools For Women in the North Central Zone.

I would also like to use this opportunity to express our profound gratitude to our Host, His Excellency The Executive Governor of Nassarawa State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule for accepting to partner with NITDA in organizing this training program for women in the North Central Zone.

NITDA is looking forward to even closer and a stronger collaboration with the Nassarawa State Government especially in areas of Digital Transformation and the use of ICT for the achievement of the State Economic Development Plan. This collaboration also extends to other states in the region to ensure that we are all integrated into and participate in the Digital Economy.

Information and Communications Technology is key to the accelerated attainment of the sustainable development goals and in particular SDG Goal 4.3 which is to “ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university”.

This is captured in the World Summit on the Information Society and SDG matrix (WSIS-SDG Matrix). The United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/70/125 that was adopted on 16th December 2015, provides guidance on the implementation of the WSIS Outcomes till 2025.

Under this alignment and linkages of the WSIS SDG matrix the following actions lines are linked to SDG Goal 4 and they include lines C1 which addresses role of stakeholders in promotion of ICT4SDG through cooperation and partnerships, C3 focusing on access to information and knowledge, C4 which addresses digital literacy and lifelong learning and line C7 which looks at applications of ICT in several areas amongst which are e-education and e-health.

Nigeria currently ranks 158th out of 189 Countries on the United Nations Human Development Index with women attending fewer years of schooling than men across all regions.

This program is the 4th consecutive zonal capacity building program and training for women championing efforts to improve Nigeria’s ranking.

The program has been held at Jigawa State for the Northwest Zone, Gombe State for the North East Zone, Ekiti State for the South West, and we are planning to conduct the South-South and South-East Zones hopefully within the year.

This program is part of the Agency’s continuous efforts aimed at supporting the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the present administration and fulfilling the presidential directive of lifting 100Million Nigerians out of poverty.

It may be recalled that the ERGP has three main objectives which are:

Restoring growth

Investing in the Nigerian people, and

Building a globally competitive economy

Unequivocally, women clearly have unequal access to economic opportunities in comparison to men, and thus NITDA strongly believes that technology can be used to bridge the gap. The 100 women being trained are projected to create 300 hundred direct jobs and over 1000 indirect jobs.

The key objectives of the program include: boosting digital literacy, digital jobs creation, promoting digital inclusion, bridging the digital divide, and the use of technology to address the gender imbalance in terms of economic opportunities. Statistics available have shown that women’s participation in ICT is below 24% and we in NITDA are determined to bridge the gap and boost participation through the special training programs for women in addition to the conventional ICT capacity development activities of which both men and women are given the same opportunities.

The training program is focused around key ICT skills areas and also includes entrepreneurship, business management and communication. In line with Mr President’s commitment to sustainable human capital development, the program is fully funded, and participants are provided with accommodation, feeding and healthcare services for the entire duration of the training program. Moreover, each participant will also receive a laptop computer and stipend.

With these few words, I believe there is no better time than now to utilize the opportunity and harness technology in bridging the digital divide between men and women, facilitating enabling environment for women to be empowered with digital jobs among other benefits. And to the participants, I would like to welcome you all to this training program. We hope that the training program will be a fruitful one that you will enjoy it and it will be beneficial to you, the region and the nation as a whole.

Thank you for your attention.

Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Nasarawa State

January 15TH, 2020

IMPACT OF ICT IN CHANGING THE TRENDS OF JOURNALISM IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

It is my pleasure and delight to stand here before you this morning on this very important event, a Symposium on Journalism, ICT and Information Age, organized by the Nigerian Union of Journalist (NUJ), Jigawa State Chapter. Let me start by thanking you for finding me worthy to present a paper to the most powerful and freest fourth estate of realm. The paper is titled “Impact of ICT in Changing the Trends of Journalism in Developing Countries.”

Permit me to begin by going over the all familiar terms ICT and journalism. Going by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be defined as forms of technology that are used to transmit, store, create, share or exchange information. This broad definition of ICT includes such technologies as radio, television, video, DVD, telephone (both fixed line and mobile phones), satellite systems, computer and network hardware and software, as well as the equipment and services associated with these technologies, such as video conferencing and electronic mail, digital technologies such as; Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Blockchain, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and the list goes on. Suffice to say that ICT evolved into digital technology.

If I may digress a bit, as you may be aware that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is a federal public institution charged with the responsibility for development and regulation of the information technology ecosystem in Nigeria. Recently, in line with the Federal Government’s priority areas and in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, led by my Boss and Mentor, the energetic and tech-savvy Honourable Minister, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), we came up with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy. It is aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading digital economy providing quality life and digital economies for all through sustainably building a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship are used to create value and prosperity. The Policy and Strategy is composed of eight pillars including developmental regulation and digital literacy skills.

One of the initiatives under developmental regulation by NITDA is the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). As for digital literacy and capacity building, NITDA is taking giant strides in ensuring awareness on how to harness modern digital technologies for the benefit of our country. The digital literacy skills training has targeted federal public institutions, CEOs, artisans, women, children, people with special needs, etc. We have plans already in the near future to organize specialized training for reporters and journalist alike too.

Coming back to journalism, according to American Press Institute, is the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information. It could also refer to the product of these activities. Journalism can be distinguished from other activities and products by certain identifiable characteristics and practices. These elements not only separate journalism from other forms of communication, they are what make it indispensable to democratic societies. History reveals that the more democratic a society, the more news and information it tends to have.

The world, and especially the online world, is awash in communication. The vast majority of this communication, however, is not news and especially not journalism. According to web security company Symantec, almost 70% of email traffic is spam. Furthermore, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in 2012 there were an average of 175 million tweets each day but argued that most consisted of “pointless babble.” As of 2019, there is a daily average of 500 million tweets.

While journalism occupies a much smaller space than the talk, entertainment, opinion, assertion, advertising and propaganda that dominate the media universe, it is nevertheless perceived as being more valuable than most of the “stuff out there.”

That value flows from its purpose, to provide people with verified information they can use to make better decisions, and its practices, the most important of which is a systematic process – a discipline of verification – that journalists use to find not just the facts, but also the “truth about the facts.”

It is without doubt that in both developed and developing world, the proliferation of the internet, smartphones, and other digital technologies has brought significant changes to journalism and the media landscape since the turn of the 21st century. This has created a shift in the consumption of print media channels, as people increasingly consume news through online social media platforms, smartphones, e-readers, and other personal electronic devices, as opposed to the more traditional formats of newspapers, magazines or conventional television news channels.

Nowadays, broadcast journalists no longer need to carry heavy tapes with them when they go out to shoot their stories. At the same time, print journalists are taking cameras with them in order to send back photos and even videos that can be used for their multimedia websites. Media convergence makes newspapers and broadcasters look alike and do similar things. Amateur citizen journalists and even algorithms may do the job of journalists, while journalists have started to make stories out of data rather than people. Computer programmers are hired and become part of newsroom teams. News comes in ever more diverse forms and stories are told in innovative ways to cater to the reading habits and catch the eye of digital natives.

ICTs have had a tremendous impact on how fast content reaches the intended audience. Unlike in the past when audience would largely rely on newspapers and broadcasters to present information or news the following day and through special editions and at the slotted “news hour”, now it is easier to publish information in real time, updating breaking news and events as they happen.

In Nigeria for example, since the early days of telephone, it has shortened the time between the reporter and the source, reporter and the editor, while saving costs such as travel logistics. And now with the advent of the mobile smart phones and increasing broadband internet penetration, it ensured that reporters on the ground, correspondents and stringers are only a call away and they too are similarly close to sources that are physically miles away.

Certainly, the evolution of ICTs is a boon to journalism. Sometimes especially in the past, fears abound too of the future of say the print media or specifically newspapers. Ideally, the ICTs are a threat to newspapers but in developing countries and more so Africa, one could easily argue that the newspapers are here to stay with us at least for a little while. It is worth noting that most newspapers provide some information not available through their online platforms such as job adverts, obituaries, etc., and also edit out some of the local news.

In this digital era, Journalism in its entirety is, however facing serious challenges. Digitalization is increasingly giving people access to information through digital devices; this has resulted in widespread of fake news and other forms of independent articles by bloggers – thus creating chaos and confusion to conventional media houses.

The current trend of circulating fake and unverified news across conventional and social media not only in Nigeria, but other African countries by self-acclaimed journalist can only be tackled by the journalists themselves. It is time to look at the menace from the sources so as to suppress it using digital innovation.

Fake news has an originator whose motives probably are, to make money. Readers find fake news alluring and visit the site, at the end; the author will be rewarded for the adverts placed on his page.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other media organization disallow content they see as incompatible with their standards. They have enormous power to do so, though not according to law, but according to their private “community standards”.

Our media organization in African countries can do more using new technological methods in disseminating factual information to the populous. We have many young Nigerians with innovative ideas who can develop software and applications to fact-check circulated fake news.

Nigerian journalists can do better, especially if we all embrace ICT as our driving force towards achieving our collective goal.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Manpower Development Institute, Dutse, Jigawa State

Monday, 27 January 2020

CYBER AFRICA SUMMIT (CYAFRICA 2020)

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour and privilege to be here with you today to inaugurate the CYFRICA conference and deliver a keynote address on Cybersecurity, an important component for a robust digital economy. Cybercrime is a global phenomenon, as such, all our efforts in curbing cybercrime should be of international standard in design and to be locally implemented for Nigeria. Cybercrime as we all know is a notional word describing a range of nefarious activities perpetrated in the cyberspace. Be it cyber harassment, hacking, phishing, cyber romance fraud, identity theft, advance fee fraud just to mention a few. Cybercrime is a threat to individuals, businesses, organizations and countries. Hence, mitigating it should be everybody’s business.

You may be aware that the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA) mandate is to regulate and develop the IT sector of Nigeria, an integral part of our economy. Central to this mandate is securing our cyberspace. The Agency’s mandate is to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives.

You may also recall that our ministry’s key agenda under the leadership of the Honorable Minister, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami FBCS, is the transformation of the economy to information and knowledge-based for delivering a robust digital economy. We in NITDA believe that the main driver of this agenda is secured cyber space.

I am glad to inform you that NITDA has initiated several policies and programs to ensuring a cyber space that is secured and dependable for businesses to thrive thereby encouraging foreign direct investment. We are expanding our cyber security department and building more capacities to be able to handle cybercrime in Nigeria. The department carries out periodic awareness program to enlighten Nigerians on the nitty-gritty of the cyber space. In addition, NITDA’s Computer Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) is always ready to guide Nigerians on what to do, when cyber breaches occur and who to report to. CERRT.ng takes it up from there! In CERRT.ng, we carry out both preventive and proactive measures to secure our cyber space by offering advisory services to MDAs on incidence reporting, event management and situational awareness.

We are currently upgrading our CERRT to a world class standard for cyber incident response and management in the country. You are all invited to visit the centre to avail yourself of our activities. Furthermore, we are working on the nation’s public key infrastructure (PKI) to strengthen digital identity, hence boost confidence in the conduct of digital and online services in Nigeria.

NITDA applauds the initiative of CYAFRICA. We are happy to be part of this year’s edition. We expect more of this kind of activities and we are always willing to collaborate with stakeholders to mitigate the menace of cybercrime in Nigeria. Furthermore, we are in the process of gathering all stakeholders and interest groups in cybersecurity in Nigeria under one umbrella tagged ‘cyber alliance’. We believe with strategic partnership and collaboration, our combined effort will defeat the cyber criminals in Nigeria to serve therefore, as a model for other African countries to adopt.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

25th February, 2020

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ITS PRACTICAL APPLICATION

You are all welcome to this important event. This is not the first Conference/Summit organized by Afritex, with NITDA as a major stakeholder. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as you may be aware is charged with the responsibility of developing and regulating the Information Technology sector in Nigeria and thus the key mandate to build capacity, and support stakeholders that are willing to collaborate & contribute towards the development of the sector. We have overtime, built strong partnerships with various stakeholders and together, we have contributed immensely to ICT advocacy and use in Nigeria. We look forward to stronger relations that will impact positively to Information Technology (IT) use, especially as it relates to the sustainable development of our dear nation

The theme for this Summit, “Educational Technology & its Practical Applications” is apt and timely. It provides an avenue for leading professionals to discuss technology integration strategies, instructional practices in higher education, digital tools and resources, as well as emerging trends that teachers & demonstrators in academia can apply in the build up to a knowledge based society.

As you may be aware, Education technology is becoming a global phenomenon, and as distribution and platforms scale internationally, the market is projected to grow at 17.0% per annum, to $252bn in 2020. So what are the key technologies that underpin EdTech? Artificial intelligence will continue to fill gaps in learning and teaching and help personalize and streamline education. As students interact with connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices and other digital tools, data will be gathered. This big data and analysis of it is instrumental for personalized learning, determining interventions, and what tools are effective. Extended reality, including virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, helps create different learning opportunities that can engage students even further.

Education is increasingly becoming mobile, and educational institutions are figuring out ways to enhance the student experience by implementing mobile technology solutions. Of course, this technology requires a capable network to handle the traffic demands, and 5G technology will provide powerful new mobile data capabilities. Finally, Blockchain Technology offers educational institutions to store and secure student records.

The world is witnessing a significant global transformation, facilitated by technology, digitalization, and fueled by data and information. Nigeria cannot be seen to be left behind in this transformation. A review of the Top 5 EdTech Trends in Nigeria reveals the rise of EdTech and the Digital Evolution happening in the country that is paving the path for advance EdTech presence in Nigeria – viz.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): AItools will be significant in the EdTech movement for trainers who want to augment their services in Nigeria. It allows for individualized training and monitoring in real time. AI tools can also be used to personalize and tailor learning to individual needs.
New Media:Collaborative learning tools are used to promote peer-to-peer engagements. Chat tools and other social platforms can be used to personalize learning in this case as well. Video based learning can also be captured under this category.
Data Driven Institutions and Learning Platforms:Data driven decisions also enables education offering and training to be tailored based on a selected demography and trainers can also identify difficult areas to provide valuable solutions.
Online Assessments:Online assessments are flexible, interactive, customizable, secure and easy to deliver. They have been used for several years in Nigeria and will continue to play a role and provide valuable and innovative means of delivering assessments.
Immersive Learning:According to VICTVS (2020), immersive learning has taken Nigeria by storm and will remain a key part of EdTech. It offers enormous level of learning potentials through Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality technologies. It allows the learner to be part of the narrative. It also gives the opportunity to simulate real life scenarios while also giving opportunity to distance learners.

As you can see, Nigeria is not left behind in the prevalence of EdTech. Therefore, there is the need for diversification in the way we do things including teaching and learning. These New & Emerging technologies that underpin EdTech can be applied in research, teaching and learning to enhance experience. Startups can use Open source Software & Platforms for instance, to develop EdTech Solutions in a collaborative manner. This will help Nigeria to potentially transform from a Resource based economy to a more knowledge based one.

However, Nigeria is a large country and we cannot do it alone. We need stakeholders and forums like this very Summit, to tell you what we do for IT development and you, as professionals and leading scholars can key-in with your great ideas so we can move this country forward. Whilst we have a large country, our strength, as often repeated “is in our numbers”.

So, through various programmes, as they relate to our focus areas, we are upping skills in various ICT areas to enhance entrepreneurship so as to empower and ignite innovative ideas. We, like you all in the Education Sector, believe that Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty, exclusion and lays a foundation for sustainable development with the help of ICT. Hence, our vision for focusing on building human capacity as the main ingredient for future development.

Capacity building and digital inclusion are very important focus areas for us at NITDA. We have increased IT Access to different communities through the provision of our Digital Centres, IT Community Centers and provided computing facilities for teachers in secondary schools and other tertiary institutions in various locations in the country. These facilities can be used to apply the new ways of teaching and learning as EdTech becomes more popular. My Colleague, Dr Agu Collins Agu, will be with you throughout this Summit and you will get to know some of the creative and innovative ideas we are working on at the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

With these few words, I thank you all for listening and I wish you all a fruitful deliberation. I look forward to discussing your submissions and presentations on EdTech as it relates to this important priority area for NITDA. I also look forward to collaborating further, with major stakeholders in the EdTech Industry and beyond in order to bring about sustainable development for all through ICT innovations and ideas. Thank You and God bless.

Educational Technology(EDTECH) Summit and Awards

3RD – 4TH March, 2020

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CYBERCRIME

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour and privilege to be here with you today to deliver a keynote address on the role of women, an important component for a robust digital economy. Cybercrime is a global phenomenon, as such, all our efforts in curbing cybercrime should be of international standard in design and to be locally implemented for Nigeria. Cybercrime as we all know is a notional word describing a range of nefarious activities perpetrated in the cyberspace. Be it cyber harassment, hacking, phishing, cyber romance fraud, identity theft, advance fee fraud just to mention a few. Cybercrime is a threat to individuals, businesses, organizations and countries. Hence, mitigating it should be everybody’s business.

You may be aware that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) mandate is to regulate and develop the IT sector of Nigeria, an integral part of our economy. Central to this mandate is securing our cyberspace. The Agency’s mandate is to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives.

You may also recall that our ministry’s key agenda under the leadership of Honorable Minister, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami FBCS, is the transformation of the economy to information and knowledge-based for delivering a robust digital economy. We in NITDA believe that the main driver of this agenda is secured cyber space.

NITDA applauds the initiative of CYAFRICA. We are happy to be part of this year’s edition. We expect more of this kind of activities and we are always willing to collaborate with stakeholders to mitigate the menace of cybercrime in Nigeria. Furthermore, we are in the process of gathering all stakeholders and interest groups in cybersecurity in Nigeria under one umbrella tagged ‘cyber alliance’. We believe with strategic partnership and collaboration, our combined effort will defeat the cybercriminals in Nigeria to serve therefore, as a model for other African countries to adopt.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria

Wednesday, 25TH March, 2020

SMART AUTOMATION FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH IN AFRICA

Table of Contents

PREAMBLE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure and delight to speak to you today on this webinar. I feel honoured and thank to Tradepass, the organizers for this.

AUTOMATION

For a start, let us all understand the general meaning of automation. Automation is the use of technology in a process or procedure to reduce human intervention to the barest minimum. (Michel, 2014). According to International Society of Automation (ISA) it is the creation and application of technology to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and services. (ISA, 2020). Automation can be applied in several systems ranging from operation of machinery, processes control in factories, auto piloting in airplane, networks switching, road traffic control, security, and surveillance applications with minimal human intervention.

It is clear that automation provides immense benefits to all sectors of any economy. For examples: all forms of transportation be it rail, air and land. Defense such as missile control, unmanned aerial vehicle, anti-missile systems. Manufacturing and oil exploration such as chemical and petroleum, pulp and paper, food and pharmaceutical processes control. Environment and utilities such as waste treatment, power grid control and electricity distribution, gas turbine control. Facility operations, including energy management, safety, and other building automation.

Automation employs a wide range of technologies including communications, cybersecurity, process measurement and control. Others are sensors, robotics, expert systems, wireless applications, systems integration, test measurement, and many, many more.

The current world challenge-COVID-19 pandemic which the whole world, even the advanced nation are grappling with shortages shows that the need for automation in Africa cannot be overemphasized. All over the world, manufacturers of medical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, and ventilators are racing against time to meet the surge in demand for the much needed supplies to treat patients. You will all agree with me that automation is key for Africa to improve it economy.

AUTOMATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR AFRICA

In Africa, we are faced with infrastructural deficit, these impede our industrial and economic development. Although, it is not all gloomy picture. We can begin to employ automation in various aspect of our economies. Starting with the ones that directly affect the standard of living-Food sufficiency. With the mechanization and automation of farm and agricultural processes such as automated sprinkler for irrigation farming, automated temperature control for green house farming, automated food processing and so on. It is observed that most of the farm produce waste during peak period due to inefficient and inadequate processing facilities. An efficient food processing will guaranty availability all year round. Others are the use of drones for seed broadcasting, planting of trees for afforestation and desertification control in sub-Sahara Africa.

Furthermore, Africa is blessed with large deposit of natural and mineral resources. There is a need for efficient mining industry. The minerals need to be explored and utilized for the betterment of the citizenry. Automating some of the mining processes will go a long way.

Manufacturing: Industrialized nations automate manufacturing processes ranging from car assembly, chips manufacturing, electronics etc. Africa can borrow a leave from there and start the process of modernizing and automating her manufacturing industry. Though, the initial cost will be high but in the long run, the return on the investment will be good for the economy. Newer technologies such as 3D printing, nanotechnology and holographic storages, smart workflow can also be explored.

Financial services sector: There are also a huge number of opportunities for automation in the financial services sector. Financial services sector such as banking, insurance, credit and payment companies deals with a large volume of data. Technologies such as robotics, machine learning, big data analytic, cognitive agents, natural language processing and cloud computing present a new wave of opportunities. These technologies can be employed in business intelligence, customer credit worthiness analysis, clearing house automated payment systems, electronic data interchange, management information system and comprehensive capital analysis and review. Applying these technologies will not only reduce running cost but will also free employees to concentrate on high valued project or work schedules.

AUTOMATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

There have been several debate on the impact of automation on economy and unemployment. Many thought automation will replace human labour. That is not possible as there are still instinct based decision that machines cannot take. According to Mckinsey, (Mckinsey, 2020), automation is a global force that will transform economies and workforce, but human will continues to work hand in hand with machines to achieve the desired growth. World Economic Forum noted that in the long run, automation is good for workers. But policymakers must be mindful of short-term consequences (Weforum, 2020).

JPMorgan Asset Management believes automation could increase global GDP by more than $1.1 trillion in the next 10-15 years. (BusinessInsider, 2020) .

STEPS IN AUTOMATION PROCESS

For a successful automation project, a set of building blocks should be followed to achieve the intended gain. They are:

Design a detailed road map, stating the vision and strategies
Setup a team to oversee the organizational wide automation project
Partner with the IT department

Involve the human resource at the earliest stage
Carefully choose the first pilot area

CHALLENGES OF AUTOMATION IN AFRICA

There are challenges that had hindered the African quest towards industrialization and automation of processes and consequently affects economic growth and diversification. These are:

Lack of political will and policy inconsistencies at different government level

Inadequate funding and
Over reliance on foreign goods, technologies

RECOMMENDATIONS

For Africa to be independent and achieve economic growth and stability, all opportunities identified must be properly harnessed.
Government at all level should have a consistent policy geared towards economic growth and diversification, mechanization and automation of processes.

NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT AUTOMATION EFFORT THROUGH NITDA

To my fellow African participants, I want to use this opportunity to put you through what the Nigerian Government is doing in diversification of her economy from resource-based to knowledge based-economy. Automation employs technologies such as Robotics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing and Big Data Analytics. NITDA is at the forefront of making sure skills are developed in these technologies.

In 2007, an Act of the National Assembly set up an agency named National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). NITDA is saddled with the task of developing and regulating the IT sector of the country. The Agency’s mandate is to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives. NITDA’s role is to ensure Information Technology enables every sector of our economy, creates jobs through ICT innovation and entrepreneurship and eventually bring about the kind of digital transformation as seen in developed nations.

The current administration under the leadership of His Excellency, President Muhammad Buhari, GCFR, as part of the key objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), is making giant strides aimed at minimizing the country’s dependence on oil by diversifying the economy to evolve entirely new industries as well as enable the existing ones.

Furthermore, I advised the participant to take to their various countries the message of Nigeria. That over reliance on foreign products instead of harnessing indigenous capacity has hindered our growth. Also that one of the main driver of economies is ICT. Therefore, we must encourage and empower our pool of young talented youths to take advantage of the digital era.

Our goal in Nigeria is to develop indigenous IT industry in our quest to diversify our economy for sustainable national development and the growth of global IT market.

CONCLUSION

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

Webinar Organized by Tradepass

23rd April, 2020

WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF NITDA AT THE GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY FOR THE INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTRE

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the groundbreaking event for the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre. This is another significant step in our efforts to facilitate the building of a vibrant and indigenous digital economy, and an ICT sector in the country.

In 2018, the digital sector contributed at least 11 per cent to the GDP. This rose to 14 per cent in 2019.Then, with the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, the contribution of the digital sector to the economy increased to over 17 per cent, underscoring the positive impact of digital technology in our lives and the national economy.

Many people in Nigeria and worldwide would not have survived without access to digital payment platforms, which were available, even when banks had shut down their branches. For several months in the last year, especially during the lockdown, the world survived on e-commerce for supplies of groceries and medications. Drones, controlled remotely, made deliveries of medicines and essential products possible. The education sector had to also rely on online digital learning to continue its critical work of educating our children and youth.

There is therefore no doubt that, the ICT sector has touched every aspect of our lives in recent times particularly under the COVID-19 pandemic. But there is still a need for a post-COVID strategy. There is a strong need to build businesses using digital technologies for sustainable development in the economy even in the absence of a pandemic. This is why the Centre is very essential and will remain a critical component in the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), especially pillars 3 and 6 on Solid and Soft Infrastructure.

Over the years, NITDA has spear-headed the growth of the IT sector in the country, providing critical ICT infrastructure to schools, vocational centers in states, and local governments across the country. We have also formulated and assisted government to introduce several regulations and frameworks concerning the IT industry and the digital economy, working under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to boost the growth of the Nigerian ICT industry.

NITDA has coordinated the provision of several IT training centers round the country including the universities and secondary schools for e-learning, adoption of emerging technologies and other purposes. We annually facilitate digital skills acquisition programmes targeted at women, girls, and other vulnerable groups as an inclusive approach to the development of the country’s digital ecosystem.

I would like to mention that, one of such numerous digital skills centres, is the first National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Nigeria, and located at Wuye District, Abuja. This Centre is conceived to help advance the skills capacity of young Nigerians in the area of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.

Consequently, the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, which has brought us here today for the groundbreaking, would function as an innovation park for the holistic nurturing of indigenous digital innovation and entrepreneurship. It will focus on creating an enabling policy, infrastructural and institutional environment that would inspire, connect, encourage, and support digital innovation and entrepreneurship at the ideation, proof of concept, startup, growth and acceleration stages of businesses in the country.

May I also add that, it is our plan, that the Centre should serve as a coordinating link to the various IT hubs across the country, thereby boosting the capacity to create jobs, and provide employment for Nigeria’s teeming youth. Having been designed for adaptability, comfort and sustainability, the Centre will feature, among other things:

Digital innovation workrooms such as iHubs;

Mini research labs such as MLabs;
Co-working spaces for startups; and
Digital Literacy and Skills development facilities.

As I welcome you to this groundbreaking ceremony, I am happy to state that the Centre represents the strong resolve of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, and that of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to ensure that the ICT industry in Nigeria will remain a dominant contributor to the nation’s GDP.

Let me conclude by stating that, with the continuous support from my boss and mentor, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, we shall continue to invest in our people to enable them to create jobs and wealth and not see government employment as an entitlement and/or their only resort. On this note, Hon Ministers, Directors-General, Heads of Public and Private Corporations, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I welcome you most sincerely to this landmark event.

Thank you.

DEALING WITH COVID-19: DIGITAL FIRST PERSPECTIVE

Table of contents

PREAMBLE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure and delight to speak to you today on this webinar. I feel honoured and thank to Nile University, Abuja, the organizers for this.

Introduction-

The current world challenge-COVID-19 pandemic which the whole world, even the advanced nations are grappling with has again solidified the support for Digital First ideology. An ideology that seeks to adopt digital services in every aspect of our live. The pandemic has proven to us the need to automate and apply digital technology to all aspect ranging from grocery delivery to healthcare with minimal human intervention.

Global impact- Unexpected Lockdown and meltdown-

It no longer news that the world is depressed due to the Corona Virus Pandemic, the impact is being felt across the length and breadth of the global. It is not only economics that is hit but our ways of life have been alter Covid-19 is estimated to cost of 2.7 trillion dollars. Travel industry alone lost 820 billion dollars entertainment such as football and terrorism completely ground to a halt though all hope are not lost.

According to the President, Muhammadu Buhari in his April 13, address to the nation said the pandemic has changed the way we would be leaving. I quote “As a result of this pandemic, the world as we know it has changed. The way we interact and trade, travel, educate our children and even earn our livelihood will be different”

It is observed that countries and economies with robust digital economy has been found to be more resilient in adapting to the new socioeconomic reality.

Digital technology offer rays of hope

In this difficult time all over the world the down time due to Covid-19 has offered digital first enthusiast the opportunity to further the ideology that digital transformation is the way forward.

Almost all the thriving industries apart from the health industry during this pandemic are digital tech industry ranging from social media, telecommuting, gaming and e-learning. A survey carry out by a London bases market research firm Kantar, with 30 economies between March 14 to 24 concluded that WhatsApp and Facebook has 40% and 37% increase in usage during this period respectively.

In telecommuting, the net worth of Eric Yuan, the zoom founder increase by $4 billion since the start of the pandemic.

Online video gaming -US Telco Verizon revealed that video gaming traffic increased by almost 75% during this period.

E-learning -an up surge in e-learning activities for self-improvement.

Enabling business continuity- Technology to the rescue

In the wake of unexpected lockdown, services and businesses all over the world have to adjust to the way businesses are done. Services such as financial services that have been significantly technology driven continues to support the citizenry. Online banking, ATM for cash dispensing, automated payment clearing system. These has reduce the negative impact of the lockdown.

Virtual classroom- despite the global lockdown, all the universities in Saudi Arabia only closed the classroom meeting but academic activities continue with lectures and exams going on normally. Thanks to digital technology. King Fahd Medical city uses telepresence robot to treat COVID-19 patient.

Citizen engagement- the digital first ideology has contributed to the NCDC effective enlargement and engagement of the Nigerian citizen on information regarding the virus.

The recent G20 meeting was held via videoconferencing. The Nigeria government meetings are being held using teleconferencing. We are looking forward to e-FEC, e-FAAC. Thanks to digital technology. Imagine our life without digital technology.

Contribution of digital technology to the covid-19 responses

Let us categorize the contributions of digital technology to be direct and indirect. The indirect are the financial contributions of big tech companies. These contributions are meant for small business as grants and ad credit Media/News, fact checking and grants for local news, Health Care: – Covid-19 research and front lines support and Relief Effort: – Public safety and nonprofit donation.

The table shows the contributions of Digital technology companies

COMPANY	CONTRIBUTION
Google	$856.5 M
Facebook	$248.0M
Amazon	$98.5M
Microsoft word	$25.5M
Cisco	$225M
Apple	$22.0M

In addition to the monetary contributions, these tech giants are also directly involving in solving one the most challenging pandemic in modern history. Apple and Google Team up on contact tracing

Direct contribution of Tech Company to fight the Covid-19

The Direct responses of digital first companies to COVID-19 centered mainly on

Contact tracing

Predicting spread of the virus
Tracking
Protecting hospital from Cyber attacks
Correct information dissemination.
AI prediction of the virus protein structure

Amongst the lots are few examples

Bannersnack offers it Team Collaboration option free for 90 days

DeepCode development platform offered free for 3 months. It uses AI/ML to help developer analyses their code for bug to assist developers to continue work with free tool offer

Medical Support

Nuance offers Dragon Medical for free for 90 days. This is

Conversation AI, Speech recognition and transcription services for health care workers.

Digital Ocean, a cloud provider, created a hub for developers to share project aimed at helping people deal with the pandemic

Thoughtful Human is a greeting Cond start up that deals with difficult topic such as grief cancer. They are now into quarantine and pandemic:

Help Therapy to offer virtual Therapy using phone and Texting.

(Techcrunch)

Education

Google DeepMind contribution to Alpha Fold Google is working with US government to developing a website dedicate to education at resource on COVID-19 nationwide.

Info on COVID-19 is broadcast on Google
Search Engine, Map at YouTube
Google premium free till July 1st

Research

AI prediction of the Vims protector structure of SARS-COV2

Unemployment

Zaria is an automated workforce solution to deal with shift. With this pandemic, it lunched a free tool Bounced Back to help those laid off due to COVID-19 to navigate with employment and community of how to stay connected with former employer. (Techcrunch)

Technology for now and the future

Robotics

Virtual work force

Artificial

Machine learning

Natural language processing (NLP) like

Drone delivering

E-commerce

Virtual services

Nanotechnology

Holographic storage

Augmented Reality

Challenges to Digital First Strategy

Key decision makers who are unwilling to support a Digital First strategy

A resistance to change and a distrust of digital processes at management level

Fear of making services available online due to worries over digital fulfillment

Lack of skills in key digital disciplines (such as email, social media, and rudimentary IT skills

Way forward-Embracing a digital culture

Though, we pray for the early end to the pandemic, we have to start in earnest start planning for recovery and adjusting our ways of life for resilience in the future
Government at all level should have a consistent policy geared towards digital transformation
Digitalize all government service

Businesses should automate and digitalize all possible tasks
Engage the citizenry on the need for ICT literacy
All hands must be on deck to invest more on digital technologies
Massive ICT infrastructure investment
Design a detailed road map, stating the vision and strategies

Setup a team to oversee the organizational wide automation project
All MDAs should have an effective IT department and partner with NITDA for guidance.

Digital transformation efforts of Nigerian government

I want to use this opportunity to you participants the efforts of the current Government in our quest to diversify our economy from resource-based to knowledge based-economy through digital transformation policies. NITDA is at the forefront of making sure skills are developed in digital technologies.

The Agency’s mandate is to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives. NITDA’s role is to ensure Information Technology enables every sector of our economy, creates jobs through ICT innovation and entrepreneurship and eventually bring about the kind of digital transformation as seen in developed nations.

Nigeria with ever growing young population, cannot afford to miss the opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution. Nigeria and her sub-nationals are major factors in the African and global digital transformation.

Therefore, we must encourage and empower our pool of young talented youths to take advantage of the digital era.

Our goal in Nigeria is to develop indigenous IT industry in our quest to diversify our economy for sustainable national development and the growth of global IT market.

Ongoing Initiatives

National

NITDA-OIIE innovative challenge for COVID-19 and Post COVID rebuild

Malami Road map on Virtual Judiciary Project

International

The UK government in an effort to be tech nation released 1.25 billion pounds for Tech startups and scale ups (Technation)

CONCLUSION

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

30th April, 2020

NATIONAL OUTSOURCING STRATEGY FOR NIGERIA 2020-2025

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this virtual event for the National Outsourcing Strategy For Nigeria 2020 online stakeholder meeting. Am glad to intimate you that there have been milestones in our collective efforts to ensure Nigeria is able to respond quickly to the current global economic challenge due to the Covid-19 pandemic and global oil price drop.

This includes the hosting the NIGERIA COVID-19 INNOVATION CHALLENGE which saw Nigerians developing solution to meet our current challenges using technology and the successful hosting of 2 consecutive Federal Executive Council meetings online.

The services industry in Nigeria according to figures from the National Bureau of statistics has been making steady gains in contributions to GDP with over 10% since 2015. ICT contributed 13.85% to GDP in 2019. This upward trend helped to lift Nigeria out of recession from 2015 and we believe the IT enabled Services industry is a main competitive advantage that the nation must leverage upon.

As a National Development plan, the Economic Recovery and Growth (ERGP) focuses on strengthening governance, human capital development, increasing competitiveness of the economy and diversification of the economy. All our strategic plan in NITDA are also very much aligned to the ERGP and we continue to seek cooperation across government, private sector as well as development partners to ensure we delivery key outputs that contribute substantially to the overall desired outcome of better quality life for Nigerians.

Under the able leadership of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, an Updated National Broadband plan was recently launched as well as the Nigerian Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.

In an effort to bring the Digital Services Industry to the forefront of the economic diversification programme of President Muhammad Buhari’s administration, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) developed a draft National Outsourcing Strategy for Nigeria. This strategy is a follow up to the Nigerian National Outsourcing Policy launched in 2007.

With the unveiling of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy by Mr President in November, 2019, the need for an outsourcing strategy in line with the eighth Pillar on Indigenous Content Promotion and Adoption cannot be overemphasized.

Furthermore, the strategy is in line with Government initiatives and priority projects such as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, enabling e-Government by 2023, lifting 100 Million Nigerians out of poverty and transforming Nigeria to a knowledge based economy in the wake of the current global pandemic.

The strategy seeks to foster an enabling institutional, legal, regulatory, technological and infrastructural environment for sustainable development and rapid growth of IT enabled outsourcing industry in Nigeria.

The National Outsourcing Strategy is aimed at delivering 1 (one) Million jobs in Nigeria by 2025. In order to achieve these ambitious targets, the plan is focused on 7 critical pillars:

Infrastructure
2. Skill and Human Capital Development
Branding and Promotion
4. Digital Finance and Incentives
5. Innovation and Entrepreneurship
6. Trust, Privacy and Security
7. Multi Stakeholder Governance

The strategic targets of strategy include the creation of a minimum of 1,000,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Digital service outsourcing sector within five years of implementation of the policy, achieve global recognition as a preferred destination for outsourcing business by the end of 2025 and facilitate the development adequate infrastructure to ensure service quality to meet global standards by the end of 2023.

I wish to express appreciation to all invited guests, resource persons and others who created time to be present at this event. I wish us all a successful event.

Thank You and God Bless

May 2020

EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA: GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN POST -COVID-19 PANDEMIC

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure and delight to speak to you today on this webinar. I feel honored and thank to the organizers, Kano Shapers.

The outbreak of The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has been a monumental disaster globally, Nigeria inclusive; it has led to unprecedented disruptions to global economy, sharp drop in global crude oil prices, Nigeria economic mainstay and financial markets are struggling. Massive loss of employment to the teaming youth, lockdown of schools and institutes of higher learning.

The Covid-19 pandemic is the greatest threats in our lifetime to Nigeria education and the world over. As of March 28, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing more than 1.6 billion children and youth to be out of school in 161 countries. This is close to 80% of the world’s enrolled students. We were already experiencing a global learning crisis, as many students were in school, but were not learning the fundamental skills needed for life. The World Banks “Learning Poverty” indicator – the percentage of children who cannot read and understand at age 10 – stood at 53% of children in low- and middle-income countries before the outbreak started. This pandemic has the potential to worsen these outcomes even more if it persists. For Nigeria, the latest data from World Bank-UNESCO Office of Statistic 2018 put the literacy rate to be 62% of Nigerians 15 years and above compared this to Bahrain, Cuba, Estonia and Argentina that the population is 100% literate.

Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rate was 23.1% in 2019 (NBS), though some predicted it could reach 33% by 2020. Youth unemployment and underemployment is 55.4%. With the onset of the pandemic, this statistics cannot be better. According to National Bureau of Statistics, that carried out a survey on nationally representative sample of 1,950 household, the impact on employment and income have also been widespread. 42% of respondents who were working before the outbreak reported that they were not currently working due to COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected children education. Among households with children attending school prior their nationwide closure in March, only 62% reported that their children had engaged in any learning/educational activities since the closure. (Source NBS)

To overcome these challenges of illiteracy and unemployment amongst the population of teaming youth, there is a need for careful planning to harness the opportunities the pandemic presented by using technology for human capital development and employment generation to curb the impact of the pandemic. To succeed, we need to improve our technology innovation to defeating the pandemic and turning it to a thing of blessing in disguise. Whether we like it or not, there is certainly a new normal in post COVID-19 pandemic where digital technologies are playing a major role. A lot has changed as regards the way we work, learn and carry out business activities across Nigeria and the world in general. Therefore, for Nigeria to overcome the impact of COVID, the country need to leverage on the areas in Education, Technology, Job Creation and Capacity building in order to bridge the gap and tackled the damages that have been done.

Careful planning is needed, but we all have to be ready to adjust to the new normal. As we are all daunted by the uncertainty of schools reopening due to virile nature of the virus. In that uncertain context, the good news is that many of the improvements, initiatives, and investments that school systems will have to make might have a positive long-lasting effect. Fortunately, these is creating opportunities in creativity to deal with the challenges. Recently, we in NITDA launched an innovative challenge for Nigerians to come up with workable solutions to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. We got a lot of interesting ideas from all over the country.

Opportunities are abound now to use different media to deliver lessons to students at home. Use online tools to ensure that lesson plans, videos, tutorials, and other resources are available for some students and probably, most teachers. But also, podcasts and other resources that require less data usage. Working with telecommunication companies to apply zero-rate policies can also facilitate learning material to be downloaded on a smartphone. The opportunity here is that the pandemic enhances technology. Radio and TV are also very powerful tools that are being harnessed for learning. In today Nigeria, social media platforms such as, WhatsApp, Facebook or SMS, can now be used by ministries and schools to communicate effectively with, students, parents and teachers and provide guidelines, instructions and structure to the learning process, using content delivered by radio or TV. Remote learning is not only about online learning, but about mixed media learning, with the objective of reaching as many students as possible, and this is a very good advantages in the Nigerian post pandemic education.

On the economy and unemployment, the pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the global economy. So Nigeria has restart her essential manufacturing back home. There is a need for aggressive vocational skills acquisition and training. It’s now obvious how dependency on foreign goods can be very dangerous.

We have come to realizes just how critical the speedy, effective, supply of goods and materials is in Nigeria. Supply chains are often long and complex, there is a need for simplicity. This is a problem needing solution. Supply chain roles include planners, analysts and technology specialists who can connect the unconnected parts of the supply chain to provide a quick and responsive operation. Logistics roles cover warehousing, transport and delivery management. We are very reliant on the ability of organizations to transport goods from source to customer, and there is need for efficient distribution, productivity and data managers and analysts for it to be to be successful.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Nigerian Economy. It contributes a significant chunk of gross domestic product (GDP) (NBS). Unfortunately, agricultural practices are still predominantly subsistence, which consequently affect yields. The need to improve our agricultural practices cannot be overemphasized thereby creating more jobs and more yield. Some of the opportunities in agricultural value chains are Database creation-There is a need for a complete data on crops, soil types, livestock, diseases etc., as well as a Geographical Information System mapping of Nigeria to capture arable lands. Extension services provision- farmers need adequate and timely information on new practices, weather, flood warning, diseases will not only prevent wastage, it will improve the yield as well as living standard of the farmers. RFID Tags for Livestock: Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology involves the use of radio-frequency waves to identify and track objects. RFID technology can be used to track livestock, thereby reducing prevalent incidents of cattle rustling and stealing. Online agricultural stores: Formation of cooperative societies of rural farmers will improve their access to mechanized agricultural tools, improved seed, fertilizer and credits. Examples of existing online agricultural stores are FarmCrowdy.

ICTs are fast changing the way we live and it now plays a defining role in shaping the global economy, leading to a transition from conventional economies to digital economies. A digital economy is characterized by an increase in revenue, an empowerment of the citizens, reduction of corruption and the creation of jobs, amongst other things. It serves as an important enabler for economic growth since digital skills and technologies have the capacity to boost the productivity of every nation. Such skills and technologies are projected to contribute $2 trillion to the global economy by 2020.

Careers in technology will likely boom in response to the aftermath of COVID-19. Areas to watch out for are ICT for mass literacy, Health care, Agriculture, Women Empowerment, Security and Surveillance. Job opportunities for content production, animation design for learning, Drones for medical supply deliveries. Robotics in surgeries and telemedicine. Sensors for proximity monitoring. Also, in the Financial Services Sector, in the post pandemic Nigerian economists will be in great demand to provide direction to government, to banks, to research institutes and to business, as organizations seek to resurrect their economies

The COVID-19 shall force new normalcy through advent of innovation in areas of education, job creation and technology as the world have witnessed a significant global transformation, facilitated by technology and digital media, and fueled by data and information. Nigeria cannot be seen to be left behind in this transformation. The need for the diversification to other areas especially Education and ICT, considering how the COVID-19 pandemic affected country.

LEVERAGING ON THE POTENTIAL OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO OVERCOME THE PANDEMIC

May peace, mercy, and blessing be upon you. And Good morning.

Thank you for having me. This morning, at this epoch-making webinar, I am going to share with you my thought on how digital technology shapes the future economy beyond COVID pandemic.

COVID pandemic and lockdown have changed our needs and wants as individuals, communities, and governments. To survive and thrive in the post-pandemic, we need to reassess and redefine our value proposition. The pandemic has caused an unprecedented upheaval across all industries, with commerce, transport, oil and gas, badly hit. These industries provide a lifeline to our economy in Kano and Jigawa.

According to the World Bank, COVID has triggered the deepest global recession since the great depression. The Bank predicted that the Global Economy would shrink by 5.2% as a result of the pandemic, which is about 7.4T USD. Even though the ultimate impact is still uncertain, the pandemic has resulted in contractions across the world. Nigeria is not an exception. A survey carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that many citizens are concerned about their lives and livelihoods. 78% of the respondents were worried about their health while 92% saw the pandemic as a threat to their source of livelihood.

Crises are recurring events in human history. Some are less severe; others change legislation, world politics, our perception of the status quo, and people’s lives. Humanity had overcome crises like the black plague and Spanish flue before. Therefore, I believe that we will overcome this pandemic as well, and we will come out of it stronger. But when? That’s not under our control. What is within our control is having a clear objective and mechanism to exit and recover. I believe this webinar is setting the ball rolling for Kano and Jigawa to come up with exit and recovery strategies.

Covid pandemic has catalyzed two significant changes in our economic landscape. We are embracing digital technologies and looking for a sustainable business model. As the crisis abates, we need to adopt what works well before and during the crisis. Digital economy was emerging before the crisis, and when the crisis hit, it made it more profound. Thus, the digital economy is our solution out of this crisis.

On 4th June, the Institute for Policy Studies in the USA published a report that tech billionaires in America got $565 B USD richer during the pandemic. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos alone added $36.2 billion USD to his net worth between mid-March and early June. All these happened while conventional businesses were shut down, and 43 million Americans have filed for unemployment. Likewise, in Nigeria ICT contributed unprecedented 14.07% to our GDP in the first quarter of 2020. This clearly shows that the Federal Government effort to make Nigeria a digital economy has started yielding results, and it is important that Kano and Jigawa key in to benefit.

As indicated in Mr President’s 2020 Democracy Day Speech, the Digital Economy is critical to our country’s development agenda. Our journey to digital economy started On 23rd October 2019, when President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, re-designated our Ministry from Ministry of Communications to Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to drive the positive impact of the digital economy in every sector of our economy. The Ministry, under the leadership of Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has pioneered the development of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for Digital Nigeria. At NITDA, we have started the implementation of the policy with so many initiatives to diversify our economy. Because of time, I will touch on what we are doing in Kano and Jigawa states only.

Our North-West zonal office sited in Kano is ready for commissioning, and we are going to commission it as soon as restrictions are lifted. The office is equipped with state of the art training facilities to train our teeming youth from the North West region on digital skills. The training is for all. We have facilities for people living with disability, artisans, students and young entrepreneurs.

In Jigawa State, we have a strong partnership with the State Government under the leadership of our father, the executive Governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, MON. We have executed several projects together among them; we are building ICT Community Centers in the three senatorial districts to engage and train our youth on emerging technologies and entrepreneurship. Also, we have engaged 135 farmers for smart farming aimed at revolutionizing the state agriculture value chain. The initiative, National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture, NAVSA, is an ecosystem-driven digital platform for transforming the agriculture sector in Nigeria. It was designed to help farmers, agricultural stakeholders, and ecosystem players navigate their journey across the agriculture value chain from farm production to farm management, processing, harvesting, storage, marketing, and consumption.

The project comes with tailored empowerment and sustainable business models that create diverse opportunities for the agriculture value chain that never existed in our country before. But it was tested and working well in a country like the Netherlands. The Netherlands, when compared with Kano and Jigawa combined, has similarities in population and landmass. Kano and Jigawa combined have a population of about 18.5M, and the Netherlands has about 17M people, in landmass, the two states are about 43,000KM2 while the Netherlands is about 40,000KM2. But, the Netherlands earning from agriculture export in 2019 was 94.5B Euros, which is equivalent to $106.36B USD, while Nigerian earning from oil and gas export in the same year was 5.18B USD. That is the power of smart precision and digital technology in agriculture.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that the ever-growing youthful population of Kano and Jigawa can be a source of blessing if carefully harnessed. We can leverage the potential of the digital economy to exit and recover from this pandemic, as well as create a sustainable environment to survive and thrive in the post-pandemic era.

Thank you for your attention, May God Bless you and Bless Nigeria.

June 2020

HOW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE SHAPING THE ECONOMY OF THE FUTURE

Table of Contents

PREAMBLE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is my pleasure and delight to speak to you today on this webinar. I feel honoured and thank to the organizers for this.

Pre-COVID-19 Kano and Jigawa

The human population is growing, every society undoubtedly needs to plan for robust human capital development, food security, improved health care system, security of lives and property, environmental conservation and pollution control to avoid human crises. Poverty is still a major problem for Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria. In all these, Northern Nigeria especially Kano and Jigawa is not an exception. Figure 1 shows the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The North East, North Central and North West zones make up Northern Nigeria. Kano and Jigawa are in the North Western Region with an estimated population of 13 million and 5.5million respectively (NPC and NBS Estimate)

Figure 1: Map of Nigeria showing the six geopolitical zones

Recent reports from World Bank indicate that 87% Nigeria poverty rate is in the North. A state-by-state analysis of the poverty rate in Nigeria (see Figure 2) shows that Northern region is the poorest part of Nigeria. All hands must be on deck to address these challenges that can affect the stability and security of Northern Nigeria and the whole country at large.

Figure 2: State-by-state analysis of poverty rate across Nigeria (Source: World Bank)

The Economic impact of COVID-19

The global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to all economies of the world, Nigeria is not an exception. In Nigeria, Northern Nigeria is also home to many poor people. The pandemic has worsened the situation. A survey carried out by the NBS has the following summary.

It is reported that many citizens are concerned about the health and financial consequences of the pandemic. 78% of respondents were worried about themselves or their family members becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus, while 92% saw the coronavirus as a threat to their households finances.

The impact on employment and income have also been widespread. 42% of respondents who were working before the outbreak reported that they were not currently working due to COVID-19. The impact of COVID-19 has been most strongly felt in the commerce, service, and agriculture sectors. 79% of respondents reported that their households total income have decreased since mid-March.

Some households struggled to purchase staple foods like yam, rice and beans during the 7 days prior to the interview with 35-59% of households who need to purchase these staple foods reporting that they were not able to buy them. 26% of households reported not being able to access medical treatment when they needed it during the same period.

Experience of economic shocks in the few months after the outbreak of coronavirus far exceeds shocks experienced between 2017 and 2019. The most widely reported shock experienced by households was an increase in prices of major food items faced by 85% of households since the outbreak compared to only 19% between January 2017 and January 2019. Many households have struggled to cope with these widespread shocks with 51% of all households resorting to reducing food consumption.

The pandemic has also affected children education. Among households with children attending school prior their nationwide closure in March, only 62% reported that their children had engaged in any learning/educational activities since the closure.(Source: NBS)

Planning for Post-COVID-19

Opportunities for investment

(Kano State Website)

Digital technologies for Agriculture

Agriculture is the mainstay of Northern Nigeria. It contributes a significant chunk of gross domestic product (GDP) (NBS). The ever growing youthful population of Kano and Jigawa can be a source of blessing if carefully harnessed. Unfortunately, agricultural practices are still predominantly subsistence, which consequently affect yields. As the population grows, there is a need to improve our agricultural practices. Skills and knowledge are required to imbibe modern methods of Agriculture as well as improve existing agricultural practices. Digital technologies can play a significant role in harnessing this natural gift to the North especially Kano and Jigawa.

Database

Comprehensive data is one of the challenges we are having in Nigeria, Kano and Jigawa is not an exception. There is a need for a complete data on crops, soil types, livestock, diseases etc, as well as a Geographical Information System mapping of the whole region to capture arable lands. This database will serve as framework for all other planning regarding agriculture.

Extension services

Providing farmers adequate and timely information on new practices, weather, flood warning, diseases will improve the yield as well as living standard of the farmers. Information dissemination can be divided into three levels; the first level is the use of text messages in local languages. Because all phone types have short messaging application, this method will ensure wide coverage. However, the farmers need to be literate in order to read the messages. Secondly, our people listen to radio a lot; hence, the use of radio jingles to pass information across will provide the necessary information. This approach will reach all types of farmers since the information will be broadcast using the language spoken by all. The last level is the use of mobile apps where users can provide feed backs and input for analysis and planning.

RFID Tags for Livestock:

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology involves the use of radio-frequency waves to identify and track objects. RFID technology can be used to track livestock, thereby reducing prevalent incidents of cattle rustling and stealing. It is a business opportunities in collaboration with state ministry of agriculture to train the farmers on the need and the use of RFID devices to identify and track agricultural products.

Online agricultural stores:

Kano and Jigawa are blessed with abundant arable land that is used for agriculture. Formation of cooperative societies of rural farmers will improve their access to mechanized agricultural tools, improved seed, fertilizer and credits. Problems such as under pricing of farm produce and loss of their perishable crops before sales can be alleviated by developing online agricultural markets/platforms. These platforms would help farmers to rent farming tools and machinery, link up with prospective buyers, find out the current prices of agricultural products, buy pesticides, fertilizer, farm feed, etc. Examples of existing online agricultural stores are FarmCrowdy, Ajaoko AricTech, AgroMarket and Farmer Outlets.

https://www.farmcrowdy.com/

http://ajaoko.ng/

http://www.agromarket.ng/land.php

https://www.farmeroutlets.com/home

https://www.farmcrowdy.com/

https://www.thriveagric.com/

https://www.efarms.com.ng/

https://www.farmfundr.com/

Crowdfunding:

Insufficient capital sometimes prevents farmers from expanding and/or improving their agricultural projects. Accessing bank loans for startup farmers or those who wish to expand an existing agricultural project is very challenging because of the stringent conditions required for obtaining loans and high interest rates. Crowdfunding of agriculture can solve this problem by linking farmers with potential sponsors. Popular farm crowding platforms include FarmCrowdy, Thrive Agric, eFarms and FarmFundr.

With huge population of farmers and farmland, other sundry opportunities such as Agrochemical business, veterinary services, food processing and extension services on modern day farming techniques. Smart Agriculture- use of drones for seed broadcasting, Precision irrigation

Other IT services that can be deployed at any point of the farming value chain are Information sharing: Market information Analytic: Farmer/Farm profile Access to Markets: Formalizing market linkages; facilitating payments; digital marketplaces and; effective delivery system.

Access to Finance: Digital payment (B2B, B2C) Tracking and Traceability: supply chain management / transparency and; quality assurance and control.

Digital Technologies for Youth Empowerment

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Kano is Nigeria centre of commerce. This provide a huge opportunities for e-Commerce, Payment systems, Security systems such as CCTV installation, Alarm system, Courier Services, Hardware repairs, App programming. Other technologies such as robotics, machine learning, big data analytic, cognitive agents, natural language processing and cloud computing present a new wave of opportunities. These technologies can be employed in business intelligence, customer credit worthiness analysis and clearing house automated payment.

Digital hub

In post COVID-19, let us think of the setting up of Kano-Jigawa Technology Village where new business ideas are incubated and nurtured. Example of such new businesses are Digital billboard advertising, brand management. Newer technologies such as 3D printing, nanotechnology and holographic storages can also be explored.

Startup opportunities due to COVID-19

There are opportunities in the midst of COVID-19 misfortune, According to Forbes, some of the business opportunities might be long term while some may end with the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of these are cleaning services, fumigation and sterilization of surfaces, Business premises entry triage for temperature check and mask wearing conformity check. Designers mask-the quest to look stylish in protection. Other businesses that will increase and be with us for long are Delivery services, Remote Applications for remote working tools, Remote Fitness centers, Cybersecurity, e-Commerce and Online gaming and entertainment.

Digital Technologies for Health

One of the main challenges bedeviling the Northern Nigeria society is poor health awareness and delivery. Digital technologies can be leverage upon in improving the health service delivery starting from health awareness campaign using text messages, mobile apps, ATM message display. Health data collection, record keeping, Health information management system, hospital management system, disease outbreak alert system and so on. In addition, disease spread and risk modelling using artificial intelligence from existing data will help policy makers to better prepare for future outbreak. Furthermore, other area digital technologies can be applied are Robotic nurse, Robotic Surgeon, Telemedicine, e-Health and use of drones for medical deliveries.

Figure 3. State-by-state percentage literacy level across Nigeria

Digital Technology for Education

With high level of out of school children and mass illiteracy, among the adult populace. It is an opportunity to provide services that improve standard of living and create job opportunities for some. Government of Kano and Jigawa as well as the entire Northern Nigeria can collaborate with stakeholders to harness the existing infrastructure to improve the general literacy level in Northern Nigeria. The available record as of April 2020 indicates that 190,475,494 Nigerians subscribed to the Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) (source: NCC). However, there is no available data on the geographical spread of these subscriptions. The data is an indication that majority of Nigerians connect one device or the other to the GSM. This can be harnessed by all categories of users for learning in a self-paced mode. Government through it agencies can partner with private entities to provide information to the citizenry on the potential uses of GSM for learning, content development and delivery.

Use of Robots as teachers, Virtual learning and online classes are the new ways we have to adapt to learn

Mining

Kano and Jigawa has large deposit of natural and mineral resources. There is a need for efficient mining industry. The minerals need to be explored and utilized for the betterment of the citizenry.

Tourism

There are various emirates with Durbar activities. Modernizing these activities can be used to earn foreign exchange through hospitality industries, artifacts and work of art sales. The youth should harness these abundant opportunities for job creation and reduction of poverty.

NITDA Program and Initiatives in North West

I want to use this opportunity to put you through what the Nigerian Government is doing in diversification of her economy from resource-based to knowledge based-economy. Those that directly affects Kano and Jigawa. The Agency’s mandate is to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks, guidelines, developmental programs and initiatives.

NITDA will soon launch her North West Zonal Headquarter in Kano with a training center to equip our teeming youth with requisite ICT knowledge for now and the future.

We have sited a Digital job creation centers in Hadejia for the youth to acquire skills for self-reliance and employment generation.

We have developed IT policy for many states of the federation to provide a road map for then to effectively harness the potential of ICT in those states.

Our e-Government Masterplan, has a Smart Agriculture component that we are working with the state to deploy ICT technology to optimize land use and maximize farm yield.

We have a smart agriculture program called National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA).

Furthermore, I advised the participant that over reliance on foreign products instead of harnessing indigenous capacity has hindered our growth. Also that one of the main driver of economies is ICT. Therefore, we must encourage and empower our pool of young talented youths to take advantage of the digital era.

Our goal in Nigeria is to develop indigenous IT industry in our quest to diversify our economy for sustainable national development and the growth of global IT market.

Conclusion

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

June, 2020

HARNESSING INDIGENOUS SOLUTIONS FOR PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION AND DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT

May Peace, Blessings and Mercy be upon you

It is a privilege and honor for me to welcome our distinguished guests and participants to this auspicious event.

The ravaging effects of the covid-19 pandemic have increasingly compelled countries around the globe to look inwards and seek for the best initiatives to cushion the effects. In Nigeria, the effect on the economy, governance and public service delivery has spurred a greater urgency for the development of Government Digital Services and a Digital Economy for Nigeria. Therefore, engaging our indigenous innovative digital technology companies will play a vital role to improving services to citizens in these trying times and beyond.

As the Agency of Government mandated to assess and clear all Information Technology (IT) Projects of Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) in Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has assessed 62 projects worth ₦1,168,845,213,150.92 (one trillion, one hundred and sixty-eight billion, eight hundred and forty-five million, two hundred and thirteen thousand, one hundred and fifty naira) between January and May 2020. Furthermore, our analysis has shown that about ₦64,878,725,488.02 (sixty-four billion, eight hundred and seventy-eight million, seven hundred and twenty-five thousand, four hundred and eighty-eight naira) was spent on software and software enabled projects to be delivered by MDAs in service to the public. Our assessment shows that even more can been achieved, with a deeper collaboration between the public and private sectors going forward using technology as a driver for public services.

These types of collaboration will create vast opportunities for more Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) or collaboration with multilateral and Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s) to even co-fund these projects and deepen the opportunity for learning to create tailor made solutions for societal problems. Also, as public finances are strained due to the global economic downturn as triggered by the pandemic, the opportunity for innovation and co-ideation will bring other benefits and partnerships to MDAs to include capacity building and access to global tools in addition to other finance sources.

NITDA will soon issue frameworks on the development of Government Digital Services and Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in IT Projects as there is an urgent need for government to accelerate the delivery of government digital services for the benefit of Nigerians. Therefore, for the successful development and delivery of Government Digital Services, it is significantly important that innovative Nigerian companies are engaged very early in the project conceptualization and design stages to achieve some of the benefits highlighted.

We expect that deliberations today will carefully look into government policies such as, NITDA’s Guidelines on Nigerian Content Development in ICT and the Presidential Executive Order 003 – Support for Local Content in Public Procurement by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the Presidential Executive Order 005 – For Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology, which enable collaborations between the public and organized private sectors. I look forward to outcomes on the most suitable models that will promote deeper collaborations and partnerships, attract funding from multilateral organizations, as well as guide stakeholders in designing and implementing innovative solutions peculiar to their needs.

I wish us fruitful and successful deliberations.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Innovative Solutions Providers Stakeholder Webinar

18TH June, 2020

DATA SECURITY AND BUILDING A CYBER-INITIATIVE: STOCKING YOUR CYBER TOOLKIT AND NETWORK BUILDING

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour and privilege to be here with you today to speak to you on Data security, an important component for a robust digital economy.

Introduction

In all our daily transactions and interactions, we generate a lot of data. Data is now considered as the fifth factor of production, due to its importance in any sector. We can conclude that data is wealth. But for data to be a source wealth, it needs to be secured and well managed. Cybercrime as we all know is a notional word describing a range of nefarious activities perpetrated in the cyberspace. Be it cyber harassment, hacking, phishing, cyber romance fraud, identity theft, advance fee fraud just to mention a few. A compromised data security is a threat to individuals, businesses, organizations and countries. Hence, securing our data everybody’s business. A data breach involve unauthorized access, alteration to a data. Data is used to generate business intelligence- a collection of useful information to make an informed business decision.

Data security

A data is said to be secured if it has integrity, confidentiality and availability as it features. Data security, an aspect of cybersecurity requires the contribution of all, be it regulators, users and all other stakeholders in the cybersecurity business. To achieve a secure data, a robust cybersecurity and data protection initiatives has to be agreed upon among stakeholder through the formulation of standards, policies, frameworks and guidelines to secure our cyber space. With the Rise of Ransomware, Social Media Scams, and Email Threats, Smartphones and the Internet of Things, Business Email Scams and Vulnerabilities, there is a need for a robust cyber-initiatives to counter the threats.

Threat types

Threat to data security is any act or situation that affect the ownership, quality, integrity, confidentiality and availability of the data. Threats could affect data at rest and data in motion. Data security threats may be man-made or natural. The natural threat are loss due to fire, flood and other natural occurrence that may cause havoc to the security of the data. On the other hand, man-made threats could be in the form of sabotage from an employee, virus attack, theft, arson and terrorist attack.

Cost of data breach

A recent study by Radware and Merrill Research found that the average cost of a data breach has increased significantly, from $3 million per incident in 2018 to $4.6 million in the first half of 2019 alone. There is no exact price tag on a data breaches but an estimate depends on many factors. Furthermore, not all the cost are tangible, for instance the reputation of the company after a data breach would be severely affected.

Building a Cyber-Initiatives

To achieve a robust digital economy, the main driver of this agenda is secured cyber space. To achieve a secured cyber space every country should have a cyber-Initiative to guide it activities in the cyberspace.

A standard cyber initiative should provide confidentiality, Integrity and availability of data of any organization or individuals.

Confidentiality- For example, a confidential medical record of an individual should only be released to an authorized person or companies under the authority of the patient or the family.

Integrity- Any data transferred over any medium should be free from tampering. That is, if the information from A reaches B as it was sent without any modification.

Availability- The data should be available in a timely manner when and where needed.

Preventive Measures against threats to data security

Although the list is not exhaustive, here are few measures against threat to data security.

Educate your employees on data security
Enlighten them to use strong passwords and change it periodically

Use firewalls
Use antivirus for protection
Being up to date is key
Secure every device laptop, mobile phones, routers
Schedule backups all the time

Continuous monitoring of your network and activities of your employee steadily
Be smart with emails and surfing the web
Physical protection of data location with burglar proof
Fire proof building
Use of digital signatures and cryptography

Stocking Your Cyber Toolkit

The best cyber toolkit is awareness. Although, no matter the level of awareness and caution exercised, breaches might still occur. Hence, there is a need to have a structure to deal with any eventual breaches. Every organization be it public or private should have a minimum standard guiding their data protection policy and cyber security. Apart from the National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) that is already in existence, NITDA is designing a minimum standard information security guidelines for all MDAs to adopt. In addition, there is a need for measures set up by organizations to monitor employees’ activities. In several cases of data security breaches, there are internal saboteurs. Therefore, we should not only concentrate on external entities, breaches could also come from within the organization too. Either a disgruntled employee or compromised employee. There should be a standard operating procedure on methods for verifying potential vulnerabilities through an understanding of social engineering, prioritize penetration testing activities by using a variety of security-related tools and verification of potential vulnerabilities through an understand concepts of network monitoring.

NITDA Initiatives on Cyber Security in Nigeria

NITDA applauds the initiative of AGA/NIALS. I am happy to be part of this webinar. We expect more of this kind of activities and we are always willing to collaborate with stakeholders to mitigate the menace of cybercrime in Nigeria.

Furthermore, I am glad to inform you that NITDA has initiated several policies and programs to ensuring a cyber space that is secured and dependable for businesses to thrive thereby encouraging foreign direct investment

We have a cyber security department that carries out periodic awareness program to enlighten Nigerians on the nitty-gritty in the cyber space.

To fortify our preparedness, a NITDA’s Computer Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) Unit was formed recently to house the CERRT and PKI project. Our CERRT is always ready to guide Nigerians on what to do, when cyber breaches occur and who to report to. CERRT.ng takes it up from there! In CERRT.ng, we carry out both preventive and proactive measures to secure our cyber space by offering advisory services to MDAs on incidence reporting, event management and situational awareness.

Furthermore, we are working on the nation’s public key infrastructure (PKI) that will be live soon to strengthen digital identity, hence boost confidence in the conduct of digital and online services in Nigeria.

Conclusion

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

NIAL/AGA Africa Webinar on Cybecrime and Electronic Evidence

June 19, 2020

FIELD APPLICATIONS OF UNITY BOARD, AN INDIGENOUS EDTECH PLATFORM

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all. Thanks for the invitation! It is my pleasure to speak to you today on this Summit organized by Afritex. I must say that Afritex is one of our strategic partners.

The theme for this Summit, “Emergency Response: EdTech for Teaching and Learning.” is apt and timely. As you are all aware the COVID-19 Coronavirus global pandemic is creating a global learning crisis in addition to a global health crisis with 82% of the world’s learners no longer in traditional schooling or education programs, UNESCO is recommending online learning and the use of education technology to reach learners, underlining the strategic role Information Communications Technology (ICT) plays in education.

The fourth industrial revolution characterized by the fusion of the digital, biological and physical worlds is the current and developing environment in which disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, virtual reality (VR), cloud computing and 3D printing etc are changing the way we live and work.

Whilst technological advancements are undoubtedly increasing productivity, concerns over job losses due to automation are rife. The World Economic Forum predicts net job growth overall, with as many as four new roles emerging for each role lost.

Without bold reforms in education through the introduction of Education Technology and clear policies to guide us through, many people will lack the necessary skills to fill these new positions in the future economies and societies that are anticipated to be fundamentally different.

Our educators have a responsibility to prepare our students, providing them not only with the knowledge and understanding of the technologies, but also the skills needed to make them work-ready and succeed in a fast-changing world.

In educating for the 4th Industrial Revolution in the current environment; the educational tools, techniques and curriculum that we have been using for decades may no longer be fit for this purpose. Hence the need for:

Periodic curriculum reviews to mitigate the increasingly rapid rates at which knowledge becomes obsolete.

Development, adoption and diffusion of Indigenous Education Technology Solutions nationwide for sustainability.

Problem solving capability through creative thinking and problem-based learning methods, especially at the early age.

My office, The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as you may be aware is charged with the responsibility of regulating and developing Information Technology Sector in Nigeria and has the key mandate to build capacity, promote indigenous technology and collaborate with stakeholders towards national development.

NITDA, leveraging ICT as an enabler, introduced an award-winning EdTech solution to diminish the deficiency in industry sought-after & marketable skills especially in emerging technologies that could have established Nigeria as an outsourcing destination leveraging her re-skilled workforce – The Unity Board (An IoT/AI STEAM Education Platform) championed by the Hon. Minister of Communications & Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami FBCS, FNCS, FIIM with contributions from me and Dr Agu Collins Agu as the Co-Author.

Unity Board is a made-in-Nigeria Education Technology Platform, a hardware which is also an embedded AI/ IoT STEAM education kit to drive learning and teaching of emerging technologies such as IoT, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence to accelerate local content development and indigenization of technology through human capital development. STEAM, stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths which aims to embed problem solving capability through creative thinking and problem-based learning methods, especially at the early age.

Unity Board is a creative medium for advancing teaching and learning, designed specifically as hands-on learning tools to help today’s students build skills for the creative and digital economy through critical thinking, collaboration, communication, curiosity, problem solving and invention.

It teaches Physical Computing combining hardware and software by focusing on teaching of computer science and computational thinking creating a perfect way to introduce middle school and older students to physical computing that opens up a world of opportunities in the fields of robotics, engineering, fashion, medical industries, environmental sciences and Internet of Things (IoT) ) – one of the foundation stones of Industry 4.0; ensuring better preparedness to enter the workforce of the future.

Unity Board will spark the spirit of innovation in learners, and ignite great things! When students are free to invent and create, they begin to see technology as a means for solving real-world problems and taking their learning to the next level. It is the perfect platform that brings both professionals and students (Industry and Academia) together while also

bringing internet of things at your fingertips with the possibility of talking to the cloud, creating great opportunities to assimilate smart technologies.

There is compatibility with the popular open source hardware – Arduino and peripheral modules making it programmable via Arduino IDE and compatible with all the example codes and libraries for Arduino. It is also compatible with Graphical Programming Environment such as Scratch for Arduino (S4A), ArduBlock, XOD, Minibloq, Modkit, Visuino, Embrio etc and also programmable via smart phones through bluetooth interface – a very rare and unique feature enabling Digital Inclusion.

Furthermore, Unity Board, as an end-to-end platform helps IoT developers avoid tunnel vision and its consequences by providing a comprehensive set of hardware and software components that easily combine into complete IoT applications, providing developers with a head start on their custom designs.

With its very impressive Specifications and Features, Unity Board reduces bread-boarding and adopts a modular and scalable architecture that addresses challenges facing the IoT adoption, adaptation and deployment in Africa; in diverse areas such as: 1. Government 2. Healthcare 3. Fleet management and telematics 4. Security 5. Utilities & Service Providers 6. eAgric etc

Applications of Unity Board:

As an open platform/development environment, there is possibility of last-mile injection of Intellectual Property as a Proof-of-concept or pilot project with full product ownership for applications in diverse areas such as:

Learning embedded programming, developing and testing firmware

Security systems

Early Warning System for oil spillage

Pipeline protection

SCADA

Tracking Systems & Fleet Management

Data Acquisition Systems

Grid/infrastructure Monitoring

Reservoir Monitoring

STEM Education (capacity development in emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, Robotics, RFID etc.)

Smart Technology (e-Health, e-Agric, Smart City, Smart building etc.) Environment Monitoring (Flooding, Climate Change, Ambient Temperature etc.)

Research

Process Automation etc.

In 2019, during the National Council on Communications and Digital Economy held at Gombe, the following resolutions were made:

Utilization of the indigenous education technology platform (Unity Board) as the basis for preparing the Nigerian workforce towards the 4IR through capacity development in emerging technologies.

Collaboration with Ministry of Education, UBEC, FMST,TETFUND, FMC&DE, MoD, CBN, NCC, USPF, Private Sector , Makers Community etc towards the adoption and deployment of the Unity Board nationwide with pervasive benefits from its use.

Development of curriculum, establishment and promotion of train-the trainer programs with subsequent relevant indigenous certifications.

I hereby humbly request for collaboration with Federal Ministry of Education, FMC&DE, Federal Ministry of Science & Technology, Defence, NCC, USPF, UBEC, TETFUND, FME, NUC, Ministry of Labour, Academia, Research Institutions, Hubs, Makers Communities etc. for effective diffusion and utilization of our Indigenous Education Technology Solution – Unity Board AI/IoT STEAM Education Kit.

In the immediate future, we plan conducting capacity development in emerging technologies using Unity Board as a tool through the NITDA Academy for Training & Research.

With these few words, I thank you all for listening and I wish you all a fruitful deliberation. Links to field applications and high resolution images of Unity Board will be shared.

I look forward to discussing your submissions and presentations on EdTech as it relates to this important priority area for NITDA. I also look forward to collaborating further, with major stakeholders in the EdTech Industry and beyond in order to bring about sustainable development for all through ICT innovations and ideas.

Thank You and God bless.

Educational Technology (EDTECH) AFRITEX Summit

June 30, 2020

ENABLING POLICIES AND INCENTIVES FOR POST PANDEMIC JOB CREATION

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is a privilege and honor for me to welcome our distinguished guests and participants to this event.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has hit the global economy hard, Nigeria inclusive; just this week IMF Africa presented an update on the economic outlook for Africa and predicted a 3% contractions on Sub Sahara economies. The disruptions caused by the pandemic led to the contractions in global economy thereby causing drop in crude oil prices, massive loss of employment resulting into recession if not depression.

The pandemic is the greatest threats to mankind in our lifetime. Prior to COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment rate in Nigeria was 23.1% in 2019 (NBS), though some predicted it could reach 33% by the end 2020. Youth unemployment and underemployment is 55.4%. With the onset of the pandemic, this statistics cannot be better. According to National Bureau of Statistics, that carried out a survey on nationally representative sample of 1,950 household, the impact on employment and income have also been widespread. 42% of respondents who were working before the outbreak reported that they were not currently working due to COVID-19. (Source NBS)

To overcome these challenges of unemployment in Nigeria, there is a need for concerted efforts in planning to come up with policies and programs to create jobs and reduce the impact of the pandemic. We need to harness the opportunities the pandemic presented by using digital technologies for employment generation. Although, it was observed that most of the big tech companies gained during this pandemic, small businesses, startups and medium scale companies need to be supported to be resilient and succeed.

There is a new normal in-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pandemic where digital technologies are playing and will be major roles. Careful planning, policies and programs are needed, but we all have to be ready to adjust to the new normal. Fortunately, these is creating opportunities in creativity to deal with challenges that arises during the pandemic and beyond.

The Federal Government of Nigeria as well as private corporations are increasingly supporting enterprises as a tool for national growth, economic development and business expansion. The government through its agencies including National Information Technology development Agency (NITDA), NITDA’s Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship as well as the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy are working tirelessly to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks and enable an investor safe environment.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as you may be aware is an Agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy. The Agency’s mandate is to implement the National Digital Economy Road map and coordinate general IT development and regulation in the country. NITDA’s vision is to be the catalyst for transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-based economy. In view of that, NITDA continues to developing regulations to utilizing IT for sustainable National Development thereby creating the needed jobs. To support the Federal Government key objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and job creation, NITDA carried out several IT project interventions across the country to bridge the digital divide and provide access to the population.

At the onset of the pandemic, we swiftly initiated several policies and programs for the technology ecosystem and startups to be able to withstand the impact of the pandemic. We rolled out these initiatives in order to ensure that technology continues to enable innovation and entrepreneurship while addressing challenges of the society. A Tech4covid19 initiative to measure the impact of covid-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups – The committee we set-up has come up with Plan to ensure we retain about 100,000 ICT Jobs, and create additional 30,000 in Post COVID-19 Era through this initiative. Startup Clinic- we gathered Startups, mostly young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, Industry specialist, business consultants and hub operators with the goal of solving problems and challenges they were facing. We held several startup clinics all over the country before and during the COVID pandemic. We will continues to build capacities

Another program is the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge where Nigerians were challenged to come up with innovation to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. We are in the processing of following up with the startups with highly innovative ideas that were selected for further incubation and mentored. This support our indigenous and local content policy, thereby creating more jobs. NITDA Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme support startups and hubs across the country. With over 130 hubs in Nigeria, we are finalizing plans to ensure rapid intervention is provided for hubs and startups based on competence and carefully selected criteria.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Nigerian Economy. It contributes a significant chunk of gross domestic product (GDP) (NBS). If properly harnessed, it a massive employer of labour, unfortunately, agricultural practices are still predominantly subsistence, which consequently affect yields. In order to improve agricultural practices and create job, we initiated our SMART Agric Project where we engage farmers and focuses on using precision/smart farming techniques to ensure significant improvement in efficiency and productivity thereby increasing crop yield; increased profit margin and create more jobs

Other program that will generate incentives for tech businesses are NITDA’s collaboration with private sector, this will harness the vast opportunities with multilateral and Development Finance Institutions (DFI’s) to even co-fund these projects and deepen the opportunity for learning to create indigenous solutions for societal problems. Also, as public finances are strained due to the global economic downturn as triggered by the pandemic, the opportunity for innovation and co-ideation will bring other benefits and partnerships to MDAs to include capacity building and access to global tools in addition to other finance sources. There is a greater need now than ever to promote deeper collaborations and partnerships, attract funding from multilateral organizations, as well as guide stakeholders in designing and implementing innovative solutions peculiar to our need and created the needed jobs.

I wish us fruitful and successful deliberations.

Thank you for your attention

ISN North Regional Gathering

July1, 2020

THE SPEECH AT THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF NATIONAL ADOPTED VILLAGE FOR SMART AGRICULTURE (NAVSA)- JIGAWA STATE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the closing ceremony of the pilot edition of the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA)- Jigawa State.

Over the last two decades, Information Technology has transformed the world we live in. Technology, no doubt, is redefining every sector of the global economy. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s next level agenda and Digital Economy Road map of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, is promoting digital technologies and innovations to transform every sector of the economy. One of the critical sectors of the economy that can leverage digital innovations to create jobs, wealth and build a vibrant digital economy for Nigerians is agriculture. However, agriculture remains one of the least digitized sectors in Nigeria despite its potential as one of the most veritable sectors for economic diversification.

The World Bank reports indicate that sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where per-capita agricultural productivity has remained stagnant over the past 50 years. Agricultural productivity still remains low and far from the standards of the developed world despite the vast areas of farmlands, a booming young population and tropical climate. Nigeria as the largest country in Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, has its own share of the low agriculture productivity.

In Nigeria, agriculture currently hires about 70% of the workforce. Though, a substantive percentage of the farmers practice in a subsistent manner. it is believed that if the agriculture sector is properly managed and enhanced, it would be a genuine means of eradicating poverty, improving people’s standard of living and diversifying the economy. Nigeria has enormous prospects in Agriculture.

The untapped potentials of the growing youth population which constitutes over 50 per cent of the estimated 200 million population of Nigeria, 190 Million mobile subscribers, 140 million active internet subscription/users and 65% internet penetration could be a game-changer for the agriculture sector. In addition, about 82 million hectares out of Nigeria’s total land area of 91 million hectares were found to be arable land. About 42 per cent of this cultivable area is farmed according to research. These are opportunities that must be effectively harnessed through AgTech to create jobs for the teeming youths who are digital natives.

This mix of challenges and opportunities has called for a rethink. The use of technology to combat hunger and promote sustainable agriculture has profoundly received particular attention, perhaps more than any other development issue in the last two decades. Digital technologies and innovations are at the heart of managing agriculture value chain from seedling to planting, produce monitoring to management, harvesting to processing, storage to marketing and putting quality food on the table. However, adoption of technology must be strategic and sustainable.

What we have done is to rethink agriculture differently, by introducing digital technologies and innovations into agriculture practice in a strategic manner to address those challenges. As a developmental regulator, the best approach is to create a digital platform that woos and connects ecosystem players and makes the journey of agriculture business seamless, productive and efficient along the value chain through adoption of digital innovations. The ecosystem includes farmers; Federal, State and Local Governments; input suppliers and produce off-takers; mobile/telecommunications service providers; Banks; FinTech; smart solutions service providers; renewable energy service providers; investors; development partners; agriculture platforms; startup businesses, agriculture experts and extension workers among others.

Bringing together ecosystem players requires among other things strategic partnerships, sustainable models that are hinged on “start small and scale exponentially” over time. The idea of starting small and scaling over time while introducing digital technologies and innovations in agriculture business to enable massive job creation and economic diversification. was conceived to be implemented through what we call “National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA)”.

Based on this value proposition, the idea should be a platform designed to allow every ecosystem player to participate based on win-win business models to create far-reaching network effects and offer values that never exist before. The concept of an adopted village implies that a farmer will have to be adopted before he/she has access to all the benefits the platform offers. This means farmers’ identity has to be verified and known. This solves a lot of problems peculiar to identity. The feature of “Knowing Your Customer (KYC)” physically and digitally makes NAVSA a unique value proposition.

The goal is to build digital capabilities and innovations across agriculture value chains to create massive jobs and improve the income and wealth of every ecosystem player. We want to attract millions of youths and talents into agriculture business and ensure agriculture data is available to promote innovations and new services.

As a matter of strategy, NAVSA is designed to take smallholder farmers to commercial level using a performance-based approach. The project targets graduates (between the age of 20 to 35 years) with prerequisite knowledge to participate in AgTech project. There is also a consideration for 35 years old and above to replicate experience and knowledge.

Our pilot project in Jigawa State has adopted 130 farmers with possibilities of creating additional 2,600 indirect jobs, increase farmers’ income by 30 per cent and contribute to the State’s economic development and national GDP. In line with the NAVSA strategy, this pilot phase has been able to provide each farmer with:

Profiling: that includes selection, screening, enrolment on a unique sim card, fieldwork for soil sampling and analysis;

Seed Fund: of One Hundred Thousand (N100, 000.00) Naira for activities that include farm inputs and harvesting. The inputs fund covers certified seeds, smart water pump machine, fertilizers, purchase of livestock, labour among others depending on the enterprise each farmer is engaged;

Integrated Web and Mobile platform: that helps farmers and other ecosystem players navigate their journey (customer journey) productively and profitably across the value chain. One of the most important strategies of NAVSA is the fact that all transactions are required to go through the platform with the aid of digital wallets. Funds are not allowed to exchange hands. It is a completely new innovation. Farmers’ registration automatically comes with two digital wallets: restricted and open wallets respectively. The One Hundred Thousand naira is paid into the restricted wallet. The only way a farmer will access the fund is through requests on the platform to a NAVSA registered input supplier of his choice in his State. At the end of the season, the farmer’s produce is off taken through a NAVSA registered off-taker who pays the money back into the farmer’s restricted wallet. At this point, 75% of the profit goes into the farmer’s open wallet where it can be cashed out. The capital plus the 25% balance of the profit goes into the restricted wallet where he/she can use the increased capital to reinvest the next season. We will follow up with the state government to ensure adopted farmers’ produce are off taking at a premium price. Furthermore, the platform comes with resources that allow each farmer to personally manage his/her farm. For instance, the platform comes with 5 days weather forecast at three hours interval, the knowledge base on different crops and livestock among others. We would build agricultural data over time to form big data for creating a new set of innovations and services.

Connectivity: NAVSA partners with telecom operators to develop a special package for adopted farmers. The package comes with special data every month on a 4G sim card and puts the adopted farmers on a closed user group (CUG). This allows farmers to make calls within themselves free of charge to share information and experience.

Capacity Building: One of the most important aspects of this program is capacity building for the farmers. Experts are engaged to deliver lecture covering Good Agriculture Practice (GAP), agriculture value chain, entrepreneurship skills and opportunities, market-oriented farming, digital agriculture skills among others. The training took place virtually in line with the guidelines on Covid-19 by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure agricultural activities are not badly affected as directed by the President. For the purpose of connectivity for the virtual training, we provided the farmers with bucket data to allow them attend the training.

With all these in place, we believe the sky is the starting point for our farmers to succeed. The sustainability of the project is premised on the ability of the system to make it obligatory for farmers to continuously reinvest with his current capital and 25% profit at the end of each season. In addition to this, NAVSA is designed as a performance-based platform. Farmers that perform beyond average overtime would be recommended to our financial and development partners for loans, grants and sponsorship. This is an exit strategy for farmers to get agriculture loans, grants and sponsorship and a guaranty for financial partners to recoup their loans. The development partners would see their funds being used judiciously for human and societal development.

I, therefore, call on agro-processing financial institutions, private sectors and development partners to see this as a good deal and put their money where their mouth is so that together we will all succeed. In the next coming years, we would be adopting more farmers in more states. However, there are criteria for selecting a participating state. The major selection criteria is the readiness of the State to provide necessary resources and support with probably counterpart fund, farmland for clustered farming, extension services, logistics among others.

On this note, I want to personally thank His Excellency, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, MON, mni, the Executive Governor of Jigawa State for providing the much-needed support and resources to ensure we get to where we are today. We encourage other State Governments to follow suit.

The target is to adopt farmers in all 36 States and 774 LGAs in the country, support and equip them with skills and resources that will make Nigeria one of the leading nations in food sufficiency, security and exportation.

We would start piloting the deployment and integration of smart technologies such as IoT, GIS technologies and geospatial analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Big data analytics, blockchain among other emerging technologies to develop smart agriculture solutions to add more value to the platform on sustainable business models. Also, we would be introducing modern greenhouses, farm automation, precision agriculture among others. These solutions will be targeted at high performing farmers.

At this juncture, I will like to note that this innovation is a product of research paper “Towards Diversification of Nigeria Economy through Smart Agriculture” published by the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami in June 2017 in International Journal of Computer Science and Information Technology Research. The implementation is to support the Federal Government’s digital economy focus especially in a critical sector of the economy as Agriculture in order to bring into reality the economic diversification of the President and ensure attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) two (2) of ending hunger and achieving food security by 2030.

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy will officially launch the NAVSA web and mobile platform and as well as NAVSA handbook in one of our public engagements that is coming up soon.

Finally, my sincere appreciation goes to His Excellency, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, MON, mni, the Executive Governor of Jigawa State and the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami for making this a reality. We also thank everyone in the State that has contributed to the success of this empowerment program and our guests for creating time out of their busy schedule to grace this occasion.

Thank you and God bless.

Friday, 10TH July, 2020

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON CYBER SECURITY- THE RISK AND RESPONSES

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

I am glad to be here and I appreciate you all for taking time out to attend this webinar.

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way we live our life. The onset of the pandemic has proven to be an extremely disruptive occurrence that has exacerbated the effects of several social issues previously unknown. Any form of physical contacts has been affected and authorities all over the world are trying to abate the spread of diseases by restricting movement, encouraging people to work from home. These led to another set of challenges, many of the workforce do not have the requisite knowledge or training on virtual or telepresence tools. The boom in the use of these platforms and increase in online activities by individuals, government and businesses led to increase in cyber incidences.

The new normal in-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pandemic where digital technologies are playing and will be playing major roles aggravate the threats of cybersecurity for all business organizations by offering various avenues in which cyber fraud can be carried out.

Working from home, some employees use their personal computers which are less secured than their office-issued equipment. Employees also used unsecured Wi-Fi that are more easily breached than office secured networks.

The effects of the pandemic confines people in their homes for many hours and forces then to rely on online services, that would have been offered offline if conditions were normal. This has created an avenue for cyber criminals to take advantage of the current situation by manipulating people to generate revenue for them.

Young students taking classes online are vulnerable part of the population that are susceptible to the tactics of cyber fraudsters. With more students participating in e-schooling, kids are more exposed to file-sharing abuse, inappropriate content. The elder population with less technical know-how now restricted to online purchases are also a vulnerable part of the population that would be more susceptible to fall victim of cybercrimes.

These cyber criminals target individuals that wish to seek more information on COVID-19 by sending phishing email pretending to be medical organization like the World Health Organization (WHO) or other federal agencies. New data collected by Google reflected a spike in phishing emails from the commencement of the lockdown. In January, Google recorded approximately 149 thousand phishing websites, in March alone, that number has increased to 552 thousand, increasing by 350% since January.

These phishing websites or emails direct users to malwares like viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware and spyware. In Italy, the law enforcement branch dealing with cybercrimes also reported an increase in scams in form of ads, emails fake websites, and even through phone calls and text messages. Similar to Italy and the rest of the world, Nigerians also experience phishing calls and messages that direct them to fraudulent sites. Some messages fake links claiming to be affiliates of the government requesting personal information like BVN in order to allot government palliatives. Others claim to be able to provide COVID-19 testing, and redirect individuals to site where they can provide their personal information. Another common cyber scam commonly done are the promises of investment opportunities; an email offering to supply COVID-19 related equipment it supplies at lower rates.

In addition to cyber-attacks on everyday people, countries have also reported attacks on government agencies. In the first week of April, the Spanish and Italian government experienced cyber-attacks in form of ransomware in their hospitals. During the same week, the WHO was also attacked.

Even the United States federal governments themselves have fallen victim of cyber frauds during this period. I am sure you are all aware of the Nigerian fraudster, Raymond Abbas, popularly known as “Hushpuppy” that was recently arrested by Dubai Police in collaboration with FBI for syphoning funds meant to relive American citizen during this pandemic, amongst other fraudulent offences. This crisis will definitely test the strength of the Nigerian cyberspace, and bitter lessons may be learned from what is experienced during this period.

So, what is NITDA doing to curb the increase of cybercrimes during this period?

We have been carrying out situational awareness campaigns in various media platforms to educate members of the public on the various ways and methods in which these cyber threats may appear and how to react to them. This has come in the form of press statements, advisories, social media posts, radio jingles, TV adverts etc.

We have upgraded our Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) to a world class standard for cyber incident response and management in the country. You are all invited to visit the centre to avail yourself of our activities.

The nation’s public key infrastructure (PKI) project is almost ready. On completion, that will strengthen digital identity, hence boost confidence in the conduct of digital and online services in Nigeria.

Cybercrime affects every sector of an economy, for effective coordination of measures to curb cybercrime and increase our resilience for a robust digital economy, there is a need for collaborations of stakeholders to yield desired results. We proposed to gather all stakeholders under a private sector driven umbrella tagged Nigerian Cybersecurity Alliance.

We believe with strategic partnership and collaboration, our combined effort will defeat the cybercriminals in Nigeria. It is Nigerian equivalent of Stay Safe Online in the USA. It will also serve as a model for other African countries to adopt. The functions of this multi-stakeholder coalition would include educating, sensitizing small and medium scale businesses, citizens and governments (regional and national) on ways to stay safe in cyberspace offerings.

So asides washing hands, physical distancing, and wearing protective masks, ensuring the public is cyber aware will go a long way in limiting the exposure of Nigerian citizens and organizations to related threats during this period.

I wish us fruitful and successful deliberations.

Thank you for your attention

Leadway assurance webinar on Nigerian government responses to cybersecurity

July 13, 2020

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT IN THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (4IR)

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is a privilege and honor for me to be at this webinar as a keynote speaker.

The topic assigned to me by the organizers is Information Technology Development in the 4th Industrial Revolution. I will start by explaining the idea of 4th Industrial Revolution. The 4th Industrial Revolution is characterized by a fusion of emerging, powerful technologies, which overcomes the borders between the physical, digital, and biological world. It is made possible by the enormous progress in miniaturization and the development of digital networks infrastructure, and by connecting powerful, autonomous microcomputers with each other, which has already radically transformed our working and living environment.

The 4th Industrial Revolution is a collective force behind many products and services that are fast becoming indispensable to modern life. With the explosive advancement in Information Technology, the 4th Industrial Revolution paves the way for unprecedented changes in the way we live and radically disrupting almost every sector. In addition, we have another disruption, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic!

In order to better understand the 4th Industrial Revolution, it’s of importance to focus on the technologies driving aspects, which are: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Block-chain, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality, Holographic storage, Nanotechnology, Robotics, Biotechnology, IOT and many others. As these technologies change, they are also transforming people’s expectations.

The effects of the global pandemic (COVID-19) confine many people and organizations to rely on information technology gained from rapid digitization, whereby things get done online without having to leave our homes.

Let’s look at some of the benefits Information Technology in the 4th Industrial Revolution offers: It will make connection of billions of people in less developed regions to digital networks possible, hence providing them access to knowledge and services. Dramatically improve the efficiency of organizations. FIR would help us to live more sustainably, to preserve or even regenerate our natural resources. Furthermore, it will make production much more flexible, efficient, tailor made and enables companies to efficiently meet requirements and expectation of consumers. In addition, it will creates value opportunities through new services and new forms of employment. In particular, it will offer significant opportunities for SMEs and start-ups which already play an important role. It can help us to respond to demographic change in the workplace: flexible career paths will enable people to keep working and remain productive for longer, which can partially compensate for the shortage of a skilled workforce because of demographic decline.

NITDA as a National IT regulating agency have a high responsibility to shape this transition in a way which allows citizens and societies to benefit from Information Technology Development in the 4th Industrial Revolution. It is very important we act quickly to avoid the developments overtake us. We are working hard in NITDA to come up with guidelines and framework for effective utilization by Nigerians of the gains and opportunities that will be provided by FIR. This is the reason we are ensuring that all stakeholders from civil society, private and public sector are fully involved in the decision-making. We do engage stakeholders in our rule making processes.

We are working round the clock in NITDA to balance the concerns and advantages of FIR. For instance, the fear of jobs loss after automation, as studies indicate that some jobs are vulnerable to automation over the next decade or two. Secondly, how companies and organizations get to adapt to the rapid transformation, security risks triggered by digitization. The ethical implications of widespread use of digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence products such as Robotic Soldier!

NITDA is quite aware of the concerns and we are and we will establish adequate regulatory system for new business models and services, while allowing the economy and the society to benefit from innovative ideas.

In order to adapt to the Information Technology Development in the 4th Industrial Revolution, We are developing new ones and updating regulatory framework putting into consideration economic, environmental and social aspects in a way it serves and benefit the people. One of our priority as a regulatory agency is to strengthen the innovation capacity of the IT industry, which is why we have been deploying hubs and technology infrastructures in various parts of the Nation. Furthermore, we provide assistance to SMEs, start-ups and researchers by funding projects in line with digital innovation.

In conclusion, it is important to note that with the 4th Industrial Revolution presenting both immense opportunities and challenges, utmost cooperation is required to ensure it benefits our economic, social, cultural, and individual lives.

Thank you for your attention

July 28, 2020

ADDRESSING COVID-19 IMPACT ON ICT STARTUPS AND CHALLENGE OF INCREASING INVESTMENT IN ICT SECTOR IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

May peace, mercy and blessings of the Almighty be upon you all.

It gives me great pleasure to be here at this webinar organized by Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) Kano and Abuja chapters

It is no longer news that, the COVID-19 Pandemic has affected every aspect of our lives. We are faced with at a future of uncertainty due to the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic. According to the June 2020 Global Economic Prospects by World Bank, the pandemic will result in in contractions across majority of emerging markets and developing economies. It forecasts 5.2% contraction in global GDP, this emphasizes the need for measures to cushion the impact on the pandemic on the economy. The pandemic has affected all sectors of the economy including the ICT sector.

However, while the pandemic has resulted in job losses and demise of many enterprises in various sectors, it has also led to entrepreneurial activities in some other sectors. Enterprises and individuals have shown increased creativity in tackling the challenges posed by the crises. In Nigeria, contribution of ICT sector to the GDP is rising, in the first quarter of 2020, the contribution rose to 14.07% against the 13.12% in the preceding quarter. This shows that the sector is critical to the economic growth of the country. Therefore, it is crucial to identify measures to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on this sector.

NITDA, as the agency in charge of regulating the ICT sector in the country, is at the forefront of creating initiatives/schemes to minimize the effect of the COVID-19 on the ICT sector, and in particular, the startup ecosystem. NITDA, with its two Special Purpose Vehicles- Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) and Office for Nigerian Content in ICT (ONC), established with the objective of fostering the growth of the technology Startup ecosystem and ensuring patronage of local content in ICT has engaged the startup ecosystem and identified several initiatives to support the ecosystem during and post pandemic era. Some of these initiatives include Work Permit for Technology Startups during lockdown; The Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge where three startups with the following solutions emerged winners, ventilator, decontamination chamber and e-Heath. Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme (TIESS) which have the following schemes; Incubation Programme; Technical Capacity Building, Internship Programme, Hub Upscaling. These schemes are designed to target various aspect with the ecosystems to achieve maximum positive effect on the ICT ecosystem. Another program on the pipeline is Startup Workspace Voucher program aimed at supporting your startup to each their financial challenges.

ITAN, thank you for this initiative, we in NITDA believes that with strategic partnership and collaboration with stakeholders, we can build a new Nigeria with a robust digital economy. However, Government cannot do it alone, we invite cooperate entities and individuals to contribute to the development of the ICT ecosystem through technical skill programs, Internship, hubs establishment and so on.

Thank you for listening. God bless you all, God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

A Webinar Held At Information Technology Association Of Nigeria (Itan) Kano And Abuja Chapters

28TH July 2020

EMERGING APPLICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRY 4.0 (EATI’2020)

A very good morning to all distinguished guests and participants

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is indeed a great honour and pleasure for me welcome you to this Webinar tagged “EMERGING APPLICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR INDUSTRY 4.0 (EATI’2020)”

Technology has profound impact on the way people live, interact and do business. The advancements and innovations in technology brings about a lot of opportunities. These opportunities brings about enhance productivity and also new categories of products and services.

Emerging applications and technologies are results of a need for progressive society. It’s all about satisfying the quest of the society. For example, we all want education systems that teach our kids to better tap into modern tools (technology), we want businesses that offer everything and anything digitized, personalized, and ideally operating in real-time, we want hospitals that can leverage on a more timely health information that provides faster and more definitive diagnoses. All these and many others, promote a culture of novel solutions to suit societal demands.

According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report on the Future of Jobs, advancements in the Internet of Things, advanced manufacturing, and new energy supplies and technologies are expected to play more of a role in the shifting workforce environment. The society at large is embracing brave new ideas and technologies at an unprecedented pace and scale.

In addition, the global pandemic, COVID-19 has triggered an unprecedented paradigm shift in the way we live, work and play. It has forced you and I to embrace new practices and remote everything. The new normal will dominantly be powered by innovative technology, and it will accelerate the development of the Digital Economy.

When it comes to emerging technology, NITDA as the apex IT Agency under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has continue to play crucial roles to strengthen the penetration of technology through various initiatives/programs and projects. The achievements these projects have brought so far are unprecedented.

At NITDA we focus on initiatives that provide the skeleton and flesh of the digital economy. It may interest you to know some of our modest achievements in NITDA in the following areas:

Firstly, Developmental Regulation – As the pandemic makes digital services more profound, we understood the convenience of remote engagement, and its drawbacks are now less disturbing, we believe there is going to be a silver lining in COVID-19. Microsoft estimates that there will be 149 million new technology jobs by 2025. There will be 1 million new jobs for privacy and trust, 6 million for cyber security, 20 million for data analysis, machine learning and Artificial Intelligence, AI, 23 million new cloud and data roles and 98 million software development jobs. During this pandemic, we have utilized the opportunity presented by the pandemic to work on the area of developmental regulations: Amongst the lots are : a supplementary guidelines on NDPR, BPO framework and strategy, Digital Asset management guidelines for FPIs, we are working on Blockchain adoption strategy, AI framework and strategy and Data exploration/analysis framework and strategy.

Secondly, on digital literacy and skills – In order to close the skill gap created as a result of technological advancement, we have embarked on training for all Nigerians. We are delivering the training remotely using our virtual learning platform and in person. So far, this year alone, we have more than 25 thousand Nigerians currently undergoing training on NITDA Academy program.

Thirdly, on Solid Infrastructure – within a year, we have deployed 80 Digital Job creation centers, 80 e-learning facilities, 3 IT Hubs, 4 Innovation and Incubation Parks, 6 IT Community Centers, and 3 IT capacity Building Centers for Higher Institution, unserved and underserved communities.

On Service Infrastructure, we are working with the technology and innovation ecosystem to strengthen software development. We have initiated a support scheme for both startups and IT hub managers. In addition we organize an innovation challenge whereby winners get funding and mentorship to develop marketable products and services.

On Digital Services Development & Promotion – we are implementing National Government Enterprise Architecture, National e-Government interoperability framework to promote government digital services.

On Soft Infrastructure – we have expanded our cybersecurity activity to tackle the rise in cybercrime that comes with the surge in using digital services. We have a dedicated Computer Emergency and Response and Readiness Team. We have scaled up our awareness campaign, deployed more preventive tools and recovery mechanism to make our cyberspace secure

On Emerging Technologies – we are exploring different smart initiatives to accelerate the growth of the digital economy in our country. We have recorded success with our National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture, NAVSA initiative, so far, 145 farmers were adopted and empowered on our to use digital, smart, and precision technology to improve their farm produce, and we are adopting additional 400 farmers this year. We have also started working on a massive open online course (MOOC) initiative for the Nigerian education system.

In today’s dynamic technological environment, with various Emerging Applications and Technologies, we are increasingly being tasked to do more with less. As this event is dedicated to harnessing the potentials of emerging technologies for sustainable national development. Innovating and leveraging technologies is key to development. This program has come at a crucial time and the best way to find new and innovative solutions is by bringing together innovative ideas to uncover new ways of understanding how to strengthen our approaches and technologies. When engaging with one other, I want you to have holistic view and think critically from a dynamic perspective.

I have high expectations that a number of practical ideas and proposals will emerge from this event, which we will be able to follow up in due course.

I want to thank you once again for your active participation, I wish this event every success and I very much look forward to hearing about positive outcomes.

Nigeria Computer Society Webinar

August 11-13, 2020

COVID-19 AND SECURING THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

May peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you and good morning.

With 588 audit reports filed, Nigeria is the data protection most compliant country in Africa. Would it amaze you to know that 28% of the reports filed are from you, the financial industry? This is unprecedented and has put you and your industry as NDPR most compliant sector.

COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating a paradigm shift in the way we live, work, and learn. It has forced you and I to embrace new practices such as social distancing and remote everything. Digital services will dominantly enable the new normal we are creating and data powers digital services. Before the digital revolution, customer trust was primarily based on product quality. But now, as our lives moved online—socially and financially, the trust has shifted to focus on how you protect customers’ data.

Your industry, the banking sector, is a primary target for data breach due to the perceived value of the underlying data. Therefore your pro activeness in compliance with NDPR and information technology standards and regulations is commendable. And it will build trust in your customers. Compared with other industries, you are fantastically doing well, but still, there is room for improvement for you to get to the promised land.

By and large, in Nigeria, NDPR is a success story. It may interest you to know that digital transformation is not something easy, but, since the issuance of the NDPR, we have turned the corner in our journey to Digital Nigeria. The level of compliance is growing at a fast rate. A key compliance indicator with the NDPR is the requirement to file a data audit report, and we are leading in Africa. Article 4.1(5) of the Regulation requires the filing of an initial data audit report and a subsequent annual audit report by every data controller and processor. This process provides a regulatory overview of the state of data governance in the reporting entity. Likewise, it has helped us understand the necessary intervention points to improve data governance, cyber-security, and privacy protection.

Before the introduction of the NDPR, no Nigerian entity could boast of compliance with data protection laws. Selected multinationals had some level of compliance imposed on them by their parent companies. However, it changed drastically within one year. From near zero compliance, the country has recorded impressive growth in data protection compliance. Nigeria now has a verifiable database of statutory audit reports filed by 588 entities. It is a significant leap considering the low level of awareness and various challenges faced by all stakeholders.

Initially, we had some resistance from various quarters as to NITDA’s statutory powers and capacity to implement the NDPR. The resistance helped to stimulate and focus the Agency on delivering valid results. Critical stakeholders represented by Data Protection Officers (DPO) have validated our innovative approach to NDPR implementation. And our role in pioneering data protection in Nigeria is also critical as the experiences garnered so far would be of immense benefit to the country.

In a survey conducted last month in July, 2020, 74% of the respondents opined that the NDPR met the need of the Nigerian environment; 76% said the unique introduction of Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCO) helped in their compliance with the NDPR. 72% noted that NITDA had provided the necessary support for industry adoption of the NDPR. The respondents put the rate of public awareness at 54%, which is the lowest score. But, 85.3% of the respondents stated that the NDPR compliance enhances good perception about their business.

Also, the respondents want us to take three top actions:

Firstly, increase public awareness;
secondly, upgrade the NDPR to an Act of the National Assembly; and
lastly but not the least, enforce punitive sanctions.

Before I stop, please permit me to share some of our modest achievements with you:

The African Union – Working Group on Data Protection Harmonization and Localization (Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa- PRIDA) has appointed NITDA as Vice-Chair of the working group

We have licensed 70 Data Protection Compliance Organization (DPCO)

The DPCO industry has created over 2,700 new jobs

We have inaugurated Data Breach Investigation Team in conjunction with the office of the Inspector General of Police

Data protection sector is valued at N1,860,000,000 (using median value of audit implementation cost)

We issued 230 compliance and enforcement notices within a year

8 data breach cases initiated and deposited with Police

We have resolved over 790 data breach issues

We have investigated, reprimanded, and fined Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) for breach. This case makes the first successful data breach case closed in Nigeria

We issued supplementary guidelines on Use of Personal Data by Public Institutions, 2020

We issued the NDPR Implementation Framework, 2020

Now you know our ambitious goals and our modest achievements in the journey so far, I invite you to review the three Lessons Learned with me:

Government can stimulate economic activities through regulations- WE SHOULD DO MORE!

COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption and increased privacy and cybersecurity risks- LET YOUR CUSTOMERS BE AWARE!

There is a need for more awareness on data privacy issues- WE NEED YOU ON-BOARD!

Together, the best is yet to come.

The Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigeria Financial Industry Conference August, 2020

LEVERAGING NATIONAL DATA FOR NIGERIA’S DIGITAL ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT

On 6th May 2017, the Economist published a story “The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.” Since then, the topic has generated a buzz phrase, “Data is the new oil,” and a great deal of discussion about big data. The problem is that the discussion usually focuses on why this is a bad thing. Sure, there are legitimate concerns about how tech giants are exploiting what they know about us. But at the same time, there are thousands of ways in which all this data can improve our economy.

The phrase “Data is the new oil” exposes certain similarities between data and oil. Just like oil, data needs refining before its actual value can be unlocked. Data also needs exploration and processing to extract its value or meaning significantly. However, this analogy is not always correct due to some dis-similarities between data and oil. In contrast, oil is a finite resource, and data is infinite and reusable, data also has more varieties than oil, and can easily be moved and transported from one point to the other.

As we embarked on our journey to Digital Nigeria, we need to lay a strong foundation for its corresponding economy, the digital economy. On the one hand, the physical world, as you know it today, is driven by physical natural resources, foremost among which is oil, but on the other hand, data is the primary resource that drives the digital economy.

It will amaze you to know that developed countries are already using big-data for:

monetary and fiscal policy formulation;
Anti-Money Laundering (AML);
Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT);

crime prediction and prevention (also called Digital Policing);
immigration control;
national defence/security management;
national planning and budgeting;
disaster prevention and management – among other uses.

To build a Digital Nigeria with a strong Digital Economy, we need to meet two criteria. Firstly we need to understand the digital needs and peculiarities of our citizens and develop policy and strategy. Our Ministry has achieved this under the leadership of Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the HM of Communications and Digital Economy. Secondly, we need a solid strategy for the exploration and management of our vital resource that drives Digital Nation and Digital Economy, which is data.

The essence of this Data Summit is to help us as a country meet the second criteria for building a successful digital nation and its corresponding digital economy —that is, a solid strategy for data exploration and management. Consequently, we are going to leverage the outcome of this summit and other existing national data regulations, guidelines, standards, and policies to develop a solid national data exploration and management strategy for our digital landscape. The strategy is aimed to achieve three objectives

Firstly, identify action items to transform the Nigerian big data landscape and help the government to develop the capabilities required for effective data exploration and management.

Secondly, to develop a comprehensive and time-bound road map of how we are going to explore and manage our big data.

Thirdly, to come up with an execution plan on how to close the gap between where we are currently and where we desire to be in the area of data exploration and management.

By and large, the initiative is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign promise in the area of Security, Economy, and Anti-corruption. If we harness data exploration, it will help us to improve our economy, fight corruption, and insecurity smartly.

Now that you know the objectives of this submit, I, therefore, invite you to contribute meaningfully on how we can Leverage Data exploration to build Digital Nigeria with a robust corresponding Digital Economy.

August 14th, 2020

DIRECTOR GENERAL’S OPENING REMARK AT THE NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NITDA) BUILDING COMMISSIONING

May Peace, mercy and blessing be upon you all and good morning.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to yet another epoch making event – the official commissioning of NITDA BLOCK ‘C’ Building for Digital Nigeria Houses here at the National Information Technology Development Agency.

Before I continue with my welcome address, let me specially acknowledge the presence of my boss and mentor, the chief host of today’s event, the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who has made out time to grace this occasion despite his busy schedules. His presence here today is a proof of his sustained support for the Agency.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, we are here today to witness the official commissioning of NITDA’s newly completed edifice poised to be the Nation’s model for top-notch Information and Technology centre with state of the art facilities such as Digital Media Studio, Digital Conference Room, Computer Emergency Response Office amongst others etc. This project is in line with the Agency’s vision and direction towards facilitating an effective service delivery, exclusively in line with the nation’s current drive towards a digital economy.

NITDA, under the leadership of the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has recorded considerable achievements and has made significant strides following the directive of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari to the Ministry to initiate and implement the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) towards a Digital Nigeria in a bid towards creating growth and diversifying the nation’s economic productivity.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, you may wish to recall that the unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which has accelerated the transition to a more digitally enabled lifestyles and ways of working has brought about a ‘new normal’ globally with new opportunities and possibilities being unlocked by digitalization.

Little wonder 25 people suddenly became the richest people in the world after making $255 billion within two months of the global lockdown. This is what we call ‘power of digitization’.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, may I also use this opportunity to inform everyone here that today’s occasion is also an avenue to announce the Agency’s decision to rebrand its corporate image and operations. This idea was conceived out of the Agency’s desire to reposition and re-strategize its operations in effective service delivery and optimal performance in view of the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

The re-branding process which involved an intense strategic review, assessment of the Agency’s manpower, resources alignment of existing projects and articulation of Agency’s policies, operational rules and regulations will include the following core areas:

The Organization’s Logo

The Organization’s Mission and Vision Statements

The Organization’s Corporate Culture/Core Values

You may wish to note that in this era we find ourselves, (The Digital Era), the most successful governments and institutions are mastering the art of increasing service delivery and performance through human capital development.

It is therefore on this note that we believe with today’s commissioning of the NITDA Block C Building for Digital Nigeria Houses, and the Re branding of the Organization’s corporate image and operations, NITDA will sooner than later begin to witness bee-hive of innovation and technological activities and hence Africa’s largest ICT Hub.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, this invitation to you all is therefore a clarion call for you to join us in our humble effort towards making a difference in our march towards a sustainable Digital Economy.

Let me conclude by appreciating the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, for his unflinching support for the Agency. To our sister Agencies, Stakeholders, Partners and most sincerely, to all our distinguished guests here today, we say a very big thank you for honoring our invitation.

It is my utmost prayer that the new facility to be commissioned today would be for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

Thank you for listening and May God bless us all.

OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 8TH DIGITAL AFRICA VIRTUAL CONFERENCE 2020

May Peace, mercy and blessing be upon you all and good morning. It is with great pleasure that I welcome to you all to this year’s 8th edition of Digital Africa 2020 Conference. This occasion is in line with our mandate at NITDA, which is to develop the Information Technology (IT) sector of Nigeria, by setting up the essential regulatory and governance apparatuses that will stimulate the growth of the IT ecosystem. Africa is a continent truly blessed with opportunities, and events like this give us the opportunity to reflect on the untapped potentials we have in this continent. The world is currently witnessing a significant global transformation, facilitated by technology and digital media, fueled by data and Information Communication Technology.

However, the African continent with abundant potentials in ICT cannot be left behind. Therefore, the ICT transformation in the continent is gradually connecting the unconnected areas in development looking at almost all the facets of government and non-governmental services. This ranges from education, finance, agriculture and businesses that harness ICT. Increasingly, there is continuous optimism in international circles about Africa’s potential for growth and development. So far, digitizing Africa has been predominately driven by private sector technology actors. But growing interest by African governments has seen the start of conversations around the adoption of emerging technologies such as the use of drones for medical supply deliveries, robotics in surgeries, telemedicine and sensors for proximity monitoring, adopting and accepting ICTs into the different aspects of agricultural sector.

In Nigeria, NITDA, under the leadership of the Honourable Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has recorded considerable achievements and has made significant strides following the directive of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari to the Ministry to initiate and implement the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) towards a Digital Nigeria in a bid towards creating growth and diversifying the nation’s economic productivity. Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, you may wish to recall that the unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which has accelerated the transition to a more digitally enabled lifestyles and ways of working has brought about a ‘new normal’ globally with new opportunities and possibilities being unlocked by digitalization.

You may also recall that our ministry’s key agenda is the transformation of the economy to information and knowledge-based for delivering a robust digital economy. We in NITDA believe that the main driver of this agenda is secured cyber space. I am glad to inform you that NITDA has initiated several policies and programs to ensuring a cyber space that is secured and dependable for businesses to thrive thereby encouraging foreign direct investment. We have expanded our cyber security department and building more capacities to be able to handle cybercrime in Nigeria. The department carries out periodic awareness program to enlighten Nigerians on nitty-gritty of the cyber space. In addition, NITDA’s Computer Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) is always ready to guide Nigerians on what to do, when cyber breaches occur and who to report to.

We have upgraded our CERRT to a world class standard for cyber incident response and management in the country. Furthermore, the nation’s public key infrastructure (PKI) to strengthen digital identity is almost ready, hence boost confidence in the conduct of digital and online services in Nigeria. Furthermore, over the years NITDA has been engaged in different IT development programs and projects aimed at developing ICT and other socioeconomic sectors of the country. Some of our current projects and programs include the training of people with special needs, NITDA Academy for Research and skill acquisition and Nigeria Data protection Regulations and we have trained many Nigerians within the educational system, government, and local communities in different areas of IT.

Ladies and gentlemen, there are so many success stories of ICT penetration in African countries. Additionally, the conference comes at a critical time of Covid-19 pandemic that drags our economy to unprecedented stage. However, to succeed, we need to improve our technology innovation to defeat the current challenges. With these few words, I wish you a very successful deliberations and I hope the outcomes of the event will be made available in good time to policy makers, ICT practitioners and relevant stakeholders for actions.

God bless you all, and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Africa at large.

Thank you

Saturday, August 25th, 2020

OVERVIEW OF NDPR PERFORMANCE REPORT

There will be obstacles, there will be doubters, there will be mistakes, but with hard work- there are no limits (Michael Phelps). This quote summarizes our incredible Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) implementation journey. It all started on 25th January 2019 when the then NITDA Director General, now Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami FNCS, FBCS, FIIM issued the NDPR as a subsidiary legislation. That step was the tonic needed to catalyze a series of outcomes that would have been hitherto only imagined.

On 25th May, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union (EU) came into force. The GDPR impacted our small and medium enterprises who hitherto supplied goods and services to European-affiliated businesses or persons. The GDPR shut out thousands of Nigerians and we felt the need to use our mandate as provided in Section 6(a,c) of the NITDA Act, 2007 to issue a national regulation that meets the basic tenets of data protection law while also providing a framework to catalyse compliance.

Upon becoming the Director General of NITDA, Dr Pantami refocused the Agency to actualize its mammoth information technology regulatory, advisory and developmental mandates. The renewed focus came at the right time considering the fact that the receipt on oil revenue was sinking low and the need for innovative thinking became a matter of urgent national importance. These were the propelling factors that made the NDPR a critical regulation that we felt must be issued without delay.

I am happy to report that in view of the immense leadership support received from President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy and stakeholders within the public and private sector, we have achieved significant milestones in the implementation of the NDPR. The publication of an annual report by data protection authorities is a global best practice. Aside from Mauritius that published its report in December, 2019, we dare say Nigeria is the only African country that has published an annual report in Africa for the year 2020.

Our distinguished Chief Host and Honourable Minister, ladies and gentlemen, permit me to briefly highlight some of the achievements we recorded in the implementation of the NDPR from January 2019 to July, 2020:

NITDA was appointed as the Vice Chair of the African Union (Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa- PRIDA) Working Group on Data Protection Harmonization and Localization.

⮚ Licensing of 70 Data Protection Compliance Organizations

⮚ Over 2,686 new jobs roles created

⮚ The Data Breach Investigation Team was inaugurated in conjunction with the office of the Inspector General of Police

⮚ Data protection sector is valued at N2,295,240,000 (using the median value of audit implementation cost)

⮚ The Federal Government earned the sum of N12,650,000 from DPCO licensing and Audit report filing

⮚ 230 compliance and enforcement notices were issued

⮚ 8 data breach cases initiated and deposited with the Police

⮚ Over 790 issues were resolved.

⮚ Lagos Internal Revenue Service breach was investigated a punitive fine was imposed and remedial inspection visit has been conducted. This case makes the first successful data breach case closed under the NDPR

⮚ Issuance of Guidelines on Use of Personal Data by Public Institutions, 2020

⮚ The NDPR Portal for filing of audit reports and reporting of breaches, launched.

⮚ The NDPR Implementation Framework 2020 issued

We have also experienced a number of challenges which we are working on daily to bring the best value to the digital economy sector. The main challenges to the NDPR implementation are- inadequate awareness, paucity of human and financial resources and bottleneck to data breach investigation and prosecution among others. These challenges notwithstanding, I dare say NITDA staff have been highly innovative and professional in performing this herculean task.

The NDPR has shown our capacity for innovative and developmental regulation, there is however, still much more to be done. I am happy the new Bill on Data Protection is on its way to the National Assembly. They say, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. A lot of things have worked in the NDPR which need no replacement. The Data Protection Compliance Organization model, focus on compliance rather than enforcement and NITDA’s strategic relationship with regulators on the African continent and beyond are areas the proposed Data Protection Commission should endeavor to replicate and strengthen.

NITDA is willing, able and ready to support the Commission with necessary capacity, advisory and strategies to help it achieve its mandate.

On this note, I am delighted to welcome the Honourable Minister, heads of government agencies, leaders of business, members of the press corps and the public to this epoch making event.

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention.

Public Presentation Of The Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) Performance Report 2019-2020Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja

9th October, 2020

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND CYBERSECURITY

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour and privilege to be here with you today at the 2020 International Legislative – Stakeholders Conference on digital technology and cybersecurity to deliver an opening remark. NITDA as a collaborating Agency recognizes the fact that cybercrime is a threat to individuals, businesses, organizations and countries. Hence, mitigating it is everybody’s business. The legislative arms of the Government has a critical role play.

Cybersecurity is an integral and important component for a robust digital economy. The cybersecurity study in 2019 by Demadiur Systems Limited revealed that Nigerian banks, insurance companies and government institutions participating is a global digital economy spent an estimated sum of $270.22 million in 2018 alone. Nigerian companies recorded 2nd highest percentage of global cyberattacks as reported in July 2020 in a survey by Sophos Group plc, a British security software and hardware company. It is revealed that 86% of Nigerian companies fell prey to cyberattacks within the past year. The second highest percentage recorded globally after India and much higher than in South Africa with 64%.

As businesses embrace emerging technology solutions like Internet-of-Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, and cloud computing, their exposure to cyberattacks will increase. In June this year, Gartner reported that Information security spending is expected to grow 2.4% to reach $123.8 billion in 2020. The coronavirus pandemic is driving short-term demand in areas such as cloud adoption and remote worker technologies.

Therefore, this conference is apt and timely, as it will give us opportunities to rethink cybersecurity in the digital transformation age. We in NITDA believe that the main driver of the Digital Economy agenda of the Federal Government is a secured cyberspace and well-informed citizenry in terms of cyber hygiene.

As the Apex IT regulator in Nigeria, we are trying our best through subsidiary legislation such as standards, policies, frameworks and guidelines to proactively protect and secure our cyberspace. We also engage in awareness programmes and initiatives to ensure we have enlightened citizens.

I am glad to inform you that NITDA, through the subsidiary legislation and awareness programmes, has orchestrated several initiatives at ensuring our cyberspace that is secure and dependable for businesses to thrive thereby encouraging foreign direct investment.

One of such subsidiary legislation is Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). This regulation protects data and privacy of Nigerians in the cyberspace which in turn strengthen the business Nigeria business space. This is one regulation that has given Nigeria accolade within and outside Nigeria. The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy just launched the NDPR performance report 2019-2020 on 9th October, 2020.

Furthermore, we have established a dedicated unit, Computer Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) to coordinate and guide Nigerians on what to do, when cyber breaches occur and who to report to. The team carries out both preventive and proactive measures to secure our cyber space by offering advisory services to MDAs on incidence reporting, event management and situational awareness. Our cybersecurity department carries out periodic awareness program to enlighten Nigerians on the potential of cyber security threats and vulnerabilities in the cyberspace.

We ensure capacity is built to prepare for the future. For instance, our staff is currently undergoing a two-week workshop at the George Marshall Security Centre in Cybersecurity Workforce Development program. The outcome will be presented as an input to the National Cybersecurity Strategy Review currently ongoing.

Furthermore, the National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is ready for certificate generation to strengthen digital identity, hence boost confidence in the conduct of digital and online services in Nigeria.

Our October month awareness program is ongoing. This event is an indication of NITDA’s resolve to collaborate with stakeholders to mitigate the menace of cybercrime in Nigeria.

We are happy to be part of this year’s edition of the conference. Because of the importance of cybersecurity on the digital economy, NITDA is open and willing to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure our cyberspace is secure and safe for everyone to transact.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for a more secure national cyberspace.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

2020 International Legislative – Stakeholder Conference At NAF Conference Centre Abuja, Nigeria

12th October, 2020

THE CLOSING CEREMONY OF THE CAPACITY BUILDING FOR MEMBERS OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP (DT-TWGs) OF FEDERAL PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS (FPIs)

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It gives me great pleasure to be here with you at this closing ceremony. You will all recall that the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), based on the directive of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on November 28, 2019, at the opening ceremony of the e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibitions and Awards, had on Thursday 27th August, 2020 inaugurated the chairmen of Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DT-TWGs) across the first phase of the Federal Public Institutions (FPIs).

The Honourable Minister also launched the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) portal and asked the DT-TWGs Chairmen to immediately inaugurate their members in various organizations. At the inauguration, I promised that NITDA would embark on a massive train the trainer capacity building programme to empower the DT-TWGs members.

Your organizations are the first set of Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) in which we had carried out assessment of IT systems, digital services and capabilities to identify gaps. We carefully selected 100 Federal Government Agencies and Twenty Four Federal Ministries for this first phase. Therefore, you are the first Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups to be established.

By virtue of responsibilities, you are to coordinate the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), National e-Government Master Plan (NeGMP) and any digital transformation-related activities in the public sector at the Federal level. You are to ensure that all IT projects are designed and implemented in accordance with the provision of the Nigerian Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) and the Nigeria e-Government Inter-operability Framework (NeGIF).

It is widely recognized that public service is the engine room for the implementation of Government policies and programmes. Building the capabilities of Government officials to deliver on Government’s mandates should be the number one priorities of any Government. As the apex IT development and regulating Agency, your capabilities to deliver on the Federal Government digital economy mandates is our primary focus.

Accordingly, we recognize that building your capabilities should be the first point of call. The aim is to empower and enable you to carry out your responsibilities efficiently. This is our priority and it will not be subjected to lip service.

Because of the importance of your responsibilities, we designed and planned the contents and the learning objectives of the training with appropriate tasks to ensure effective class interactions, teaching and learning. We believe this should be sufficient enough to guide you in making the right decisions and taking appropriate actions leading to successful digital transformation in your various organizations.

The training has the following twelve courses:

National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS) & Nigeria e-Government Master Plan (NeGMP);

Digital Transformation: Public Sector Perspective;

Government Digital Service (GDS) Innovation;

.GOV.NG Domain Management & Sensitization;

Implementation of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) and Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF);

Implementation of the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT by FPIs;

IT Clearance Requirements and Processes;

ICT Systems Security in the Public Sector;

IT Project Management;

Organizational Change Management;

Government Business Processes Management and Digitization Approach; and

Implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR): Public Sector Perspective

Since this capacity building programme is a foundation course on Government Digital Transformation, we have decided to make it highly competitive and ensure everyone is examined before he or she is awarded with a certificate. The following analysis presented the outcome of the exercise:

A total of 126 FPIs including NITDA and Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy were invited for the programme;

A total number of 442 members of DT-TWGs from 89 FPIs were successfully trained and awarded with certifications; and

With the feedback I have been receiving, I am very glad and proud of you all. I can say with all sense of responsibilities that you are the most capable public servants as far as strategic directions of the Federal Government on Digital Economy is concerned. You are the champions of digital transformation for your various organizations. I believe you are now in possession of basic skills and knowledge to carry out your responsibilities successfully in your various organizations. NITDA is there to support you on your journey towards digital transformation.

I want to promise you that I will work with the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to ensure that all your concerns raised during this interactions are properly addressed to the latter.

At this juncture, I want to sincerely appreciate you for participating in this programme. I wish you all the best and successful training.

Thank you.

Thursday 22Nd October, 2020

UTILIZING GALAXY BACKBONE DIGITAL SERVICES PLATFORM

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

Ladies and Gentleman, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you once again to another capacity building program hosted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in partnership with Galaxy Backbone Ltd.

Nigeria as a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) has a decade to consolidate efforts to achieving the Global Goals. This is on the backdrop of steering and charting a diversified Nigerian Economy as postulated by the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

The global Covid – 19 pandemic has driven economies into recession and Nigeria is also suffering the impacts. Adoption and use of digital technologies has skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic taking us faster into the 4th industrial revolution than previously planned.

To counter the aftermath of the pandemic, the Nigerian Government Developed the Economic Sustainability Plan 2020 which has fundamentally strong digital elements to ensure Nigeria recovers quickly from the Covid – 19 shocks.

Currently, Nigeria sits at 141st position on the United Nations e-Government Development Index of 2020, 131st on the World Bank ease of doing business, 116th on the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness index and sadly we are in a second consecutive quarter of negative GDP growth. The Q3 Report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics shows the economy contracted by -3.62% in Q3 of 2020 against -6.10% in Q2 2020.

You may recall at the launching of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR in November 2019, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy was mandated to build the capacity of Ministries Departments and Agencies in the area of Digital Transformation for diversification of the Economy, improving security and fighting corruption.

Also, One of the five policies necessary for implementation of the Nigerian E-Government Master plan is “Powerful Leadership” through champions across the service to own, be responsible for and drive digital transformation in Government. These champions are none other than you all here.

The global landscape is changing and the playing field is evolving. As a Nation of vibrant youth and high potential, it falls on us all as leaders in our respective domain to take strategic actions. These actions however must be informed, taking advantage of available resources in a collaborative and innovative manner.

The Nigerian Government has made significant investments in in Galaxy Backbone Limited to ensure that its data remains local, its services are more efficient, convenient and cheaper to the citizenry.

I implore you all to take decisive steps on your digital transformation journey to ensure that Nigeria is transformed from a resources-based economy to a knowledge based economy.

Thank you.

THE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS OF THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP (DT-TWG)

THE NATIONAL DIGITAL ECONOMY DAY

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

Today is historical as we officially earmark a day to celebrate our nascent Digital Economy. The journey started when His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, re-designated the Federal Ministry of Communications as the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy on the 17th of October, 2019. The re-designation reflects the focus of Mr President’s emphasis on accelerating a Digital Economy that can compete globally.

The Digital Economy is developing at a remarkable rate and it has been widely accepted as the single most important driver of Innovation, Competitiveness and Growth. The digital economy is fundamentally transforming the way societies, businesses including the business of governance operate and deliver services.

A focus on growing the National Digital Economy will also improve the nation’s traditional economy and will enable us to get a slice of the Global Digital Economy, which Oxford Economics values at $11.5 trillion dollars or approximately 16% of the Global Economy. This value is expected to grow significantly over the coming years. McKinsey and Company has predicted that the Digital Economy in Africa is expected to grow to over $300 billion by 2025. The World Economic Forum predicts that over 60% of global GDP will be digitized by 2022 and that over the next decade, digital platforms will be used to create close to 70% of new value and jobs. Most nations are prioritizing the need to develop their digital economies because they realize the multiplier effects that this can have on all other sectors of the economy.

In view of these facts, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria was developed in collaboration with critical stakeholders; unveiled and launched by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on the 28th of November, 2019. The NDEPS is based on the following 8 pillars:

Developmental Regulation;

Digital Literacy and Skills;

Soft Infrastructure;

Service Infrastructure;

Digital Services Development and Promotion;

Soft Infrastructure;

Digital Society and Emerging Technologies; and

Indigenous Content Promotion and Adoption.

I am glad to report to you that implementation of the NDEPS has seen Nigerian ICT sector contributing 17.83% to the country GDP. This is unprecedented! This is just the ICT sector alone. ICT is an enabler of other sectors. Will you imagine the value digital technologies is contributing to financial, entertainment, oil, services, health, energy, transport, security, agriculture, tourism among others. If this can be computed, I am sure ICT/digital technologies will be contributing far more than that. I can say the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim is doing excellently well. He has succeeded in laying the foundation for Digital Economy and Digital Nigeria. This started when he was the Director General NITDA. I think he deserves recognition.

On our own part, as the apex IT development and regulating Agency, we continue on this pedestal and keep supporting the achievements. NITDA is at the Centre of this Digital Economy agenda and we have rolled out different initiatives in support of Digital Nigeria.

On developmental regulation, we are implementing different regulatory instruments such as Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA), Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy and Strategy (NCCP), Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF), Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV), Guidelines for Nigeria Content Development in ICT among others. The aim is to create an enabling environment for the development and effective adoption of digital technologies and innovations in every sector of the economy.

There are different initiatives to build the capacity of Nigerians as captured by Digital Literacy and Skills pillar of NDEPS. We are striving to create platforms for Nigerians to continue building digital literacy and skills. Such platforms are Digital Nigeria Portal in collaboration with Microsoft, NITDA Academy for Research and Training, Digital Nation Africa in collaboration with IBM. In fact, we just finished intensive training for 442 members of Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups (DT-TWGs) in 89 Federal Public Institutions. With the feedback received, we believe the digital transformation in the public sector is on the right path.

To develop our solid infrastructure, the Honourable Minister was able to get the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to declare ICT infrastructure a National Critical Infrastructure. The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025) has been developed to address challenges with connectivity in Nigeria. Among other things, the new Broadband Plan 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 a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data (i.e. 2% of median income or 1% of minimum wage). Our target is to achieve 70% internet penetration by 2025. We will continue to collaborate with the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) and other relevant stakeholders to achieve this target.

On Service Infrastructure, NITDA is collaborating with relevant organization to ensure Nigeria e-Government Master Plan is implemented to the latter. We are driving this with initiatives such as Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA), Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF), Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy and Strategy (NCCP), online platform service.gov.ng for single window access to Government Digital Services.

Digital Services Development and Promotion pillar is to create opportunities for job creation by promoting Innovation Driven Enterprise (IDEs). We are creating an enabling environment for jobs creation, not only in the public sector but mainly in the private sector. The new models created for implementing Nigeria Data Protection Regulation through licensing of Data Protection Compliance Organization is geared towards job creation. This has created a new industry with thousands of jobs recorded.

In addition, we have also initiated Nigeria Smart Initiative (NSI) to promote the integration of digital technologies and innovations in every sector of the economy. We are currently targeting Agriculture, Education and Health sectors. For instance, the agriculture sector remains a strategic sector for job creation and economic diversification in Nigeria. Nigeria has a competitive edge in Agriculture because of the vast and cultivable landmass and the huge percentage of the digital native youth population. In partnership with relevant stakeholders, we created an agriculture platform called National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA). The idea is to unlock opportunities in Agriculture by leveraging the possibilities of digital technologies to create a network effect of demand and supply, connect agricultural ecosystem players and make the business of farmers and other stakeholders along the value chain much more productive, efficient and rewarding. Over 150 farmers have been empowered under the pilot while work is ongoing to train and empower additional 400 farmers under the second phase.

Soft Infrastructure is to strengthen public confidence in the use of digital technologies and participation in the digital economy. NITDA has embarked on massive awareness creation on cybersecurity. We just concluded the cybersecurity awareness week. We have a dedicated Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) Centre that attend to issues around cyber threats. In addition to this, we are building the National Public Key Infrastructure to safeguard and secure our cyberspace among the comity of nations. This will promote confidentiality, the integrity of information and availability of digital technologies in our cyberspace.

The Digital Society and Emerging Technology pillar focuses on tying the development of the digital economy to indices of well-being in the lives of the ordinary citizens. We have focused our campaign on skills rather than degrees. We want to accelerate digital inclusion in the country. For us to achieve this pillar, we have initiated different programmes aimed at providing a conducive environment, through the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), one of our subsidiaries, to keep supporting the start-up ecosystem. We have come up with different IT project interventions such as Digital Capacity Building Training Centres (DTTCs), IT Hubs, IT Community Centres, IT Innovation and Incubation Parks with the aim of bridging the digital divide and provide access to the underserved and unserved population.

In addition, we are coming up with strategies for mainstreaming emerging technologies in different sectors of the economy. We would soon launch the Blockchain Strategy for the country. We are planning to establish a centre for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This will drive the adoption of AI in relevant sectors of the economy. Digital ID is a bedrock for societal development. We would work with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to ensure every Nigerian is uniquely identified.

The last pillar is the Indigenous Content Promotion and Adoption. Indigenous content in ICT is very dear to our heart. With this pillar, we are creating a conducive environment to ensure preference for digitally skilled Nigerians for government-funded projects in line with the Executive Orders 003 and 005 of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR. Implementation will conserve foreign exchange for the country and boost exports which will ensure “Made in Nigeria” digital economy products are of globally accepted quality. We have charged The Office for Nigerian Content Development in ICT (ONC) to ensure there is considerable development in indigenous Content Promotion and Adoption. In addition, the implementation of the new Outsourcing Framework and Strategy will make Nigeria a global outsourcing destination for digital jobs. Nigerians have the quality, the skills and knowledge to make it happen.

We would continue to break ground by making sure the government is leading the way to creating a digital society that will transform every economic sector. Going digital in all sectors is the optimal route to attain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for any government.

The Nigeria of our dream is a situation where the country will no more depend on oil for its economic, social and political sustainability rather a Digital Nigeria where strong institutions are built for digital revolution that unlocks opportunities in every sector of the economy for national sustainable development. We will facilitate ICT-enabled government transformation that will turn our financial constraints to financial freedom; poor public services to improved and satisfactory services; widespread corruption to a transparent and accountable government; and digital divide to a knowledge-based economy.

The dream again is to promote the integration of digital technologies and innovations in our society where every Nigerian irrespective of geopolitical zones, tribe, background, language, religion is guaranteed equal opportunity to resources, access to justice and rule of law and a Digital Nigeria where all of us will have pride in.

At this juncture, I want to sincerely appreciate you all for participating and celebrating our digital economy day. I wish you all the best as we collectively transforming Nigeria into a digital society of our dream.

Thank you.

Monday 23rd October, 2020

STRATEGIC CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM FOR MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

Distinguished ladies and Gentlemen, you are all welcome to the NITDA Strategic Capacity Building Workshop For Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government. This workshop is organized based on feedback received from various stakeholders of the need to strengthen the leadership and governance components of the Digital Transformation Agenda. Political will has been identified as the most important critical success factor in enabling the transformation of government services from paper-based method to more efficient digitally re-designed services putting citizens firsts and giving effect to the provisions of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order 001 on ease of doing business.

Our dear country is facing critical challenges of slow economic growth, high unemployment rates, the Covid – 19 pandemic and social unrest fueled by large disparities in income, low levels of education and poverty.

The Nigerian economy was dealt a severe blow by the oil price slump and Covid-19 induced restrictions in the second quarter of 2020. Economic activity collapsed by – 6.1% in Q2 2020 but recovered to -3.62% in Q3 of 2020. Data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Nigerian Capital Importation dropping by 77.88% in Q2 of 2020, signaling low confidence in the Nigerian economy by investors.

Following Nigeria’s ranking 131 out of 190 countries on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business Index in 2020, it is clear that major reforms are needed and efforts must be made to provide a more enabling environment for economic growth and development.

There are fundamental steps by the Government and willingness to leapfrog digital service delivery in Nigeria. This is demonstrated by the launching of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and the National Broadband Plan 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Major reforms can only be achieved through implementation of Pillar 5 of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy on “Government Digital Services Development and Promotion” and aggressive growth in the Digital Economy and Services Sector. In the third quarter (Q3) of 2020, Contribution to GDP by the services sector was 54.39% and ICT contribution to real GDP was 17.83% in Q2 with broadband penetration increasing to 40.18%.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) as mandated under its Act of 2007 has over the last 5 years, recorded major successes in raising the level of awareness on the need for e-government and serving as a clearing house for Public Sector ICT projects, ensuring that the adopted e-Government master plan is implemented for better efficiency, transparency and accountability in government.

Globally, the Internet has brought about fundamental changes in the way we live, work and interact causing exponential growth in digital sectors, and the rise of the model of the digital economy. The Global digital economy is estimated at over $11 trillion US dollars while the value of e-commerce was estimated to have reached $29 trillion in 2017, more than a quarter of global GDP.

On the fringes of the 4th Industrial Revolution are technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, machine learning, blockchains and 3D printing poised to change our world in ways we can only begin to imagine. Consequently, unfolding before us now are not just opportunities, but also complexities, uncertainties and challenges that we must be ready to address. These changes will affect our local farmers and traditional trade and businesses. Artificial intelligence is changing the nature of jobs and reducing the demand for labor. Less people will be required in the traditional workforce with more people required in the new workforce.

Threats in the cyberspace are becoming more advanced and complex at times leading to collapse in critical infrastructure for both businesses and governments. Fake news and “deep fakes” are blurring the truth and causing havoc in society and greatly challenging stability we know as Nation States. Cyber security is a concern for all now. Digital technologies enabled by the internet have multiples implications for economic, political, governance and social dimensions.

NITDA gives top priority to digital capacity development in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for an inclusive digital economy and society. It has now become even more important for all stakeholders in government, industry and academia to come together to find sustainable digitally enabled solutions to our challenges.

The Nigerian Public Sector cannot cope and provide services with current realities without the use of technology at the spread, scale and depth required by citizens and an ever-growing population. It falls upon us all as leader in our various organizations to chart a way forward together collaborating, learning and sharing our experiences. I hope this workshop will serve as a call to even more action to ensure that future digital transformation projects do not fail and are able to facilitate more efficient, transparent and effective service delivery.

Thank you

Wednesday 25TH October, 2020

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND ECONOMIC PLAN

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

As with everything in this earth, technology also evolves. Right from the stone age, we have seen steady changes on our way of life and technology. Starting from the first industrial revolution where mechanization, steam and water power was the driver. Closely followed is the industry 2.0 where the invent of electricity and mass production was the mainstay. The third industrial revolution was driven by powerful, IT systems, automation. Since advanced IT systems has been developed in the in 3.0, the 4IR is building on the third by the convergence of biological, physical and digital system. In a nutshell, industry 4.0 is anchored on cyber physical system. What is next? Emerging technologies.

The technologies general refers to as emerging technologies are.

Artificial Intelligence- an overarching term that describes intelligence in system. Earlier expert systems were mostly known as AI products. Currently, Machine learning, soft computing, and natural language processing is all loosely covered under artificial intelligence.

Internet of things- This day million devices are connected. With better broadband, convergence of physical and digital world. Everything in our home, cities, farms will get connected

Cobots- Robots are evolving into collaborative agents. Cobots are now part of workforce to complement human efforts in dangerous task such as firefighting, boring and monotonous task. These free up employees for more brain tasking and cognitive decision making tasks.

Augmented reality/Virtual- in an emerging technology that combines the real world and digital world for an immersive experience.

Big Data-As the digital revolution is fast changing our life, society environment and people, the enormous data generated is at the centre of this revolution. Information is wealth and power. 4IR allows changes made to data to information. Big Data harnesses massive data management and interpretation. The interpretation is used in our day to day decision making, business intelligence,

3D and 4D- Currently, these technologies are applied for rapid design of prototypes. 3D and 4D are used mainly in modelling, design and architecture.

Others technologies are

Genome editing

Holographic storages

Quantum computing

Nanotechnology

It is clear that the choice we made now will affect our life in the next few decades regarding technologies. Nigeria cannot be left behind in the application of emerging for national development and the improve the standard of living for the citizenry. The journey of reforms in Nigeria ICT sector started in 2001 with the National ICT policy. Until 2007 when the NITDA act was passed into law. The act empowers NITDA to “create a frame work for the planning, research, development, standardization, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of Information Technology practices, activities and systems in Nigeria and all matters related thereto and for that purpose, and which without detracting from the generality of the foregoing shall include providing universal access for Information Technology and systems penetration including rural, urban and under-served areas;

With the above mandate, you will all agree with me that NITDA is saddled with the responsibility of guiding Nigeria to a Digital Nigeria. In order to carry out these mandates we structured the Agency into Departments, Units and subsidiaries. As the drive to Industry 4.0 commences, we recently restructured the Agency to accommodate the new realities of emerging technologies.

For effective utilization of 4IR for national development, we have to set priority first. As part of NITDA,s priority setting process, we commissioned an internal committee to liaise with international bodies and tech giant to develop a national Artificial Intelligence Strategy for development. In the TOR, we specifically directed the committee to identify critical areas of national needs where Nigeria can take advantages emerging technologies

Furthermore, we designed a National Blockchain Adoption Strategy. We are setting up a new subsidiary as Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Research, Robotic and Emerging technologies. The National Outsourcing Strategy is ready for stakeholder review. We introduced the Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scheme to support Nigerian youths in the quest to harness the advantages of emerging technologies.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful deliberation for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

4th November, 2020

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PLAN WITH THE TOP GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

Digital Transformation as an enabler of the Government’s policies and strategies

No Government in the world today will be highly competitive and successful without integrating digital technologies and innovations in all its reforms. At this digital age, digital transformation is the most important driver of innovation, competitiveness and growth for Government across the globe. Digital Economy will not be sympathetic to any Government who refuses to embrace digital technology and innovation.

The Journey of e-Government and Digital Transformation in Nigeria

In 2012, the Federal Government of Nigeria sought the support of the Republic of Korea through Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to:

Develop the Nigeria e-Government Master Plan;

Train about 22,000 civil servants; and

Establish e-Government Training Centre

The e-Government Master Plan was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in 2018 and launched on the 24th May, 2019 by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy;

His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, along with the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami unveiled and launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) at the opening ceremony of the e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibitions and Awards on November 28, 2019.

Implementation of these policies, plans and strategies has started at the Federal level.

For digital transformation to be sustainable nation-wide and grassroots-driven, we must adapt and integrate the Nigeria e-Government Master Plan and National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) to sub-national governments policies and strategies. There must be experience and knowledge sharing with the regional Governments.

The effect of implementation at the Federal level has seen the ICT sector contributing 17.38% to the country GDP. This does not include its contribution to all sectors of the economy.

I am proud to say Nasarawa State is among the first State Governments to benefit from this strategic focus.

NITDA is the Apex IT regulatory and development agency for the Country. By the virtue of NITDA’s mandates, the Agency is responsible for ensuring sub-national governments are digitally transformed. This is evident in section 6 of the NITDA Act, 2007.

Jigawa State as the First State of choice for e-Government Master Plan.

We are doing this based on the Government’s request. We believe in the administration’s leadership and commitment. We are believe in the vision of the Jigawa State Comprehensive Development Framework. The vision is to build “a society full of opportunities, where the people are sufficiently empowered to participate in decisions and processes that affect their lives with an enabling environment for sustainable economic growth and human-cantered development”.

The core of this vision is built on four pillars:

Generating Economic Growth

Human Capital Development (HCD)

Governance and Institutional Development

Ensuring Sustainable Development (SD)

Believe me, to accelerate the achievement of this vision, digital technologies and innovations must be at the core of the reforms.

E-Government Master Plan as a Complement to Various Interventions by NITDA

To build a strong foundation, we have been supporting the state with the following interventions among others:

Information Technology Hub

ICT Innovations and Entrepreneurship

IT Capacity Building Centers

Women in ICT (Capacity Building)

National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA)

The Plan will set the strategic direction for all other digital initiatives in the State.

Conclusion

Today, we are putting the draft Plan with 20 strategic initiatives before the top government officials for your inputs having gone through a series of development stages- from preparation to assessment stage, envisioning and documents development stage. I implore you to make your suggestion and inputs in order add value and come up with everyone-owned e-Government Master Plan for the State. I implore all the cabinet members to support the digital transformation drive.

On this note, I want to appreciate His Excellency for all his support to make this a reality. He created the enabling environment and supported every stage of development. I promise that the Plan would be launched before the end of this year. I congratulate you sir and pray for a profound success as we are truly creating a new World for Jigawa citizens and all residents.

Thank you.

The Review Meeting Of Jigawa State E-Government Masterplan

Thursday, 5Th November 2020

HOW 5G CAN LEAD TO GROWTH IN AGRICULTURE, HEATHCARE, TRANSPORTATION, SMART CITIES AND OTHER INDUSTRIES IN NIGERIA

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It gives me great pleasure to be here with you at this year Nigeria ICT Impact CEO Forum (NIICF). The theme of the event “5G the future is here” is apt. As a developing nation, from the government to civil society organizations, regulators to private businesses, SMEs to individual users, we must start now to prepare the country for the 5G possibilities. The potential on how it could expand the movement of data and enabling of a wide range of new applications and use cases is vast and go far beyond the smartphone applications.

The 5G represents the changing face of connectivity. It is designed for maximum speed and capacity. Fear years ago, LTE or what we know as 4G connectivity arrived to shake the smartphone world and boost data transmission speed. The best way to illustrate this is by sheer data. According to the Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index, the average 4G LTE transmission speed for mobile Internet download in Nigeria as at February 2020 was 16.21 megabits per second while the upload speed was 7.53 megabits per second. To a large extent, this allows us to stream video, music and prompt web surfing. The global average mobile internet download speed is about 31.61 megabits per second. In large cities, the average download speed reaches 35 Mbps. 5G speed is performing over 1Gbit/s speeds in the real world today and in theory, it can reach 20Gbit/s. That is, between 100 and 1000 times faster, making it possible to download, for example, an HD movie in 10 seconds.

Speed is not the only benefit of 5G. Besides speed, the two factors that are most universally beneficial for businesses will be around latency and reliability. The speed is complemented with a huge capability for data transmission, 10 terabytes per second, and a density of 1 million nodes per Km². Also, it is expected that connection latency shrinks from 50 milliseconds to just 1 millisecond and network availability will be almost 100%. In other words, 5G technology will allow a delay time reduction in communications, an increase in information transfer rate, a significant improvement in mobile coverage and will allow millions of devices to be connected simultaneously. This is, in fact, one of the key factors in predicting that 5G technology will go far beyond the realm of smartphones.

To many, the latency is far more important than speed. The most urgent thing to address on any internet connection is the latency, as that has the biggest impact. In reality, the speed 4G LTE networks provide is more than enough for many business operations, the problem is latency. Even the best LTE networks have a latency of at least 30 milliseconds (ms) and more often, much closer to 100ms or higher. This kind of latency levels will not only make applications like VoIP potentially unusable in Nigeria but dramatically affect the productivity and usage of critical applications. Latency levels of fewer 20ms should satisfy most current business needs and open up additional use cases in Agriculture, Healthcare, transportation, smart cities.

Reliability has always been a question mark for wireless connections, but 5G is expected to be the first to provide five 9’s. If this level of reliability and availability can be achieved through 5G connectivity, it would be a transitional feat for the world. In this case, the combination of 1Gbps plus speeds, ultra-low latency, and five 9’s reliability would make 5G extremely valuable to all businesses.

These two benefits of 5G and others such as increased range, less energy-intensive, and more support for users’ connection would be sufficient at providing an alternative or additional network connection equivalent to some of the best cable and fibre options. In today’s world of contactless business use cases, 5G technology is the best route to connectivity sufficiency.

In addition to 5G being used as a basic network connection, other businesses will undoubtedly find new uses the world has never considered. There would be more business startups and ventures made possible by 5G considering the number of connections 5G allows.

A new range of 5G use cases and applications that converge connectivity, intelligent edge, and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies will benefit everyone, from gamers to governments. Research has discovered that the applications of 5G could be categorized into three major areas of benefits and use cases called 5G triangle:

Ultra-reliable and low latency communications use cases;
Massive Machine-type communications in Internet of Things (IoT) use cases; and
Enhanced mobile broadband for high-speed usecases.

At a global level, the ultra-reliable low latency communication will enable new applications that require a response in fractions of a second and this will be one of the biggest game-changers once 5G is fully deployed. Such mobile connectivity use cases and applications among others can be found in autonomous vehicles, smart city infrastructure and traffic management, industrial automation, augmented and virtual realities, drones applications, wearables, telemedicine

The combination of 5G and IoT is capable of enabling applications that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago. 5G’s promise of low latency and high network capacity would eliminate the biggest limitations to IoT expansion. Giving devices nearly real-time ability to sense and respond, 5G and IoT are a natural pairing that will impact nearly every industry and consumer.

Upgraded mobile service is among the most noticeable of the initial impacts of the 5G network roll-out. With a vastly increased network capacity, 5G is predicted to reduce slowdowns during usage spikes such as streaming during games and delivering of broadband-like services such as high-definition streaming video without dreaded buffering.

With the move to cloud-native 5G networks, more data will be allowed to be processed and stored in the right place based on the needs of the application. Devices and applications can tap into edge cloud computing resources without needing to access a centralized data center potentially thousands of miles away. As 5G edge computing becomes more pervasive, industries and businesses will be able to dramatically scale up their use of data and act on insights faster, instantly and autonomously.

Applying AI to an immense amount of data at scale will be accelerated with fast, efficient connectivity like 5G. For example, smart security and machine vision can keep secure facilities safe with automatic recognition of potential security breaches or unauthorized visitors.

In Nigeria, 5G can lead to growth in specific industries such as healthcare, transportation, retail, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics among others. Today’s industries are expected to see major benefits from the 5G upgrade whether their goal is to increase revenue opportunities or improve customer experiences. For instance, 5G healthcare use cases will enable doctors and patients to stay more connected than ever. Wearable devices could alert healthcare providers when a patient is experiencing symptoms, automatic alerts to ER cardiologists to be ready for an incoming patient, with a complete record of data collected on a smart device.

Farms of the future will use more data and fewer chemicals. Taking data from sensors located directly in fields, farmers can identify with a pinpoint precision which areas need water, have a disease, or require pest management. As wearables become less expensive, 5G will make it easier to scale networks containing large numbers of IoT devices in fields, health monitoring for livestock may also emerge. With more accurate health data, farmers can reduce the use of antibiotics without compromising the safety of the food supply.

For 5G retail applications, the customer experience will be everything. Stores of tomorrow may no longer look like today’s aisles of stocked shelves. Stores may also use 5G to manage inventory and stocking in real-time.

Factory floors can be totally transformed by the convergence of 5G, AI, and IoT. Beyond predictive maintenance that helps control costs and minimize downtime, factories also use 5G to control and analyze industrial processes with an unprecedented degree of precision. With the connectivity boost provided by 5G, manufacturers can also change traditional quality assurance processes, streamlining them with sensor technology and AI.

In shipping and logistics, keeping track of inventory is expensive, slow, and difficult. 5G offers the potential for greater communication among vehicles, as well as between vehicles and infrastructure itself. Fleet monitoring and navigation will become significantly easier at scale with 5G. Driver navigation could potentially be powered with an augmented reality system that identifies and flags potential hazards without diverting a driver’s attention away from the road.

The transportation industry, ranging from public buses to private logistic fleets, is a sector that could benefit greatly from the introduction of next-generation wireless networks. Governments, technology companies and transport operators can take advantage to 5G to efficiently manage aviation operations where mission-critical real-time communications are required, efficient management of traffic on our roads, effective communications on the train especially in the remote areas. 5G is able to stay connected to devices travelling up to 500km/h allowing it to be used on planes, trains, and other future highspeed vehicles.

In addition, 5G ability to support 1 million connected devices, 10 times more than LTE in a square kilometre and energy requirement potentially of 90% lower than 4G LTE will drive our smart cities and buildings of the future. Events like registration portal to support registrations of millions of citizens, connectivity that should support mass gatherings at stadiums and political campaign rallies among others that typically bring networks to a grinding halt, would not cause a 5G network to break a sweat.

The fact is, 5G will be transformational. It will enable many new applications that are not viable today, particularly in our urban areas and cities. This is relevant because according to the UN, over two-thirds of the world’s population will live in an urban area or city by 2050.

The future of 5G is still being written, and it may be as momentous for connectivity as the dawn of the internet. Perhaps the most exciting part of 5G use cases is that no one knows exactly what will come next. Whatever the future holds, you can bet on one thing: 5G will do a lot more than a faster phone connection. It could change our lives. The questions that we need to answer as people are what new IoT applications will we see? What 5G use cases will be enabled by higher bandwidth and faster throughput? Will life change as we know it?

In conclusion, let us work the talk by laying the foundation for mobile connectivity that will improve every bit of our life. Accordingly, I am calling on the regulators, the civil society organizations, development partners, private businesses and ordinary citizens, the 5G future must start now.

At this juncture, I want to sincerely appreciate everyone who makes this a reality. I wish you all the best and successful deliberation. NITDA would be waiting for your recommendations for implementation so that we can all build the future together.

Thank you

Nigeria Ict Impact Ceo Forum (Niicf) Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. Friday

27TH November, 2020

CLOSING CEREMONY OF NATIONAL ADOPTED VILLAGE FOR SMART AGRICULTURE (NAVSA) EKITI STATE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the closing ceremony of this edition of the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) in Ekiti State. NAVSA is an ecosystem and data-driven agriculture platform envisioned for the transformation of the agricultural sector in Nigeria. It is created by NITDA, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, as a policy directive of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to support His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari’s drive for economic diversification.

We believe leveraging digital technologies and innovations will attract youthful population into agriculture, create new digital business models across the agriculture value chain, enable millions of jobs, increase productivity and contribution of the agriculture to GDP thereby making Nigeria a leading country in food security and exporter of standard agricultural produce to the rest of the world.

The current agricultural models and practices have shown their limits in terms of their impact on the environment, biodiversity and production with negative effects such as pollution, biodiversity loss and shrinking yields over time. The growing global population obviously has put the question of sustainability at the centre. Also, the industry as a whole is facing huge challenges, from rising costs of supplies, shortage of labor, and changes in consumer preferences for transparency. This is where AgTech comes into play. Innovation is more important in modern agriculture than ever before. In the past years, there has been the introduction of many new agricultural innovations that are influencing the way agriculture management is done. The rise of digital agriculture and its related technologies is opening up a wealth of new opportunities.

For instance, remote sensors, satellites and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) can gather information 24 hours per day over an entire field. What is important is the ability to crunch the data to gain better insights and have an accurate understanding of the situation other than what the naked eye can see. It is not just more accurately but also more quickly. Agriculture data analysis can be used efficiently to monitor plant and animal health, soil condition, temperature, humidity, etc. for improved food production, increased wealth and income of farmers and agricultural value chain players, improved food security, access to international food markets and host of other agricultural developmental benefits at clicks.

The Netherlands has become an agricultural giant by showing what the future of farming could look like. It has 41,800 square kilometers and the small country is feeding the world. The Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “twice as much food using half as many resources.” The country is able to achieve the feat because of intensive research and adoption of AgTech. The high production per acre testifies to the power of digital and precision agriculture.

AgTech is revolutionizing agriculture from promoting indoor vertical farming in the urban areas which use up to 70% less water than traditional farms to farm automation that automates crop or livestock production cycle using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, autonomous tractors, drones and robotics innovation etc. to livestock farming technology that makes tracking and managing livestock data-driven and much easier to modern greenhouses that are techy and data-driven.

Blockchain has the capability to track food ownership, can be used to resolve supply chain inefficiency and food traceability in the current food system from farm to table in real-time. Artificial intelligence (AI) is unveiling hidden numbers from the avalanche of data being collected in the agriculture sector and it has opened a wealth of new opportunities. The concept of the ‘connected cow’ is a result of more and more dairy herds being fitted with sensors to monitor the health and increase productivity. Data generated is also being turned into meaningful, actionable insights where producers can look quickly and easily to make quick management decisions. For instance, the entire global greenhouse market currently produces nearly US $350 billion in vegetables annually. The emerging new generation of farmers is attracted to faster, more flexible startups that systematically maximize their crop yields.

In Nigeria, agriculture currently hires over 70% of the workforce. Though, a substantive percentage of the farmers practise subsistence farming. it is believed that if the agriculture sector is properly managed and enhanced, it would be a genuine means of eradicating poverty, improving people’s standard of living and diversifying the economy.

Nigerian growing youth population constitutes over 50% of the estimated 200 million population of Nigeria while about 82 million hectares out of Nigeria’s total land area of 91 million hectares were found to be arable but only 42% is farmed. Harnessing these potentials through AgTech to create jobs could therefore be a game-changer for the agriculture sector.

With NAVSA, what we have done is to rethink agriculture differently, by introducing digital technologies and innovations in a strategic manner that woos and connects ecosystem players to make the journey of agriculture business seamless, productive, efficient and rewarding. The ecosystem includes farmers; the State Governments; input suppliers and produce off-takers; mobile/telecommunications service providers; banks; FinTech companies; smart solutions service providers; renewable energy service providers; investors; development partners; agriculture platforms; startup businesses, agriculture experts and extension workers among others. This brings up among other things, strategic partnerships and sustainable models that are hinged on “start small and scale up” being experimented in NAVSA.

The project targets graduates (between the age of 20 to 35 years) with prerequisite knowledge to participate in AgTech project. There is also a consideration for 35 years old and above to tap into their experience and knowledge. This edition of the programme is adopting 140 farmers in Ekiti State with possibilities of creating a minimum of additional Seven Hundred 700 indirect jobs, increase farmers’ income by 30 per cent and contribute to the State’s economic development and the nation at large. In line with the NAVSA strategy, this edition is providing each adopted farmer with the following:

Smart Device (Tablet);

Seed fund of One Hundred Thousand Naira for enterprise inputs;

Digital Agripreneurship training and skill acquisition;

Connectivity which includes one-year Internet access and closed user group (CUG) Calls for adopted farmers;

NAVSA Platform (Mobile App);

Financial Inclusion through Digital Wallets (Open and close wallets for each adopted farmer, input suppliers and off-takers);

e-Extension services;

Agric as a Business and Agro Business Models’ Opportunities; and

Continuous reinvestment model

The sustainability of the project is premised on the ability of the system to make it obligatory for farmers to continuously reinvest with their current capital and 25% profit at the end of each season. In addition to this, NAVSA is designed as a performance-based platform. Farmers that perform beyond average overtime would be recommended to our financial and development partners for loans, grants and sponsorship. This is an exit strategy for farmers to get agriculture loans, grants and sponsorship. The development partners would see their funds being used judiciously for human and societal development.

I, therefore, call on state governments, aggro-processing companies, financial institutions, development partners and private sector to partner with us in order to achieve the objectives of this laudable initiative. In the coming years, we would be adopting more farmers in more states. The target is to adopt farmers in all 36 States and 774 LGAs in the country, support and equip them with skills and resources that will make Nigeria one of the leading nations in food sufficiency, security and exportation.

We would start piloting the deployment and integration of smart technologies such as IoT, GIS technologies and geospatial analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Big data analytics, blockchain among other emerging technologies to promote smart agriculture solutions that address different challenges on NAVSA platform base on sustainable business models. Also, we would be introducing modern greenhouses, farm automation, precision agriculture among others. These solutions will be targeted at high performing farmers.

I wish to reiterate that this initiative is geared towards supporting Federal Government’s digital economy agenda in order to bring into reality the economic diversification of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and ensure attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) two (2) of ending hunger and achieving food security by 2030.

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami will soon launch the NAVSA web and mobile platform and as well as NAVSA handbook to further strengthen the implementation of this programme.

On this note, I want to personally thank His Excellency, Dr Kayode John Fayemi, CON, the Executive Governor of Ekiti State for providing the much-needed support that ensures this edition is successful. We encourage other State Governments in the South West to follow suit.

We extend our sincere appreciation to all our partners and stakeholders that have contributed to the success of this empowerment program and our guests for creating time out of their busy schedule to grace this occasion.

Thank you and God bless.

December, 2020

ONLINE FILM CONTENT ACQUISITION AND DISTRIBUTION: IMPACT ON EMERGING DIGITAL ECONOMY

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

I am delighted and honored to be part of this important event and to deliver a keynote address titled: “Online Film Content Acquisition and Distribution: Impact On Emerging Digital Economy” which is actually in line with our mandates at NITDA, under the supervision of Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, to encourage both government and private sector to adopt digital technology in their operations and business activities.

Undoubtedly, the theme of this year is timely; because the whole world has embraced digital technologies for almost everything we do – from construction, education, financing, transport, telemedicine and so on and so forth.

The online film industry has become crowded in the past years, with companies providing a variety of online video content, with a clear vision for the industry revenue model, especially now that streaming is disintegrating traditional media platforms such as television and DVDs. The television industry has experienced turmoil similar to that which the newspaper industry experienced during the explosion of the internet. Consumers are moving online from traditional print. Currently there are many different players in the online video space, including technology start-ups and media joint ventures

In the last ten years, we can all agree that Nigeria has come of age in terms of film making, contributing significantly to the country’s Growth Domestic Product (GDP). The industry remains one of the driving points for economic activities in Nigeria, as entertainment is fast becoming one of the highest employers of labour in the country.

Nevertheless, online film acquisition is now an integral part of the motion picture business across the globe. It is the process by which movie industry executives and independent distributors buy or acquire content, such as movies, television shows, TV series, and documentaries. The buyer negotiates for the acquisition of the motion picture distribution rights and licensing, or the purchase of a motion picture so that ownership of the copyright and all rights are transferred to the buyer.

The work of seeking or sourcing films and television programming is primarily done by experienced acquisitions executives of a distribution company’s film acquisition department. Acquisitions executives often attend film festivals and conferences to find the best films to buy.

But, how an independent filmmaker chooses to make a movie is often dictated by access to money more than any aesthetic sensibilities. Without the proper funding, a feature film never made the way the filmmaker wants to. The strategy a filmmaker uses to access funding will depend on the type of film, the story or subject matter, the budget, genre, the filmmaker’s reputation, the talent attached and the amount of creative control he wants before production.

As one of the biggest film industries in the world, Nigeria is truly doing amazing in making movies that represent our culture in the global stage, which as a result of digital technology and other medium of displaying content online, talented Nigerian youths found space to showcase their gift using YouTube, Facebook and Instagram as an alternative forum for upcoming artists to tell their stories to the world, and attract multi-billion naira companies to storm Nigeria for investment, hence creating direct and indirect jobs for millions.

Recent data from the Nigerian National Film and Video Censor’s Board (NFVCB) show that of the over 1,000 Nigerian films approved by the board annually, English language films surprisingly made up only around 12%, while the rest are being produced in indigenous languages.

The rising number of Nigerian language films indicates that, despite the global media focus on English films; Nigerian audience seem to prefer productions in Nigerian languages. In 2010, DSTV opened Africa Magic channels in Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.

According to statistics, the arts, entertainment and recreation industry represented 0.21% of Nigeria’s GDP at a value of nearly N270 billion in 2018. And in the first quarter of 2019, the industry garnered approximately N87 billion which accounted for 0.27% of the country’s GDP. The box office also contributed significant value in 2017, N4.3 billion was realized and is expected to grow to an estimated N6.4 billion by 2022.

Video On-Demand service providers have opened competitive market and that consumers are always on the prowl for better and diversified content. The American streaming company Netflix launched “NetflixNaija,” and has been consistent on buying local content which clearly boasted creativity in Nigeria. Notwithstanding that platforms like iROKOtv, ibakatv and SceneOne TV are making wave in Nigeria and Africa at large, it may not really help with the competition that is prevalent in the VOD industry, especially now that there is high demand of online content due to Coronavirus Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the film industry in 2020, mirroring its impacts across all sectors. Across the world and to varying degrees, cinemas and movie theatres have been closed, festivals have been canceled or postponed, and film releases have been moved to future dates or delayed indefinitely. Due to cinemas and movie theaters closing, the traditional global box office has dropped by billions of dollars, and streaming has become more popular, while the stock of film exhibitors has also dropped dramatically. Many blockbusters originally scheduled to be released between March and November have been postponed or canceled around the world, with film productions also halted.

At the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria’s foremost IT regulator we believe that digital economic activities is going to be powered by emerging technologies such as cloud computing, big data analytics, mobile computing, the blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), etc. These technologies were designed to solve business and economic problems, film inclusive. This is why our Minister, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FNCS, FBCS, FIIM Digital Economy is championing Digital Economy Policy and Strategy in Nigeria.

COVID-19 posed as an additional obstacle for Nigerian physical markets, this is why our supervising Ministry picked broadband as essential due to lockdown, forcing people to stay at home to minimize physical contact. As a result of our increasing in broadband penetration, offices began to rely on virtual connections for business continuity, employees moved to work-from-home, schools transitioned to online classes and people resorted to internet activities as a form of leisure. According to BBC, Netflix garnered additional 16 million new sign-ups during the lockdown. This shows how COVID19 turned out be a blessing to online streaming, which also forced the companies to acquire more content in order to satisfy their customers.

The digital revolution has transformed our lives and societies with unprecedented speed and scale, delivering immense opportunities as well as daunting challenges. New technologies can make significant contributions to realizing our goals.

The evolution of the digital economy is closely associated with progress in several frontier technologies, including some key software-oriented technologies, with emerging technologies ranging from user-facing devices (such as computers and smartphones) to 3D printers and wearables, as well as specialized machine-oriented hardware, such as IoT, automation, robotics and cloud computing. Rapid advances in these increasingly converging technologies have been enabled by a surge in capacity – as well as considerable cost reductions – of data storage, processing and transmission.

This evolution cannot be unconnected to the current realities in the film industry. Video distribution platforms are multi-sided markets that create value by matching upstream. Traditional platforms like movie theaters and broadcast television are limited in the amount of content they can display and the size of the audience they can reach, while online video contents that are being displayed over the Internet face no limitation – they can offer on demand viewing of large video content libraries to anyone with a broadband Internet connection, anywhere in the world.

Additionally, advances in technologies have made it easier for consumers to directly access information that is relevant for their purchase decisions. These changes in search technologies allow consumers to find a greater breadth of products and make the long tail more accessible; it is now easier to find rare and obscure books, music and movies. And thanks to digitization, consumers can now view samples of book pages, listen to sample music tracks, and watch scenes from movies through a plethora of devices connected to the Internet.

In conclusion, when pitching to online film distributors, it’s all about providing hard numbers and laying out the golden path to make them feel safe and secure in their investment. However, just having completed post on your film and with limited audience exposure, you likely won’t have the market details necessary to knock your pitch out of the park.

Nigerian Film Corporation Annual Film Lecture, Zuma Film Festival

Thursday, December 3RD, 2020

AFRICAN INVESTMENT FORUM HELD AT THE DUBAI WORLD TRADE CENTRE, U.A.E.

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

I am particularly delighted and honored to deliver a welcome address at this very important African Investment Forum. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Dubai World Trade Centre for the much-appreciated opportunities given to my country to hold this forum and for the amazing and outstanding work they have done in organizing this African Investment Forum.

Today, Nigeria is a leading destination for FDI in Africa due to its vibrant emerging market, exceptional geographical position, diversified economy, young and eager labour force, excellent quality of life and much more.

According to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts’ expectations, Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria is expected to reach 220.00 USD Million by the end of this quarter. This estimate indicates an opportunity for investment in the Digital economy sector.

Digital technologies are rapidly developing in diverse fields—including mobile communications, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things, and 3-D printing. We are now in the 4th Industrial Revolution and the world is experiencing the profound changes that new technologies bring to the way we live, work, interact, and do business.

NITDA proactively seeks ways to leverage digital technologies for development. For this purpose, the Nigerian Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FNCS, FBCS, FIIM in a bid to ensure that citizens are empowered with Information Technologies has taken proactive policy steps to develop a critical mass of IT proficient and globally competitive manpower in the country. In this light, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) was recently established by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA); as part of its contribution to the successful implementation of the digital economy policy.

NCAIR represents government’s determination to create a suitable environment for technology innovation, incubation and discovery while harnessing the abundant creative ideas of Nigeria’s teeming youth population for national development through the promotion of innovative technologies.

With the establishment of this centre, the youth segment of the population would be challenged to channel their creative energies towards preparing solutions that seek to address current and future problems or challenges across all sectors of the economy.

Coming at a time when the global economy is rapidly transforming into the new economy driven by creative innovations derived from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), the unveiling of this state-of-the-art technology innovation centre can be described as futuristic; being a remarkable demonstration of proactive move on the part of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

Public sector and non-government stakeholders globally are leveraging the power of Digital economies — including mobile phones, tablets, and available internet access — to revolutionize diverse sectors such as education, health care, and agriculture.

While ICT investment has often been viewed as an outgrowth of robust economies, its development is increasingly also recognized as a key mechanism for driving economic growth and social progress through “Big Data” in developing economies by helping to efficiently scale vital services. NITDA realized the need to efficiently scale up investment in the Digital economy sphere by creating the National Mobile Big Data Analytic Platform.

This is to enable a data revolution in the Nigerian economy by converging the data collected by local mobile networks and skilled Nigerian data scientists; building up a central hub to collect and process location data from mobile network operators; disseminating aggregate statistics on several vital sectors of the economy such as population, security, healthcare, transportation, education and tourism through an open database; training and mentoring thousands of Nigerians for database management, data processing and analysis, and servicing the information needs of MDAs, NGOs and private companies through a data science hub.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to announce that Nigeria holds an enormous potential for private investors and venture capitalist in the Digital economy ecosystem, the question of Nigeria’s potential as a choice IT investment destination in this century is definitely not in doubt.

Nigeria is OPEN FOR IT BUSINESS!

Thank you.

7th December, 2020

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: INTEGRATING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN NIGERIA PUBLIC SERVICE

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It gives me great pleasure to be here with you as a guest speaker at this month’s lunchtime seminar to discuss this important topic “digital transformation: integrating digital technology in Nigeria Public Service”. The rapid integration of digital technologies globally is transforming today’s public services, societies and economies. The digital transformation itself is not only about transforming the way digital technologies are acquired, deployed and used but a journey with a whole lot of other critical enablers such as leadership, policy, strategy, mindsets, organization structure and culture, legislation, digital capabilities, business processes and operations, innovation, business models among others that must be addressed appropriately. Integrating digital technology into the Service is very apt at this critical moment in the history of our nation. The Covid 19 pandemic has even vindicated the need for digital technology and innovation more than ever before.

The Nigerian public service is established to effectively implement policies, strategies, plans and programmes of the Government in order to fulfil its responsibilities of service delivery to the governed. However, governments all over the world are faced with various challenges and unknowns that hinder the effective discharge of their responsibilities. As a country, we are faced with various challenges such as resource mismanagement, increase in population with the correspondent decrease in resources and source of revenue, unemployment, corruption, terrorism, kidnapping, rapid change in citizens’ and businesses’ expectations from the government among others.

Having experienced customised service delivery models of the private digital firms such as Uber, Facebook, Amazon and those in service and hospitality industries, digital banking among others, citizens expect similar experiences with public service in terms of usability, accessibility, friendliness, convenience and effectiveness. Citizens expect governments to offer public services that are designed with a user-driven perspective and adaptable to different user profiles.

I can tell you authoritatively that global experience has shown that, going digital is not only fundamental to addressing these socioeconomic, political and citizens’ expectations challenges but also essential to accomplishing public service superior performance and sustainable national development. To rise to these challenges, the public service must be reformed. It needs to embrace digital technologies and innovations. We need to change the way things work, we need to organize ourselves and ensure the workforce has the skill sets needed to use new digital tools, work collaboratively and engage with citizens and businesses the way the digital age demands.

New digitally-enabled approaches, supported by the necessary changes in the public sector’s culture, need to be implemented if we are to successfully meet citizens’ and businesses’ expectations and demands. To become fully digital, we need to adopt and use digital technologies and data as strategic components of modernizing the public sector. Digital technologies and data reuse need to be integrated into our core processes and activities in order to establish new ways of working and promote greater openness and collaboration that will improve government-citizens’ trust and effective service delivery. This requires new governance and institutional frameworks and the development of new capabilities and skills that are able to sustain a digital public sector’s culture.

Digital technologies should not just be used to digitize existing government processes and to offer public services online. There is a need to prioritize the use of digital technologies and data to rethink the design and implementation processes of public services and policies in order to achieve more in terms of outcome. Ultimately, transformed public governance should produce outcomes that best meet citizens and businesses’ expectations.

We must move from digitization of existing processes to digital by design, from an information-centered government to a data-driven public sector, closed processes and data to open by default, government-led to user-driven government, from reactive to proactive policy making and service delivery government, from the government as a service provider to government as a platform for public value co-creation.

Achieving these dreams requires a deliberate choice which must be followed by actions. We must make choices and take actions that will lead us to a true digitally transformed public where there is openness in government dealings, where every public service holder is made to be accountable for their actions and In-actions in a transparent manner, the loss of trust in government by citizens is regained, where our public service is highly efficient and reliable, the productivity of the Service increases in the fold, where citizens and businesses are satisfied with the quality of public service in Nigeria and ultimately where the public service is functional and sustainable with the aid of digital technologies and innovations.

Therefore, we need to collaborate and accelerate the implementation of our digital government strategies where we are all responsible for implementation. We need to define a clear governance framework for digital public service with a high-level political mandate, powers and resources to the Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) responsible to steer the design and coordinate the implementation of the digital government strategy across the Service. We must update and develop legal and regulatory frameworks to safeguard citizens’ digital rights and privacy; incorporate the potential implications of increasing use of emerging technologies and data into the existing legal and regulatory environment. There is a need to promote and enforce the adoption of digital standards and guidelines to offer more coherent, interoperable and resilient digital government services, data, applications and infrastructure.

Furthermore, we must invest and continue to invest in the development of important key digital enablers such as digital identity, shared infrastructure and data services, optimized business processes and provide incentives for digital enablers adoption and use across the public sector. There is a need to develop digital and data-related skills in the public sector, create profiles and career paths based on forecasted needs, and providing programmes for training and retraining of public servants. We must establish an integrated service design and delivery policy that would aid the development of user design (UX) approaches from beginning to end, develop services with agile methodologies and adopt multi-channel service delivery and accessibility.

NITDA, under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, is leading the digital transformation by walking the talk. On our own part, we are championing collaboration with FPIs and other relevant stakeholders to implement the country’s digital strategy as encapsulated in the Nigeria e-Government Master Plan and National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS). These two strategic documents provide clear direction for digital transformation in Nigeria. The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy had just inaugurated Digital Transformation Technical Working Group (DTTWGs) across 120 FPIs as a governance framework for digital transformation in the public sector. We followed it up with an intensive capacity building for about 500 public servants. This train the trainer capacity building for the Group is going to be a continuous one. We would capture the left out FPIs in the next phase of the programme.

On the legal and regulatory frameworks as well as digital standards and guidelines we have developed and we are implementing some critical regulatory instruments that will accelerate digital transformation in the Service. Among them are Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF), Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA), Guidelines for Clearance of Information Technology (IT) Project by Public Institutions, National Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP), Guidelines for Nigeria Content in ICT, National Outsourcing Strategy to mention a few. We are strategically implementing and ensuring compliance with these regulatory instruments.

We are creating an enabling environment for more investment in ICT infrastructure by partnering with relevant government agencies and the private sector. We are pushing for more PPP and encouraging the private sector to invest more in deploying enabling infrastructure such as broadband, data centre and cloud services among others. An enabling infrastructure such as power is beyond our mandate. We are encouraging investment in green energy to complement the national grid.Digital transformation is a big job for the Government. It is a journey and we must start now. Critical decisions, collaborations, partnerships and complex undertaking lie ahead. I am calling on the critical stakeholders in the Government, private sector, civil societies and development partners to join hands together towards digital transformation in Nigeria public service. Let the discussions and actions continue.

I want to appreciate the Bureau of Public Service Reform (BPSR) for its doggedness in creating different initiatives at reforming our public service. This kind of platform is a veritable source of ideas and strategies for the transformation of the public service. I wish you all the best and successful deliberation.

Thank you.

The Bureau Of Public Service Reforms’ (Bpsr) Monthly Launch Time Seminar

Tuesday 08Th December, 2020

CURRENT STATE OF DATA PRIVACY AND SECURITY IN NIGERIA

May peace, blessings and mercy be upon you all!

I am very delighted to be invited to this very important forum and to speak on our modest strides and successes on the implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019, and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

The launching of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) on the 28th November 2019, marked the beginning of our journey to a Digital Nigeria. This has led to the development of new regulations and policies, as well as the strengthening of existing ones to ensure that the objectives of the NDEPS are fully achieved.

The issuance of the NDPR 2019 by my predecessor, the Honorable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM was a significant milestone in the annals of data protection in Nigeria. The NDPR 2019 was meticulously crafted to, among other objectives, ensure data privacy of natural persons and enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses in international trade, in line with global best practices.

As part of the provisions of the NDPR 2019, the filing of data audit reports by data controllers and processors has given the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) some insights on the state of data governance in Nigeria, while also enabling us to understand requisite interventions to improve data governance, cybersecurity, and privacy protection. This is very significant to our digital transformation journey, as data is the most critical resource for the Digital Economy.

NITDA has recorded some modest achievements thus far in the implementation of the NDPR. We have seen an impressive growth in data protection compliance within the last two years, with the filing of 635 data audit reports by various entities across 13 sectors of the Nigerian economy. This, in addition to licensing of 70 Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs), generated about N12.6 million for the Federal Government of Nigeria. Additionally, about 2,686 jobs were created through NDPR implementation. NITDA also inaugurated the Data Breach Investigation Team in conjunction with the office of the Inspector General of Police. The investigation team has so far conducted 15 investigations on alleged data breaches, out of which 1 was concluded and fines have been issued and collected. Furthermore, NITDA has issued about 230 compliance and enforcement notices, in addition to resolving 790 issues. To fast-track compliance and data breach reports, the NDPR Portal was launched. NITDA equally issued the Guidelines on the Use of Personal Data by Public Institutions to guide government agencies, build capacities, and ensure compliance with the NDPR.

In view of the importance of capacity building and awareness to the success of the NDPR, NITDA hosted and equally participated in several capacity building and awareness events in partnership with relevant stakeholders. Collaboration and partnerships are equally key to achieving the objectives of the NDPR, therefore, NITDA is in partnership with several stakeholders, and currently represents Nigeria as the Vice-Chair of the Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA), which is a work group on Data Protection Laws Harmonization and Localization hosted by the African Union Commission. The group comprises 26 African countries and representatives of the European Union Commission.

However, despite the laudable successes enumerated, there are still opportunities to further enhance and strengthen data protection in Nigeria. Some of the ongoing efforts in this regard include process for the passage of the Data Protection Bill to ensure that Nigeria passes a world-class data protection law, creation of a Data Protection Commission and building a globally competitive data protection market, which currently stands at over N2 billion.

Furthermore, we have achieved some significant milestones in the implementation of the mandates of the Agency in line with the NDEPS. The 8 pillars of the NDEPS are; Pillar 1 – Developmental Regulation, Pillar 2 – Digital Literacy and Skills, Pillar 3 – Solid Infrastructure, Pillar 4 – Service Infrastructure, Pillar 5 – Digital Services Development and Promotion, Pillar 6 – Soft Infrastructure, Pillar 7 – Digital Society and Emerging Technologies, and Pillar 8 – Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.

Some modest achievements were recorded, between 2019 and 2020, in terms of NDEPS implementation by NITDA.

On Developmental Regulation, the Agency achieved significant compliance with existing regulations and issued others to enable the achievement of the NDEPS objectives. For instance, NITDA’s Guidelines for Clearance of IT Projects by Public Institutions (PIs) is aimed at ensuring that IT projects of PIs meet standards, avoid undue duplication, save costs, and promote shared services, interoperability, while also improving efficiency. Within the last one year, the IT Projects Clearance process successfully assessed and cleared 154 unique IT Projects of 73 MDAs totaling over N1.18 trillion and saving about N5 billion for the Federal Government. Other regulations that have been under continuous review and implementation are the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) and the Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF). A collaboration was established with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) to fund special areas of NGEA/Ne-GIF implementation. Additionally, we issued the Framework for IT Service Level Agreements (SLA) for Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to guide MDAs in drafting SLAs with service providers and ensure value for their investments. We equally issued the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Regulatory Framework for ICT and e-Government Projects, which is to accelerate the development and promotion of government digital services.

In view of the importance of digital literacy and skills to the development of a vibrant Digital Economy, NITDA designed several initiatives/programs to build and enhance the digital capacities and skills of Nigerians, in line with pillar 2 of NDEPS (Digital Literacy and Skills). Some of our efforts in this regard include the establishment of the NITDA Academy for Research and Training (NART), which is an online learning portal that currently has about 39 thousand active students. Other digital literacy and skills acquisition programs include ICT training and empowerment for women; training of Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWD); training for MDAs on Digital Identity for Development; training of farmers through the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) program; training for DPCOs, DPOs and Media Executives on the NDPR; capacity building for youths and artisans, among other digital skills acquisition programs of NITDA. Furthermore, to ensure inclusion and bridge the gaps, as well as provide platforms to ease access to digital literacy and skills, the Agency deployed 80 Digital Capacity Training Centers (DCTCs) nationwide, 3 IT innovation hubs, special purpose Community IT Training Centers, and provided working tools for some of the trainees.

Furthermore, the importance of robust digital platforms to improve public service delivery in a Digital Economy can not be overemphasized. In this regard, NITDA conducted an assessment of the IT systems, processes, digital services, and capabilities for 100 Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) within the past year. Also, we constituted and inaugurated the National e-Government Masterplan Steering Committee, set up ICT Technical Working Groups in MDAs to fast-track the adoption of Ne-GIF, NGEA and other related initiatives. Digital Transformation Technical Working Groups (DT-TWGs) were established across 100 pilot MDAs. Additionally, 3 pilot States were engaged for e-Government development at the sub-national level. These are the highlights of our activities, within the last one year, targeted towards the achievement of the objectives of the Service Infrastructure Pillar of the NDEPS.

Cybersecurity is very critical to the Digital Economy, to strengthen public confidence in using digital technologies and participating in the Digital Economy. Therefore, achievement of the objectives defined for the Soft Infrastructure (Pillar 6) of NDEPS is key to the development of a Digital Nigeria. NITDA acquired ISO 27001 certification to ensure compliance with standards and set the pace for other public institutions. The Agency also upgraded the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) Unit to effectively monitor and escalate cyber threats. Other initiatives in this regard are cybersecurity sensitization and awareness programs across the 6 geopolitical zones, collaboration with other stakeholders to mount the Information Assurance Workshop, and convening the Nigeria Cybersecurity Alliance, which is a multi-stakeholder forum for awareness, education and information sharing for all Nigerians and corporates.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, the development of a vibrant and globally competitive indigenous digital technology ecosystem can be said to be the bedrock of our Digital Economy. The Indigenous Content Development and Adoption pillar is very vital to the success of the NDEPS. Some of our modest strides in this regard include mentorship and support through the Future-Hack for Indigenous Technology Development program, the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge, Initiation of the Tech4COVID-19 Committee, Support for IT Startups, creation of over 4000 digital jobs within the last one year through initiatives such as the Smart Agriculture, ICT Training for Women, Training for Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWD), and Training for Youth and Artisans. Additionally, 64 software projects were flagged for development by indigenous software development firms. We are also in partnership with the Certified Computer Manufacturers of Nigeria (CCMON) and the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) to locally develop specialized and standardized hardware devices and implement the Nigerian Software Strategy, respectively.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, our digital transformation journey requires concerted efforts and collaborations among stakeholders as well as partnerships. Hence, our all inclusive approach in our various initiatives and programs targeted at the development of our Digital Economy.

We look forward to the outcomes of this event with recommendations on consolidating the gains recorded so far, in our digital transformation journey.

I wish us fruitful deliberations and a hitch-free event.

Thank you.

US-Nigeria Digital Trade Standards Workshop organized by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)

January 27, 2021

LEVERAGING THE LOCAL CONTENT POLICY FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

May peace, blessings and mercy be upon you all.

It is with deep sense of honour and responsibility that l am with you today to deliver this Keynote Address at this important webinar on Local Content Policy in the ICT Sector being hosted by the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) themed: Local Content Policy in ICT Sector as Key to Achieving the Objectives of the Digital Economy in Nigeria.

The concept of Local Content is neither new nor restricted to Nigeria, as it has for long been operated in several other countries. The goal of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Local Content Policy is to encourage local participation, ownership, and control of the sector by indigenous ICT businesses. This is vital to preserving Nigeria’s socioeconomic independence and enhancing the ability of indigenous businesses to exploit local opportunities while staying globally competitive, thereby putting the Nigerian economy in the hands of Nigerians, creating jobs, and enhancing the value of indigenous businesses. It has been notably observed that preference for non-Nigerian made goods and services in most public procurement is prevalent. The importance and drive of the ICT Local Content Policy in Nigeria is for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to lead by example and develop the local ICT industry to boost indigenous innovation.

The six-year outstanding journey of the current administration of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to transform various sectors and diversify the Nigerian economy through ICT gives us confidence that distinctly, this administration is unrelenting to develop indigenous skills, technology transfer, use of indigenous manpower and local manufacturing.

Therefore, the Federal Government in an effort to address the trend and promote the development of Local Content has mandated all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to give preferences to indigenous firms in the procurement of ICT products and services through the Presidential Executive Orders 003 issued by the Federal Government in “Support for Local Content Procurements by Ministries, Department and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria” issued in May 2017 and the Executive Order 005 “For the Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology” issued in February of 2018. Further to this, in exercise of the powers conferred on the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) by Section 6 of the NITDA Act of 2007, NITDA issued the updated Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT, in August 2019, to align with the issued Presidential Executive Orders 003 and 005. NITDA’s Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT was first issued in 2013.

DIGITAL ECONOMY

Our current realities point to the fact that the future of the world economy is digital. The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that 60% of the global GDP will be digitized by 2022 and that over the next decade, digital platforms will be used to create close to 70% of the value. The Digital economy is expanding across the globe although at an uneven pace across different countries.

The urgent need to develop a Digital Nigeria and fully participate in the global Digital Economy necessitated the approval of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to develop and implement a National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy spearheaded by the Honourable Minister, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) FNCS, FBCS, FIIM. The NDEPS was launched on the 28th of November 2019. The NDEPS is anchored on 8 pillars, and one of the important pillars is, pillar 8 on Indigenous Content Development and Adoption, which will essentially provide a policy framework that gives preference to digitally skilled Nigerians for government funded projects in line with the issued Executive Orders 003 and 005. Ushering Nigeria into a digital economy, l will highlight four objectives from the several in the NDEPS, that meets the purpose of this event. Some of the objectives of the NDEPS are:

To accelerate the digitization of government processes and improve service delivery, transparency and accountability;

To support the digital literacy of Nigerian Citizens, Business and Government workers and enable them to acquire cutting edge digital skills

To ensure that indigenous technology companies are able to participate actively in the government funded technology programmes and;

To ensure that the policy and regulatory instruments are fit for purpose and actually support the digital business environment.

MECHANISMS PUT IN PLACE BY THE NATIONAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NITDA)

There is no doubt that the ICT industry has enormous potential which could be harnessed through continuous human capacity development. Notably, NITDA has therefore put mechanisms such as the Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT in place to ensure that Nigerian ICT companies are incentivized to remain in Nigeria to develop their projects and products. There are three core focal areas of the Guidelines: driving indigenous innovation, developing the local ICT Industry, and establishing Intellectual Property (IP) regulation and protection standards, each of which has a set of related strategic goals. These strategic goals form the basis of specific guidelines that include recommendations for the restructuring of the industry and actions required by the regulators; NITDA, NCC and other stakeholders; government MDAs and industry players. The IT Clearance process of NITDA is one of the tools being utilized to drive compliance with the Guidelines for Nigerian Content. The Agency, in collaboration with other stakeholders, has equally developed strategies and initiatives to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Guidelines.

We have recorded some achievements in our local content development strides. For instance our analysis indicates a total sales of 1,231,261 devices by our indigenous OEMs between 2015 and 2019. 113,814 devices were sold in 2015, 174, 464 sold in 2016, 221,097 devices sold in 2017, 414, 510 in 2018 and 364,376 devices were sold in 2019. These sales were mostly facilitated through our regulatory local content guidelines mandating the purchase of locally assembled devices by MDAs and for programs such as the N-Power. Additionally, NITDA’s IT Clearance process mandated the development of software by MDAs to indigenous software development firms amounting to over 3 billion naira between 2016 to date.

The Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT provides that Multinational Companies Multinational Companies (MNCs) operating in Nigeria submit a yearly report on local content development activities. NITDA’s assessment of the 2018/2019 Local Content Development Reports submitted by 9 MNCs indicates that a total of 663 Nigerians are employed by the MNCs. Also, about 2,033 direct and indirect jobs were created through the MNCs activities. Furthermore, through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and other initiates and programs with the reporting period, they supported 88 Nigerian Startups, trained 28,773 Nigerians on emerging technologies, 58,892 Girls/Women trained in ICT, about 1,354,988 Nigerians were trained in Digital Skills, 71,289 ICT Scholarship Programs for Nigerians, 519,313 Nigerians were trained in ICT Professional Development. These are some of the achievements and we are asking the MNCs to do more to support our ecosystem.

The development of a vibrant and globally competitive ICT ecosystem is critical to the digital transformation of Nigeria. Therefore, there is need for concerted efforts of all stakeholders to leverage the existing ICT local content policies in playing their expected inclusive roles. Leveraging and strengthening compliance with the existing local content policies will ensure that our indigenous ICT companies are fully engaged in our digital transformation journey, and will promote indigenous innovation, build local capacities, and create jobs, thereby significantly improving our digital economy and strategically positioning Nigeria on the global stage. Additionally, it will address the concerns on foreign technology consumption, especially where indigenous capacities exist.

CONCLUSION

To address the trend of too much consumption of foreign technology, all stakeholders must adequately invest in indigenous companies through patronage of their products and services. It is important to note that the Guidelines for Nigerian Content reposed more responsibility on MDAs and the larger ICT business community to source and procure all hardware and software products locally. Indeed, every one of us should be a strong local content advocate, to reverse the inequalities, encourage local participation, ownership, and control of the ICT sector by encouraging indigenous businesses in order to pave more opportunities in our economy.

On this note, I wish you successful deliberations and a hitch-free event.

Thank you once again for your attention.

February 10, 2021

BACKING THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN AFRICA WITH ANGEL INVESTMENTS

May peace, blessings and mercy be upon you.

It is a great pleasure to participate in this round table organized by the World Business Angel Investment Forum (WBAF). I am highly delighted to be part of this discussion on Digital Transformation in Africa with Angel Investments. This event is apt and timely as the epidemic has necessitated the reordering of how we conduct business globally, and has necessitated the need for Africa to transform quickly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on several aspects of our lives, with unprecedented economic and social disruption. According to an October 2020 survey by McKinsey, the pandemic accelerated the digitization of customer interactions by several years with global adoption and acceleration of technology within the period. It was estimated that digital changes that may have occurred within three years have now occurred within the first year of the pandemic. More so, as tech-driven sectors have shown some resilience to the pandemic, with several digital startups across the African continent leveraging unique strengths and delivering innovative solutions in our fast-changing world. This will, no doubt, create opportunities for economic growth that will significantly create jobs, reduce poverty, and help overcome some of our developmental challenges. Therefore, our digital transformation journey will be incomplete without the support and growth of our thriving digital startups. Critical to this sustained growth is the availability of seed funding, which is very crucial to the survival of transformation ideas.

On a somber note, the pandemic has had a negative effect on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow into developing countries. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated that global FDI flows are expected to contract between 30 to 40 percent in 2020. This may have a knock-on effect on liquidity in Africa. Other studies however show increasing levels of Venture Capital investments into tech-enabled businesses; however, these studies point to shrinking seed stage funding annually, going forward. This certainly will impede the growth of several startups within Africa if deliberate and concerted action is not taken to reverse the trend. This, therefore, underscores the role Angel Networks can play in plugging the funding gaps in the African tech space, as new innovative ideas spring-up during and post-COVID phase.

In Nigeria, our digital ecosystem has recorded tremendous growth in recent years. This is evidenced by the increasing contribution of the digital sector to our National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Additionally, the growing number of talents and innovative startups, as well as policy support by the government, has continued to attract investments into our burgeoning ecosystem, especially the fintech ecosystem. The recent acquisition of Paystack by Stripe, with the deal valued at over USD$200 million, is a case in point that validates the potential of our market. The valuation of Paystack, a fintech company materially incubated largely in the Nigerian Market, represents an astonishing value potential available in Nigeria and Africa. The Paystack story and several others replicating remarkable growth and value creation validates the proposition for attraction of investments into the Nigerian ecosystem and Africa, and in turn creates the opportunity for angel investors to find the “next Paystack” in this market.

Nigeria has become a hotspot for VC’s, due to an increasingly attractive investment landscape, exceptional talent, and a large population. Nigeria has about 6,500 digital innovation registered businesses worth over USD$2 billion. Furthermore, our tech startups attracted funding amounting to over USD$1.39 billion (2020 – USD$307Mn, 2019 – USD$663.24Mn, 2018 – USD$306Mn, 2017 – USD$114.6Mn) in the last 4 years. This has happened in no small part due to the several reforms around telecommunications, banking and business liberalization that have relentlessly been pursued by successive governments over the last two decades. Currently, through radical government policies, Nigeria has moved the needle in ease of business and has improved access to capital to aid the development of small businesses.

The Nigerian government, through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has designed several programs and initiatives to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and consolidate the impressive growth of the digital ecosystem. Despite the successes recorded so far, there are prevailing challenges to overcome and fully position the ecosystem for global competitiveness. The ongoing implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), which was developed to harness the vast opportunities and growth potentials of the digital tech sector, will accelerate Nigeria’s digital transformation, and rapidly develop the economy.

On our part as the government agency with the mandate for the development and regulation of the Nigerian digital space, NITDA has partnered with relevant stakeholders in Nigeria to design key programs that are currently being implemented to support the ecosystem within the pandemic and beyond. We recently commissioned the National Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) Center, which is designed to serve as a leading hub of innovation, research and development, knowledge transfer, and training in the areas of AI, Robotics, and other emerging technologies, to enable Nigeria to play a key role in the evolution of emerging technologies. We have also rolled out initiatives such as the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme, which is a capacity building program for Hub managers, young Nigerians, and innovative startups to spur digital job creation and economic growth. Furthermore, we have also engaged MIT’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT-REAP), which is a tested and proven innovation ecosystem stakeholder model, targeted at the development and strengthening of Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurial (IDE) ecosystem in Nigeria.

Other significant initiatives of the Nigerian government to attract and sustain funding for innovative ideas include the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) to support Nigerian software developers among other sectors, by Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Bankers’ Committee, to boost job creation among youth in Nigeria. Also, the Nigerian Investments Promotion Council’s (NIPC) initiative to grant pioneer status to software development and e-Commerce companies amongst others guarantees a tax holiday from Companies Income Tax (CIT) of up to 5 years. These are some of the government incentives targeted at growing tech companies and boosting digital transformation.

Distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen, digital transformation has come to stay in Africa and African startups are key to this very important journey. We must ensure that our digital and innovative enterprises are at the fore in creating the cutting-edge solutions to digitally transform Africa. This can be achieved only, by ensuring that innovative startups are adequately funded to grow and provide the needed solutions. Angel investments will play a huge role in this regard, by not only making available the needed seed funds but also the needed go-to market knowledge for digital entrepreneurs to thrive. We are currently working with our national fiscal planners to introduce a raft of incentives to support the ecosystem in Nigeria. These include proposals for tax incentives for Angel investors and a matching National Innovation Seed Fund to de-risk angels and ensure they don’t go alone. Currently, we are the cusp of issuing a National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy to further galvanize and strategically position Nigeria as the gateway for smart investments into Africa. The policy is premised on the need to leverage our youthful population as the cornerstone for innovation and revolutionize service delivery in Nigeria by developing homegrown solutions. The policy will complement the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and stimulate demand to deepen off-take of broadband as marshalled in the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025.

Nigeria is the 14th youngest country on earth, having a population with an average age of 18.2 years, and about 44% of the population below 15 years of age, according to the World Bank. This population creates an unrivalled market in the continent, and certainly a destination for FDI in Africa due to its vibrant emerging market, exceptional geographical position, diversified economy, young and eager labor force, improving upskilling of our youth and excellent quality of life.

On this note, I extend Nigeria’s hand of invitation for investors to come and explore the several investments opportunities into our digital ecosystem.

Thank you and God bless.

The World Congress Of Angel Investors Wbaf 2021 Roundtable

Thursday, February 18TH, 2021

IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL SKILLS FOR THE GROWTH OF DIGITAL ECONOMY

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour and privilege to be here with you today to deliver a keynote speech at this important event, the National STEM Summit 2021. The theme of this event: Harnessing Enduring All-Round Technology Skills in a New Normal Digital Economy is apt and timely.

This challenging period, under the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that digital economy is a force to reckon with.

As we all know, digital economy refers to an economy that is based on digital technologies. It can be also called the New Economy, Internet Economy, or Web Economy. The traditional economy has become interwoven with the digital economy due to the fact that digital technologies now drive virtually all aspect of the economy ranging from stock market to manufacturing. The whole world has witnessed accelerated boost to digital transformation due to the COVID-19 pandemic which has generally improved digital economy market. The new normal has digital technologies at its core, thus, Nigeria’s economy is not left out of the digital transformation.

Digital economy is a knowledge-based economy, and the size of our digital economy largely depends on our digital skills and the size of our technology-savvy population.

To harness the full potential of the digital economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has been taking giant strides to promote digital literacy and skills in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS).

there is a need for developmental programmes in line with NITDA’s mandates. We are focused on providing support for viable innovations with socioeconomic impact as well as a level playing field for all Nigerians to thrive in. As we enter the age of advanced technological breakthroughs such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Nigeria cannot be left out in harnessing the advantages of AI, Robotics and, other emerging technologies.

Our new road map is focusing on strengthening the Innovation ecosystem, promoting the adoption of emerging technologies for sustainable development, Digital Job Creation and Nigerian Content Development and adoption.

Our Office for Digital Innovations, Entrepreneurship and local content promotion, is set up to support and promote the Nigerian Innovation Ecosystems. We have programs such as Hackathons, Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Scheme (TIES) designed to shore up the capabilities of our hubs across Nigeria and to support entrepreneurs through Internship and Incubation. Also, another laudable project is the Entrepreneurship Mentoring Initiative (EMI), designed to provide mentorship services to Nigerian Innovators and Entrepreneurs.

In addition, we subscribed to MIT- REAP (Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program) tagged MIT-REAP Abuja. This program is to learn from the successes of MIT in creating innovation ecosystems with many unicorns (A start up with more than a billion dollars).

Last year, we commissioned the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The Centre is to coordinate research and innovation in emerging technologies such as 3D printing, PCB, drone, robotic technologies and many more. We are collaborating with researchers and post graduate students in our universities to carry out research and test prototypes in the Centre.

National Stem Summit 2021 Organized By High-Tech Centre For Nigerian Women And Youths

March 16, 2021

AGGREGATING THE POTENTIALS OF THE SUB-SECTOR TO MEET THE NEW BROADBAND SET TARGET OF 70%

May peace, mercy blessing be upon you.

I am super excited to join you this morning and participate at this Virtual Structured Engagement with stakeholders in Telecom and ICT sector to brainstorm on the best way to implement the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025.

The new broadband plan is aimed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria, with a minimum of 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90% of the population and penetration rate of 70% by 2025, at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data (2% of median income or 1% of minimum wage).

Today, Broadband access is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for economic and social development. In terms of economic development, it offers unprecedented opportunities for economic growth by providing access to information, connecting people to business, and opening new markets. Broadband penetration is transforming the conventional economy and enabling innovation economy. In terms of human development, it impacts almost every aspect of life from education to health, it supports enterprise and entrepreneurship, and unlocks the digital economy which reduces extreme poverty and enhance social inclusion.

A study by Deloitte concludes that providing internet access to developing countries could boost productivity worldwide by 25%, generate $2.2 trillion in GDP, create 140 million new jobs, and lift 160 million people out of poverty. Hence, this suggests the significance and impact of realizing the 70% Broadband penetration in Nigeria to contribute in attaining such feats.

Even though a lot has been achieved so far towards broadband penetration in Nigeria, the need for innovative models to bridge access gaps is vital. Investments in the telecommunications have been slow in underserved areas due to lack of demand which will have guarantee returns on investment, but with the rising demand for internet access and broadband services as well as the persistent efforts of our Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, towards providing an enabling policy for investment, new opportunities have been created for more investments in the telecommunications sector. At this point, I would like to share a short story about Mo Ibrahim’s experience in his stride to setting up a mobile phone company in Africa, from a book, The Prosperity paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty.

The authors of “The Book” gave the story of how the Sudanese entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim employed what they referred to as “a market creating innovation” which identifies non-consumption in the area of mobile phone services in the late 1990s. They explain how, Mo Ibrahim started his mobile communications company (Celtel) in sub-Saharan Africa even though everyone laughed at him or told him his company would fail.
Because Africa was then a place where most people see mobile phone as an expensive toy for rich people which common people like you and I will never imaging to have one. Mo Ibrahim identified an opportunity where there was none by realising the lack of means for the people in the cities to keep in touch with their love ones in the rural areas. He identified the need for mobile phone services and went ahead and invested in mobile telecommunications to close the gap.

In just six years, Celtel built operations in thirteen African countries and gained 5.2 million customers. Celtel was successful, within short time its revenue reached $614 million and net profit were about 147 million. In 2005 when Mo Ibrahim decided to sell the company, he did so for a handsome $3.4 billion. The big take away from Mo Ibrahim’s story is that the telecommunications/stakeholders can improve the broadband penetration by identifying areas of non-consumption of internet services and create sustainable deployment models to achieve the target of 70% broadband penetration by 2025.

This is possible, because, according to visual Capitalist, our world has changed fundamentally and so did the data that makes the world go round. COVID-19 has forced you and I to move nearly every aspect of our life from work to socialization online. Today, we relay so much on apps and Internet to work, educate, socialize and entertain ourselves, as a result in every minute consumers spend over $1m on the Internet, Amazon ships over 6,600 packages, Facebook users share more than 150,000 messages and upload over 140,000 photos, Zoom hosts more than 200,000 participants, Netflix users stream over 400,000 hours of video, YouTube users upload over 500 hours of video, Twitter gains over 300 new users and many more.

At NITDA we are putting efforts to stimulate local demands that will further improve broadband penetration in Nigeria. We are implementing various initiatives aimed at facilitating the achievement of the target of 70% broadband penetration by 2025, some of these initiatives are:

Encouraging free domain registration for public institutions and SMEs through Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA).

Facilitating Digital Literacy Training and Awareness, Digital content creation and indigenous language translation.

Effective digitization of Government services (e-Government) as well as other e-services.

Deployment of IT intervention projects that facilitate Digital Literacy and Skills development.

Development of Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) and Nigerian e-Govt Interoperability framework (Ne-GIF).

Funding capacity building & Innovation initiatives to facilitate digital jobs creation.

Establishment of National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR).

Establishment of National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (NDIEC) among others.

At this juncture I would like to remind you about two powerful forces determined to disrupt your market. Elon Musk and Amazon are battling to put satellite Internet in your backyard. They are making internet-from-space race more interesting. Other contenders are OneWeb and longtime operator Telesat. They are seriously working on making fast, reliable internet service from any place on earth with a clear view of the sky no more miraculous than a cell signal from your tower.

Finally, I would like to thank the ATCON leadership for organizing this Virtual event and the opportunity to share my thoughts with you. I hope that through this event, the buy-in of the various members of ATCON and other critical stakeholders would be leveraged upon to ensure and guarantee that the new Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 is adequately positioned to deliver its ultimate purposes for the generality of Nigerians in a faster and strategic manner.

Thank you for your attention.

ATCON Virtual Structured Engagement With Key Stakeholders In The Nigerian Telecom & Ict Sector On The New National Broadband Plan 2020-2025

Thursday, March 25TH, 2021

DATA LOCALIZATION AND ITS BENEFITS TO THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY

May peace, blessings and mercy be upon you.

I am delighted to be part of this event, to discuss Data Localization and Its Benefits to the Nigerian Economy. This event is timely considering the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation, globally. According to an October 2020 survey by McKinsey, the pandemic accelerated the digitization of customer interactions by several years, with a global adoption acceleration of 3 years. The world has witnessed a significant shift in the way we do business, and this change will continue to accelerate. The increasing virtual collaboration and remote working in the face of the pandemic have ensured that the demand for data centers remains strong. Furthermore, cloud computing has continued to transform the design and deployment of data centers. Therefore, it is important that we continuously seek ways to drive more infrastructural investments in our data hosting services, especially cloud infrastructure, for the success of our digital transformation journey, and our economic growth and prosperity.

As the saying goes, data is the “new oil” and the lifeblood of today’s global digital economy. As such, economic value increasingly shifts to data in the digital economy. According to a report by the International Data Corporation (IDC), the global datasphere will grow from 45 zettabytes in 2019 to over 175 zettabytes by 2025. This indicates the phenomenal speed at which the proliferation of data across our digital world is accelerating and underscores the significance of data and why adequate measures must be taken on where and how data is stored and processed, to unlock its potential value and ensure privacy and security.

There have been many debates on the benefits of ‘data localization’ or ‘data residency’ as it relates to economic growth. While many have argued that data localization will cut-off access to global cloud services and hamper the growth of businesses, I believe that data localization has far greater benefits and will ensure the growth of our local data centers, create jobs, in addition to compliance with our data privacy and security regulations.

As the apex IT regulator in Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) issued the Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP) in August 2019. It is the first policy direction concerning cloud technology adoption in Nigeria, and a critical step to drive greater integration of cloud services in the public sector, promote a better approach to infrastructural investments and efficient IT deployment. The NCCP seeks to among other things enable the public sector access to cloud computing and cloud-enabled technologies for continuous development and innovation in public service delivery.

Additionally, one of the goals of the NCCP is to ensure 30% increase in adoption of Cloud Computing by 2024 among Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), providing digital-enabled services to the government, as well as 35% growth in Cloud Computing investments.

The NCCP essentially provides a migration framework for the public sector to adopt cloud services while ensuring a proper balance between local content requirements, privacy, security, and intellectual property of national data. The Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in ICT of NITDA provides for the hosting of all sovereign data within Nigeria. This is aimed at driving the required investments and building capacities for indigenous data and information management services. As a result, the Nigerian economy would make significant gains through the creation of jobs and a reduction in capital flight due to the adoption of foreign cloud services.

It is pertinent to note that the efforts of NITDA on the localization of government data have yielded far-reaching results, with over 90% of Federal Government data hitherto hosted externally now repatriated to Nigeria. Substantial data assets belonging to major Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration hosting over 40 million and 95 million subscribers’ data respectively, are now hosted within the country. Other databases hosted locally include: the National Identity Number (NIN), the Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS), the Government Integrated and Financial Information Management System (GIFMIS), the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), as well as the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The localization of these important national data assets will not only promote the development and deployment of robust and scalable data center infrastructure in Nigeria, it will further enable our burgeoning technology innovation companies to harness the big data to develop cutting edge innovative solutions that will provide insights for policy planning and development, while also creating a more efficient and effective public sector for better implementation of government’s developmental policies and programs.

Distinguished participants, ladies, and gentlemen, the NCCP of NITDA has spelt out the numerous advantages of cloud computing while also addressing challenges with its adoption and issues around privacy concerns, vendor lock-ins and security. As we emphasize on data localization, particularly of sovereign data, it is important that our local data hosting service providers continuously explore innovative ways to ensure that the data hosting requirements of clients are met. This will ensure patronage, aid digitization of processes and scaling of resources for the clients, while also spurring activities that will significantly contribute to the growth of our economy.

Thank you for your kind attention.

Tuesday, March 30TH, 2021

WORLD CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION DAY (WCID)

(NITDA @20 ANNIVERSARY)

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

Thank you for coming. It is truly a pleasure and privilege to have you this afternoon. Today is a double celebration of NITDA 20th Anniversary and World Creativity and Innovation Day. It is an International Creativity and Innovation Day recognized by the United Nations and designated to celebrate creativity and innovation and raise awareness of the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

UN recognizes the importance of creativity and innovation to humanity, hence designated the 21st of April as the World Creativity and Innovation Day. The celebration started four years ago, on the 21st of April 2018.

Innovation is a vital key to the prosperity of any nation, and our prospects for future economic growth largely hinges on our ability to innovate. Innovation is the ability to invent and drive those inventions towards commercialization and job creation. It is not surprising that the wealthier nations lead in innovation. Even emerging superpowers like China are now reaping the benefits of their technology-innovation initiatives and policies.

Innovations, particularly market-creating innovations, have the potential to transform nations and lift them out of poverty. Market-creating innovation pulls infrastructure and investments that can transform the economy and create prosperity. We learned from history how Henry Ford introduced the Ford Model T in the United States and the transformation it brought to America. Likewise, just about twenty years ago, when Mo Ibrahim started Celtel in Africa, people laughed at him that he will fail. Here we are, today, the telecommunications industry is the most vibrant economic sector in the continent. It has transformed societies and provided jobs to millions of citizens by creating new markets and opportunities.

The Nigerian digital innovation space is making waves on the African continent and beyond. According to a report by the Startup Genome and a survey on Nigerian Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), there are about 6,500 MSMEs, some in the digital space, with Lagos having about 700 digital innovation registered businesses worth over $2 billion. It is also noteworthy that Nigeria’s bustling fintech ecosystem, with over 200 fintech standalone companies, has attracted global attention and venture capital investment.

At NITDA, we have identified innovation as a critical tool for implementing National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy. We have taken bold steps to drive our nation’s prosperity by boosting digital innovation and entrepreneurship. Today, we celebrate this day within the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics premises, one of our initiatives to drive technology and market-creating innovations through the use of emerging technologies.

The National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is purposely built to drive cutting-edge innovations in emerging technologies through robust research and development programs. Of course, we plan to boost innovation-driven entrepreneurship (IDEs) through innovations, thereby creating many jobs for Nigerian youths.

We are deeply committed to fostering digital innovation culture among Nigerians. We have several programs and initiatives aimed at boosting the innovative capacity of our youths, which include catch-them-young programs targeted at orienting Nigerian kids to become active players in the digital technology space.

We are recalibrating our activities to focus on strengthening the Innovation ecosystem, promoting the adoption of emerging technologies for sustainable development, digital job creation, and promoting Nigerian content development and adoption.

In line with our goals of strengthening the innovation ecosystem, we drive catalytic programs, like hackathons and innovation challenge, that will foster an innovation culture. It will also enhance the hubs, where innovative ideas are conceptualized and nurtured. Our programmes are designed to build innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities across Nigeria. Some of our key initiatives specifically designed to support the innovation ecosystem are Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support (TIES) Scheme, Bridge MassChallenge Nigeria and MIT-REAP Abuja. Another laudable project we initiated is the Entrepreneurship Mentoring Initiative (EMI), designed to provide mentorship services to Nigerian innovators and entrepreneurs.

Our drive towards building a robust framework and infrastructure to bolster technology innovation for all Nigerians has the firm and usual support of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim [Pantami], FNCS, FBCS, FIIM, MCPN. The Honourable Minister, who formulated the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for Digital Nigeria, is also championing many initiatives and policies that will ignite innovation activities and create wealth and prosperity for our citizens.

Once again, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to this double celebration of NITDA @ 20 and World Creativity and Innovation Day.

Thank you for your attention.

May God bless you and bless Nigeria.

Monday, 21St April, 2021

CYBER SECURITY AND POST COVID-19: WHAT’S NEXT FOR BUSINESSESS

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings of the Almighty be with you all.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the way we live our life. The onset of the pandemic has proven to be an extremely disruptive occurrence that has exacerbated the effects of several social issues previously unknown. It is now a fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the typical operations of businesses as well as individuals globally. It has compelled most of us to adopt remote working practices and to offer online services. This new normal has also presented new challenges of increased insecurity. Workforces have been mobilized, and for many, this transition is expected to last for a significant period.

The boom in remote working led to another challenge, many of the workforces do not have the requisite knowledge or training on virtual or telepresence tools. The boom in the use of these platforms and the increase in online activities by individuals, government and businesses led to an increase in cyber incidences. The new normal in-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 pandemic where digital technologies are playing and will be major roles aggravate the threats of cybersecurity for all business organizations by offering various avenues in which cyber fraud can be carried out. Working from home, some employees use their personal computers which are less secured than their office-issued equipment. Employees also used unsecured Wi-Fi that is more easily breached than office secured networks.

The effects of the pandemic confine people in their homes for many hours and force them to rely on online services, that would have been offered offline during pre-COVID era. This has created an avenue for cybercriminals to take advantage of the current situation.

During the early stage of the pandemic, these cybercriminals targeted all spectra of the society. Individuals that wish to seek more information on COVID-19 by sending phishing email pretending to be a medical organization like the World Health Organization (WHO) or other federal agencies. New data collected by Google reflected a spike in phishing emails from the commencement of the lockdown. In January 2020, Google recorded approximately 149 thousand phishing websites, in March alone, that number has increased to 552 thousand, increasing by 350% since January. These phishing websites or emails direct users to malware like viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomware and spyware. In Italy, the law enforcement branch dealing with cybercrimes also reported an increase in scams in form of ads, emails fake websites, and even through phone calls and text messages. Similar to Italy and the rest of the world, Nigerians also experience phishing calls and messages that direct them to fraudulent sites.

In addition to cyber-attacks on everyday people, countries have also reported attacks on government agencies. In the first week of April 2020, the Spanish and Italian government experienced cyber-attacks in form of ransomware in their hospitals. During the same week, the WHO was also attacked.

Although remote working gained more popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was increasing steadily before Covid-19. According to a report by Forbes, from 2010 to 2020, the number of people working from home at least once a week saw an astronomical 400% increase. Therefore. It is no surprise that instant connectivity has made it possible for workers to engage from their home offices. This trend also reflects the changing desires of workers. A 2019 study found that, if given the choice, 99% of workers in the United States would prefer to work remotely at least part-time for the rest of their careers. Thus, we can, in a sense, say that the Covid-19 crisis did not create the momentum for remote work, but in fact, accelerated an already growing trend.

An October 2020 Gallup poll found that many of the workers who had transitioned to remote work due to the pandemic have two thirds who desire to continue working remotely. Also, a survey of CFOs found that, 74% of CFO’s plan to move employees who worked in-person to remote working, even after Covid-19.

Because of these rapid and dramatic changes in how and where personnel perform their daily responsibilities, businesses must ensure that the security of their electronic infrastructure, and data is prioritized to the highest levels on their agenda. For example, existing security vulnerabilities arising from an increased reliance on technologies like VPN, video conferencing platforms (e.g., Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, Skype, CISCO Webex etc.) or personnel handling sensitive company or customer matters in environments that the company does not have direct control. Considering the increase in cyber-threats, with actors and criminals taking advantage of any situation, businesses should anticipate more inbound security risks that would evolve as businesses’ respond and adapt to the conditions created by COVID-19.

It is therefore vital for organizations to consider how best to address risks associated with securing and verifying credentials in a remote environment, such as enabling multifactor authentication. In addition, with decreased opportunity for physical oversight of the workforce, companies may need to pay closer attention to user activity, including analyzing access and event logs and leveraging behavioural monitoring functionalities. Some measures that can be used to curb the menace of cybercrime include:

Increase awareness for team members and consumers.
Use of multi-factor authentication.
Enhance remote access management policies and procedures.

Provide reporting channels for suspect activities.
Use secure supplier portals.
Conduct risk assessment on critical processes.
Evaluate security solutions and update them.

In Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as the IT regulator is at the forefront of disseminating information to the public on the methods that can be used to secure online activities and organizational processes, new and emerging threats, and to provide channels for reporting cybersecurity incidences. Our Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) respond to cybersecurity threats swiftly as well as offer other proactive services.

What is next for Businesses?

Businesses around the world have experienced numerous changes in their operations, culture, customer support, spending, and investments because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although many businesses managed to adapt to this new culture swiftly, few are practising effective cybersecurity controls for their remote workforce and devices, and some have already been impacted by cybersecurity. Cybercrime has increased during these tough times, and malicious actors have successfully breached major entities, including government agencies and private organizations worldwide. The pandemic enforced businesses around the globe to adopt new technologies that would sustain their day-to-day activities, especially the way they operate, communicate, and interact with customers and other organizations. Fortunately, technology enables companies to operate effectively via remote working using different platforms (as mentioned earlier). Although the adoption of remote working has sustained businesses during the pandemic, the rate of cybercrime has also increased drastically during these times. Many employees are likely to continue to work remotely for a reasonable period after the pandemic. That is why improving the cybersecurity for the remote workforce is pivotal for both now and after the pandemic.

On this account, let me emphasize that businesses and business owners should provide clear direction on what employees should expect during a modified work environment. This should include what technologies will be deployed, how to use such technologies, and whom to contact with questions or concerns. Companies should also educate personnel on the risks associated with a remote work environment, and ensure employees are equipped with direct and timely reporting mechanisms for any security concerns. Finally, decision-makers should ensure the organization is speaking with a unified and consistent voice in establishing and communicating COVID-19 protocols and procedures to its workforce.

Furthermore, frequent working from home requires the use of more than one device to access important information or other work-related matters. This complicates the implemented efforts for protecting data, as every device used is a potential entry point for system threats. In a situation where a user’s system has sufficient security controls but uses an insecure smartphone, this may aid cybercriminals to compromise an organization’s cybersecurity posture. Users must observe predetermined security policies governing the use of personal devices to handle work-related tasks.

Most cases of hacking attempts are based on social engineering. Consequently, it is very important and necessary for an organization to create policies and user awareness to help ensure that every device has some form of protection, including basic security measures like password mechanisms. This is because confidential information is passed on through email, phone or conversation without people being aware. A successful defence for corporate and private networks depends on good policies, awareness and enforcing the policies. Let me outline some security measures for both individual users and organizations:

As User

Pay attention to detail and verify your information sources.
Use antivirus, backup your data, and update your software.

Change your home router’s default password, and check your DNS settings.
Establish a Zero Trust Network at home.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and password managers.

As Organization

Create a policy that requires remote users to use company-issued devices.
Regularly check that security measures are taken to protect new and tactical IT solutions.
Ensure that the hardware device is equipped with efficient security controls.
Reduce the internet cyber risks through VPN use.
Train employee on basic security practices such as protecting their devices as well as using complex passwords.

Develop and implement a disaster recovery and business continuity plan, that will guide recovery efforts in case of a data breach on a remote workstation. Purchase cybersecurity insurance to help in recovery in case of an incident.

Additionally, there is also a need for a business continuity plan (BCP). Many organizations have business continuity plans, however, it is apparent the influence of a world pandemic like COVID-19 was not envisaged nor captured in many BCPs. With the widespread impact of the COVID-19, organizations need to re-visit their Business continuity program and incident response plans specifically, to feature such pandemics that affect many countries and critical elements of supply chains at the same time.

In conclusion, COVID-19 will keep changing our lives with new work styles, new cybersecurity issues, new proposed policies, personal hygiene and so on. The fight against COVID-19 is not just for the organization, employee or customer but a joint effort from everyone. It is also apparent that business organizations will need to rethink their cyber risk management measures for Post Covid-19.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

CYFRICA 2021

Tuesday 4th May 2021

HOW NIGERIA CAN ACHIEVE 30% GROWTH IN LOCAL CLOUD HOSTING BY 2024

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour and privilege to be here with you today to deliver a keynote on how to achieve 30% growth in local cloud hosting by 2024. As we may all be aware that data is a major factor of production but for data to be a source of wealth, it needs to be secured. Not only its security but also its sovereignty.

Though cloud computing offers other services such as Infrastructure as a service, Platform as a service, Software as a service. One of the common cloud computing services is the hosting service. Cloud hosting provides the opportunities for 100% resource utilization as resources are evenly distributed over several server and cost control due to elasticity of services where pricing depends on services consumption. You are 100 % in control.

Let us look at a few statistics. The big data analytics market is set to reach $103 billion by 2023, In 2019, the big data market grew by 20%. In 2020, every person-generated 1.7 megabytes in just a second and Internet users generate about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day. Organizations are investing in data and its management.

I am glad to inform you that NITDA has initiated several policies and programs to ensuring data sovereignty and integrity. We introduced the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation in 2019. The successes of the regulations are there for all to see. Also, we developed the Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP) to promote “Cloud First” as a proposition to Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) and SMEs as an efficient way of acquiring and deploying computing resources for better and improved quality of digital services.

The role of the Government is to enable the environment for private and corporate bodies to invest in local hosting services, the building of more data centres. There has been a considerable increase in the number of cloud services providers in Nigeria. The big names are here, I don’t want o mention names of companies so that I would not be accused of bias as a regulator.

NITDA applauds the initiative of NITRA for organizing this technology Forum. We are happy to be part of this year’s edition. We expect more of this kind of activities and we are always willing to collaborate with stakeholders we are always willing to work with stakeholders to address their pain point to make sure we create enabling environment for cloud services to thrive in Nigeria. We believe with strategic partnership and collaboration, our combined effort will enhance efficient and cheap cloud hosting in Nigeria to serve, therefore, as a model for other African countries to adopt.

Finally, I wish to congratulate us for witnessing this day and I look forward to a fruitful and mutually beneficial relationship for sustainable national development.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

NITRA Technology Forum 2021

27th May 2021

STRENGTHENING NIGERIA’S DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM: IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORKS

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

Permit me to express my appreciation to the leadership of this organization for the invitation to be part of this important event that could not have come at a better time than now when there is need to leverage cyber security system in the development of Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

The term “Digital Ecosystem” is an interdependent group of enterprises, people and/or things that share standardized digital platform for mutually beneficial purposes, such as commercial gain, innovation, or common interest (i.e., skills development). Furthermore, the digital ecosystem is rapidly evolving in response to the convergence of digital technologies. With the rapid growth of digital touchpoints across different businesses, cyber security now directly affects the resilience of organizations, the economy, and our individual safety.

Despite the numerous benefits the Internet has provided, there are also accidental consequences as it has been leveraged by criminal minds in perpetrating malicious activities, including identity theft, hacking and electronic frauds. This continuous rise in cybercrime has led to the need for effective cyber security capabilities and as well cybersecurity framework at national levels. The cybercrime landscape in Nigeria is also changing rapidly with threat actors growing, scope, complexity, and capability over the past few years.

In response to the dynamic landscape and growing cyber threats, certain steps need to be taken by the Nigerian government to ensure the protection, security and as well the sustainability of the nation’s active presence in cyberspace. To achieve this tremendous task, there must be an effective implementation of cybersecurity frameworks to strengthening Nigeria’s Digital Ecosystem. These frameworks are clearly focused on the protection of critical information infrastructure and the first step towards protection of critical assets is the identification of critical information infrastructure.

CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORKS

A cybersecurity framework is a plan for keeping your data and systems safe. It often addresses an organization’s overall security objectives rather than focusing exclusively on just information technology elements. Everyone within an organization should make cybersecurity a priority. A cybersecurity framework should thoroughly address personnel, networking systems, business computers, portable equipment, operating systems, software, services, business processes, work tasks, communications, data transit, and storage. Most cybersecurity frameworks are intended to improve the existing security infrastructure already in place. A framework can often serve to provide direction, focus, and guidance toward reducing risk, increasing security, improving personnel awareness, reducing downtime, and preventing breaches.

With different cybersecurity challenges faced by various institution, organizations resulted to diverse of cybersecurity framework. Enumerated below is an overview of several important instances of cybersecurity frameworks. This overview can help you to improve your recognition and familiarity with the ubiquity of security frameworks throughout every industry or organization. The essence of having various cybersecurity framework is to carefully select the one that is relevant and address security needs of your organization.

NIST

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a guide for how to assess security, how to consider risk, and how to think about resolving security issues. It is as well intended to improve decision-making processes and communications about security measures, risks, and breaches. The framework includes instructions for cybersecurity management, communication with both internal and external entities about security issues, improving security planning. The NIST cybersecurity Framework is based around five (5) core functions of effective cybersecurity:

Identify
Protect
Detect
Respond

Recover

COBIT

Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT) is a security framework for adopting good business practices in relation to IT management, governance, and security. It was crafted by Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), an international association of professional focused on IT security governance. It is designed to assist organizations in re-aligning IT operations with business objectives and to improve security, efficiency, and quality of production. COBIT is based on five key principles of IT governance:

Meeting stakeholders needs.

Covering the enterprise end-to-end
Applying a single integrated framework
Enabling a holistic approach
Separating governance from management

ISO/IEC STANDARDS

ISO/IEC27001:2013 and 27002:2013 are security management standards published by International Standards Organization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). ISO/IEC 27001:2013 defines a formal management system focused on establishing explicit governance over IT security. ISO/IEC 27002:2013 is a high-level security management and implementation guide that recommends best business practices for cybersecurity. These documents address all aspects of an organization, including physical and environmental security, human resource security, access control, asset management, IT security policies, cryptography, operational security, communications security, systems acquisition, interacting with third parties, incident management, compliance, and more.

COSO

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) is a joint venture sponsored by five professional associations – the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the American Accounting Association (AAA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and Financial Executives International (FEI). with the goal of providing leadership guidance to organizations related to overall systems management as well as IT security management. The COSO framework is more about monitoring, auditing, reporting, and maintaining compliance than about designing and implementing a security infrastructure. Thus, COSO is more of a supplement to other security frameworks and not a full security framework on its own.

NERC

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is an oversight group that monitors the electric grid of the United States. NERC is an Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), which means they are responsible for developing and enforcing reliability standards, performing periodic assessments, and educating industry personnel.

TC CYBER

The Technical Committee on Cyber Security (TC CYBER) is a subcommittee or division of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). TC CYBER focuses on establishing an international standard for cybersecurity. While they mainly focus on the European Union, their cybersecurity frameworks can be adopted worldwide. TC CYBER is developing standards to increase privacy, improve security for both individuals and organizations, provide security education, provide guidance to manufacturers, and improve security design of products, software, and services.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

Across Banking, Energy, Telecommunications, Manufacturing, Retail and Government sectors, digitization is being leveraged to improve service delivery, enhance customer experience, and drive operational efficiency. However, the digital evolution has introduced a new dimension into the enterprise risk landscape the cyber risk. Unfortunately, cyber risk is not conventional, neither are the threat actors. With the exponential growth of digital touchpoints, the new reality is this, Cyber Security now directly affects the resilience of organizations, our economy and our individual safety.

Nigeria is now facing some of the cyber security challenges being faced by their counterparts in other parts of the globe. There have been instances of fraudulent transactions on different online banking platforms, successful DDoS attacks on some banks, attacks on websites of some government agencies, and identity theft.

Organization, institution and government sectors need to carefully select and study the cybersecurity framework that best suits and align with the task being deliver.

Thank you for your attention and God Bless you all.

At Gisec Global, Dubai World Trade Center

31 May – 2 June 2021

BUILDING NEW AFRICA WITH AI AND BLOCKCHAIN

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon everyone here.

I am indeed very happy to be amongst you all in this prestigious event which focuses on the economic advancement of Sub-Saharan Africa, leveraging emerging technologies; specifically, AI, Blockchain, IoT, and 5G. This is highly commendable. Thanks to the organizers for this laudable conference. On behalf of the Management and staff of NITDA, I extend this goodwill to Digital Africa. The theme of the conference “Building a new Africa with AI and Blockchain” is apt and timely. Africa, particularly, Nigeria with a growing population and dwindling revenues from oil have put significant pressure on the economy. There is a need to harness other areas to diversify our economy. Emerging technologies is one of these areas and will play an important role in economic diversification if properly harnessed.

Digital technologies are changing the world at a faster pace than previously experienced waves of technological innovation and are re-shaping and introducing new business models and sectors. For Nigeria, to accelerate growth and modernize its economy, there is a need to developing a digital-led growth strategy for the Nigerian economy. It is pertinent to note that despite the economic shocks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the growth was observed in the economies with viable digital economies.

Digital economy has been identified as an engine of growth. Nigeria can harness it as a driver of growth and innovation. The WBG Digital Economy for Africa (DE4A) flagship initiative supports the digital transformation strategy for Africa prepared by the African Union (AU). The DE4A initiative recognizes that the digital economy can help to accelerate the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Bank Group’s twin goals.

For Nigeria, a country in dire need to diversify its economy, digital economic activities are key for diversification because they transcend all aspect of human endeavour and the economic sector. At NITDA, we took the development and utilization of emerging technologies as one of our strategic pillars for the 2021 -2024 Road map and action plan. To drive this pillar, we have National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) and Office for Nigeria Digital Innovation (ONDI). We are already collaborating and will always be willing to partner with stakeholders, researchers to bring AI, Blockchain and other emerging technologies to support our economic diversification and sustainability plan for the country.

Ladies and Gentlemen, a call to action was made with the unveiling of the “Economic Sustainability Plan 2020” which seeks to put technology at the forefront of driving development in Nigeria. This conference is a melting for professionals, practitioners, and policymakers to brainstorm on the best ways of harnessing these technologies to the advantage of the citizenry.

Accordingly, I want to commend the organizers of this conference who are already committed to this cause. Thus, I urge stakeholders here present to make necessary partnerships and collaborations to make Nigeria a leading knowledge and digital economy by 2030.

Thank you for listening and have a fruitful deliberation.

Digital Africa 2021 Conference

22 June 2021

5G & IOT EVOLUTION IN AFRICA

Good afternoon to everyone.

I am indeed very delighted to be invited to this auspicious event which focuses on the economic advancement of Sub-Saharan Africa, leveraging emerging technologies; specifically, AI, Blockchain, IoT, and 5G. This is a highly commendable event which is organized by Digital Africa and I strongly believe that the outcomes will have a positive and significant impact on the socioeconomic of Sub-Saharan Africa.

I will limit my initial contribution to 5G and IoT evolution in Africa, which is the topic I was invited to discuss. 5G and IoT have the potential of improving the economy and livelihood of Africans in many ways unimaginable, but before I delve deep into this, I will like to quickly provide background information on these two technologies.

Firstly, 5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular networks, which mobile phone companies started deploying globally in 2019. Just like 4G networks, 5G networks are also cellular networks, where the service area is segmented into small geographical areas referred to as cells. All 5G capable devices in the same cell are connected to the Internet or other private networks through a local antenna or base station in the cell.

The main advantage of 5G networks is their ability to provide larger or wider connectivity bandwidth and low latency, which leads to faster download speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). As a result of this enormous bandwidth, 5G networks will not just be used for low bandwidth Internet content such as text, images, and audio, but will allow the use of real-time applications such as TV broadcasting, gaming, autonomous vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the likes. The high speed of 5G networks is attributed to the use of high-frequency radio waves. However, higher frequency wave is limited in the coverage area, as such, many base stations will be required for deployment to cover large geographical areas.

Secondly, IoT is an environment in which objects are provided with unique identifiers and can capture and share data over a network without requiring human initiation or interaction. The whole idea is to enable anything in the world to communicate and share information seamlessly through a network or the Internet in an autonomous way. The implication of this to society is that life will be made easier as more things in the world can generate, capture and send useful information to humans for smart decisions. Imagine your home security camera calling you at work or the police when it senses an attempted break into your house or your refrigerator automatically ordering groceries from the supermarket when it senses that the items have finished. Also, imagine an IoT humidity sensor instructing a farm water sprinkler to only provide irrigation when the soil is dry or an IoT enabled traffic light that controls traffic based on traffic conditions as opposed to timing.

The positive effects of IoT for the IT industry and the world at large are numerous. It will provide a new platform for the IT industry to create new products and services forming a new market segment where the profit potential is enormous. This is evident by the acquisition of Nest by Google for about $3.2billion in January 2014 and the acquisition of SmartThings by Samsung in August 2014. IoT will also help optimize the use of IP Version 6 as it has enough address space to be assigned to every atom on earth and still have enough for 100 more earth. IoT implementation will improve the quality of life for people because, with IoT implementation, devices can automatically capture, aggregate and share information on their own. This information can help humans reduce waste, corruption, loss, and cost. For example, we now have smart homes fitted with IoT sensors that automatically regulates electricity consumed by home appliances, thereby reducing energy bills. Additionally, there are smart shopping bags that are connected to a retailer’s e-Commerce app and the customers’ mobile app. This smart shopping bag automatically aggregates the cost of items inserted in the bag which helps give customers advance information on the total cost of their purchases before checking out. This particular implementation of IoT will help both the customers and the shop owners save time which helps improve the customers’ shopping experience. Furthermore, in Nigeria, IoT devices are being used in some project initiated by NITDA such as the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA). in this project, IoT-based sensors used to manage irrigation and also to provide farmers with important and useful information that can help them make wise and useful decisions.

Having provided this background information about the two technologies, it is equally important to know that these two technologies will work for hand in hand to deliver the expected outcomes. While IoT will help provide an environment where objects can seamlessly capture and share information without human initiation nor interaction, 5G will provide a data link or network with high bandwidth to link IoT devices. This high bandwidth will help in ensuring that the IoT devices push large amounts of data between themselves and other applications on the cloud for processing. The appealing features of 5G are its higher bandwidth throughput which is 100 times faster than 4G, lower latency which is 25 times lower than 4G, and its ability to provide billions of virtual networks (network slicing) that can be used concurrently by multiple IoT devices. It is worthy of note that IoT is not just about the exchange of data between IoT devices, it also involves the transmission of IoT data to applications on the cloud that can help translate the data to information, knowledge, and wisdom for human utilization.

Evolution in Africa

Asides from South Africa and Kenya that have commercially deployed 5G, sixteen other African countries have also deployed 5G for short trials. For example, the first launch of the 5G network in Nigeria was achieved through a demo launch by MTN in Abuja on November 25th, 2019. This was followed by a 3-month demo in Abuja, Lagos, and Calabar which was limited to MTN’s offices. Additionally, 6 spectrum bands have also been identified by the Nigeria Communication Commission for 5G networks. On the other hand, IoT has also seen some reasonable experimentation and implementation in many parts of Africa especially in the areas of agriculture, home security, road traffic management, and healthcare. For example, I mentioned earlier that in Nigeria, the NITDA has implemented IoT-based solutions for its NAVSA project. The use of IoT in this initiative will ensure that farmers in Nigeria can receive useful and timely information to improve the quality and quantity of their farm produce. Furthermore, NITDA through its special purpose vehicle called National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics has also set up a state-of-the-art digital fabrication laboratory that aids in the design and fabrication of motherboards that can be used for IoT implementation. Also, Nigeria through NITDA has invested in myriad capacity building and awareness projects on IoT in educational institutions, the public sector, and the private sector. These initiatives by NITDA are aimed at ensuring mass awareness of IoT, the proliferation of IoT implementation, low cost of IoT implementation, and acceleration of Nigeria and Africa’s digital economy.

Benefits to Africa

The potential benefits of IoT and 5G to Sub-Saharan Africa cannot be overstated. These technologies will provide immense benefits to Africa in areas such as manufacturing, supply chain management, retail management, road traffic management, health care, agriculture, and smart cities implementation. For example, these technologies can make African cities smarter by providing connectivity and automation of various resources, operations, and services, thereby reducing waste, corruption, and the cost of governance while improving the quality-of-service delivery to citizens. Another example is the potential improvement of the healthcare sector which may help improve the average life span of Africans. These technologies will help improve the health sector by providing enormous connectivity bandwidth that will support telemedicine, sharing of medical information between medical practitioners, patients, and regulators, and automation of the sector. According to a study conducted by Market Research Future, telemedicine will have grown by 16.5% by 2023, as such we Africans must ensure that we constitute a significant percentage of this growth. Furthermore, these technologies will serve as sources of employment to many Africans, both directly and indirectly, thereby increasing ICT contribution to Africa’s GDP. For example, 5G will create an opportunity for more Africans to go into online services as a result of available higher Internet bandwidth. Many application developers will also release highly innovative software applications that can take advantage of 5Gs faster network. These technologies will create a spillover effect that will accelerate the adoption of other emerging technologies such as cloud computing, AI, and Blockchain.

Challenges

In as much as these technologies will provide great benefits for Africans, certain concerns must be acknowledged and addressed. Security and privacy will be a major problem with IoT implementation. Hackers will take advantage of the infancy of the technology to create sensors and other technologies that manipulate information used in making decisions. These sensors can even be designed to send unintended information about the host, for example, an IoT sensor in a home device may be programmed by a hacker to divulge information about your location or pattern of your activities or even behaviour. Some might even be programmed to divulge unauthorized information about patients and corporate entities. Therefore, information security and risk management must be implemented to address the security and privacy issues inherent in IoT. Additionally, the implementation of 5G will also present certain issues such as increased energy consumption because of the deployment of more base stations to cover a larger geographical area, and this cost may trickle down to the end-users. Another issue is the possibility of frequency interference with existing radio frequency devices that also operate on high frequencies such as satellite links and Wi-Fi devices on the 5.8Ghz frequency, however, this issue can be managed by effective spectrum management. Furthermore, 5G is not backwards compatible with 4G, 3G, enabled devices, and this implies that the initial adoption of 5G may be expensive for end-users because of having to purchase new 5G enabled devices. This issue can be addressed by implementing government policies that encourage indigenous production of 5G enabled devices, which may help reduce the cost of these devices.

For Sub-Saharan African countries to proliferate and benefit from these emerging technologies, the African government should invest in actionable and effective developmental policies and regulations. Government should also invest in awareness and capacity development for different sectors of the economy. Finally, the government should work with all indigenous and foreign stakeholders to ensure that these technologies are implemented sustainably.

I will like to thank Digital Africa and its partners for organizing this special event. This clearly shows collective commitment to the achievement of a digital economy for Sub-Saharan Africa. We at NITDA are always ready to support deliberate actions or initiatives to accelerate the achievement of a digital economy for Nigeria and Africa.

Thank you very much indeed.

DigitalAfrica 2021

22 JUNE 2021

THE OPENING OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INCUBATION HUB FOR AI STARTUPS AND RESEARCH LAB, YABA, LAGOS, NIGERIA

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is a great privilege and honour to be with you today at the opening of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) incubation hub for AI start-ups and research laboratory here in Yaba, Lagos state. Establishing this AI incubation hub is quite apt and timely because AI is a vital and fundamental driver for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, that is Industry 4.0. Being a general-purpose technology that is applied across multiple industries, AI is in ushering new ways of living, well-being, learning, travelling and working. Its innovative use-cases are quickly changing lives for the better: creating new jobs; augmenting some existing ones, while entirely replacing others. These all translate into a significant global economic impact and Nigeria must not be left out. Thus, it is commendable that you pulled resources and created a befitting and dedicated workspace and research lab for young Nigerians with AI-centric. Here they will develop their ideas and transform them into viable innovations, incubate and scale up such innovations. This will no doubt help in maximizing our socioeconomic opportunities as we are leading our nation to embrace digital transformation and ushering our industries to be ready for the fourth industrial revolution.

It is in this light, that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and its supervising ministry, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE), took a bold step in establishing the first National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR). NCAIR is one of NITDA’s special purpose vehicles created to promote research and development in AI and other emerging technologies and their practical application in areas of national interest. The center is a state-of-the-art facility equipped with a modern digital fabrication laboratory (FabLab). The center is pursuing excellence via innovation and the application of AI-based technologies to create more opportunities for Nigeria’s digital innovators and entrepreneurs. With NCAIR, it is easier for innovators to drive their AI-centric ideas from inception to impact, creating value and contributing to the national digital economy.

The impact of AI on the global economy cannot be overemphasized. McKinsey estimates that AI has the potential to deliver additional global economic activity of around $13 trillion by 2030. Furthermore, the Institute forecasts that by 2030, about 70% of companies are likely to adopt some form of AI-driven technology and that global GDP could increase by about 1.2% annually. On the other hand, it stated that labour markets would likely experience a shock and consequently huge costs to be associated with such transitions due to possibly unemployment leading to low domestic consumption. It is unequivocal that AI drives global productivity and economic growth through improved efficiency and enhanced decision-making process by making sense of large collective datasets and thus leading to new insights, markets, products, services and industries. As good as it may sound, AI applications and pervasiveness comes with its risks and drawbacks which could potentially be tackled properly through a well-thought-out policy and strategy at the national and global level. The importance of an appropriate policy and strategy to harness the potentials of AI while carefully addressing the unwanted risks associated with it cannot be overemphasized.

Under the directive of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, NITDA along with its subsidiary NCAIR is engaging with all relevant stakeholders to craft the national AI policy and strategy. The main intent of the policy and strategy is to leverage AI and associated emerging technologies to transform Nigeria into a digital economy that stands out in Africa and the world at large. Seven key AI strategic pillars were identified for achieving these national intents, which are based on Nigerian’s uniqueness and the nation’s priorities. These include Human Capital Development; AI Regulation and Data Protection; Ethical Concern for AI; Research and Development; Investing in Strategic Sector; International Partnerships and Engagement.

The National Center of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics as a public research center is open to collaboration and partnership, hence I would like to reiterate today that our doors are open for all sorts of collaborations in various fields of AI such as Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and other emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain and so on. As NCAIR unveils exciting new projects in precision agriculture, which will allow us to practice Smart Farming driven by AI, we think we can achieve a lot through viable collaboration and partnership.

On this note, I want to personally thank the board and staff of Data Science Nigeria for inviting me as a special guest of honour at this event and encourage young Nigerians to make use of the AI hub launched today.

Thank you and God bless.

Wednesday, 7Th July 2021

GOODWILL MESSAGE DELIVERED AT THE AFRICA IOT AND AI CHALLENGE

I am very excited and happy to be at this very important occasion. I want to thank the organizers of this challenge for inviting me to this auspicious occasion. The idea of this challenge is to promote innovation in Africa. Innovation is key to sustainable development. We in NITDA are always happy to associate with any initiative that improves the innovation ecosystem in Nigeria. On that note, on behalf of the Management and staff of NITDA,

I extend this goodwill to the organizers of the Nigeria IoT and AI challenge. We hope that the challenge will yield results that can provide solutions to societal problems.

Africa, particularly, Nigeria with a growing population and dwindling revenues from oil have put significant pressure on the economy. There is a need to harness other areas to diversify our economy. IoT and AI technologies are some of the areas that can play an important role in economic diversification if properly harnessed. NITDA as Nigeria’s information technology regulator has several projects and initiatives to stimulate digital technology innovation and entrepreneurship. We have set up the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) and Office for Nigeria Digital Innovation (ONDI) to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

We introduced the Innovation challenge during the pandemic to solve some of the prevailing problems then that needed to be solved. The outcomes were encouraging. We are currently working on Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Scheme meant to upskill hubs, ideate, and incubate startups for them to be viable and provide solutions. Similarly, we have Entrepreneurship Mentoring Initiative (EMI), where people with innovative ideas are mentored to increase the entrepreneurial success rate.

We are already collaborating and will always be willing to partner with stakeholders, researchers to bring AI, IoT and other emerging technologies to support our economic diversification and sustainability plan for the country. Thank you for your kind attention.

10th July, 2021

GOODWILL MESSAGE AT THE 1st International Conference on Multidisciplinary Engineering and Applied Science (ICMEAS) 2021

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon everyone here.

I am indeed very happy to be amongst you all in this prestigious event being the first International Conference on Multidisciplinary Engineering and Applied Science (ICMEAS) organized by Nile University. On behalf of the management and staff of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), I congratulate the Nile University of Nigeria and the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for undertaking this admirable step in providing a platform where students, researchers, and professionals of various fields of engineering and applied science can share information, exchange ideas and form collaboration for the development of knowledge and technology.

In the world of today, the importance of science and technology research cannot be overemphasized. Science and technology have brought various benefits to mankind. You will all agree with me that, technology has changed our lives for the better. It was evident last year at the onset of the COVID 19, the global pandemic that brought all economic activities to a standstill the world over. But with digital innovation and technology, we were able to move most of our economic activities online. Life went on, this would have been difficult without the advent of digital technology. Similarly, the search for and the eventual discovery of a vaccine for the deadly disease is gradually bringing our lives to normal. This is how technology is shaping our day-to-day lives from the advancement in healthcare, education, agriculture and even security.

NITDA as Nigeria’s information technology regulator has several projects and initiatives to stimulate digital technology innovation and entrepreneurship. We take Technology Innovation seriously. As part of our innovation output, wedevelop an IOT based educational board called Unity Board. We have set up the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) and Office for Nigeria Digital Innovation (ONDI) to drive innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

We are already collaborating with NILE University on various initiatives and will always be willing to partner with other stakeholders, researchers to bring Technology Innovation and other emerging technologies to support our economic diversification and sustainability plan for the country.

With the advancement in technology innovation, especially digital technology, there is a great deal of development that can be achieved in goods and services for the betterment of society. Accordingly, I want to commend the organizers of this conference who are already committed to this cause.

Thus, I urge you all here present to make necessary partnerships and collaborations to make Nigeria a leading knowledge and digital economy by 2030. Wish you a successful conference.

Thank you.

Nile University Abuja

15TH – 16TH July 2021

UNDERSTANDING THE AFRICAN START-UP ECOSYSTEM OPPORTUNITY

It is my pleasure to be here with you today to speak about a topic that is extremely critical to the future of our country and our continent – The African Start-up Ecosystem Opportunity. I say this is critical because finding solutions to the various challenges that Africa faces will determine if the continent’s future as the next frontier for economic opportunities is fully realized. Therefore, gatherings like today’s Start-up and Developer event organized by Google must be supported and encouraged.

Africa’s population of about1.3 billion people constitutes 16% of the global population. Projections also indicate a population growth of 87% between 2020 and 2050 will result in a total population of about 2.5 billion people on the African continent. 60% of Africa’s population will be under 24 by 2025. And by 2050, 1 in 3 youths (aged 15 to 35) globally will be African. These are clear pointers to the continent’s vasthuman resource opportunities to drive the needed disruptive digital innovation to set Africa on a pedestal to the impending 4th industrial revolution.
Therefore, the work of start-ups likeAndela,Wootlab Innovations and Decagon will significantly bridge the digital skills gaps and increase the number innovators in relevant technology development. Africa has the potential to become the next hotbed for skilled talent that will not only provide local solutions but will also export their skills and solutions to a global industry that is actively seeking such value.
The recently launchedGoogle Developer Space in Lagosis a timely development and speaks to the position of Nigeria as a leader in the digital skills and start-up ecosystem in Africa and a country from where the best start-up stories originate. Recently Flutterwave, a Nigerian start-up, announced new funding of $170m, and Paystack, another Nigerian start-up was acquired by Stripe for more than $200m. Other Nigerian technology companies like Interswitch have raised funding in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and all three confirm that in the tech space today Nigeria is the place to engage and the biggest player on the continent.
Other examples in thehealthcareand agritech and commodities exchange spaces such as Flying Doctors, 54gene, Helium Health and Life Bank, Thrive Agric and Afex Commodities and Probity Farms abound on the continent. However, the opportunities for investment and disruption remain very high. Same as the opportunity for hubs and other enterprise support organization to serve as enablers and anchors for these start-ups.
While we havelocal and foreign investors, the opportunity still exists for more private sector involvement. According to thePartech Africa 2020 Annual VC Report, venture capital flows into Nigeria moved from about $100m in 2016 to almost a billion dollars in 2019 and we expect these numbers to continue to improve.
As Government, we are working with the relevantstakeholders in the private sector to ensure that start-ups receive every support they require to launch products and provide solutions. We instituted the Visa on Arrival Policy for persons outside the ECOWAS as part of ourEase of Doing Business Reforms, to enable entrepreneurs and investors to expand into Nigeria.

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

Infrastructure support – supporting the deployment of last mile broadband and catalyzing off-grid power solutions for key clusters in the ecosystem.

Finance – Developing financing options that can catalyse private sector funding across debt, equity, and grants finance models.

Skills Development – upskilling in different digital technology skills for the ecosystem.

Technical assistance for an enabling environment and advocacy for the ecosystem

In 2019, the Federal Government launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) as a sustainable roadmap to accelerate the development of Digital Economy in Nigeria. The policy is premised on 8 pillars namely: Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy & Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Digital Services Development & Promotion, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society & Emerging Technologies, and Indigenous Content Development and Adoption. These pillars aredesigned to catalyse the deliberate development of the digital ecosystem in Nigeria and to deepen the quality of indigenous innovation to solve problems in Nigeria and analogous markets in Africa. So far, the policy has produced focused plans and programs being implemented through various agencies of the Federal Government. These programs include incentives for local development of technology and innovation centres to accelerate growth of indigenous innovation and skills.
In similar vein, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been at the fore in supporting the digital innovation ecosystem in Nigeria. Last year as the pandemic wreaked havoc around the world, NITDA engaged the ecosystem to devise strategies to aid businesscontinuity for start-ups, permits for innovators to operate unhindered in major cities in Nigeria, and developed schemes to support and sustain hubs and start-ups around the country. This engagement led to the inauguration of the Technology Innovation andEntrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme as a sustainable program to continuously upskill and provide support for innovation clusters, hubs, and start-ups around Nigeria. The scheme will include mentorships, capacity building and access to acceleration funds to sustain and grow the pace of innovation in Nigeria. NITDA is also in collaboration with other stakeholders to create programs and platforms to support the innovation ecosystem in Nigeria. In all, NITDA has supported 32 start-ups through various programs, which include international exhibitions, hackathons, capacity programs and acceleration support in the last 4 years.
The Federal Government through theNigerian Export Promotion Counciland the Central Bank of Nigeria has created initiatives such as the Export Expansion Grant and the Creative Sector Loan to enable start-ups expand their businesses and harness the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area.
We are currently building on a 2017 report on “CatalyzingGrowthin Nigeria through Innovation” with a feasibility study for the Innovation Fund, and one of the things we are looking to ensure this report does is to expand on the details of the state of the ecosystem across the country. I encourage all start-ups and ecosystem players within Africa to ensure they look through these reports as they contain a lot of information that will help you in making smart decisions.

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 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. We will continue to apply the lessons learned from engaging with stakeholders, to remove bottlenecks to effective business practice, to build the infrastructure for businesses to thrive and to make sure our regulatory frameworks do not hinder enterprise but embolden start-ups to be successful and sustainable over the long term.

As you continue your deliberations and engagements at today’s event, I want you to have these opportunities and many more that I have not mentioned at the back of your minds. Disruptive innovation with the ability to scale quickly andimpact on millions of persons is what will put Africa on the global map. And these solutions will come from the brilliant minds gathered here today.
Thank you.

Being a Keynote Speech of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, delivered at the Google Startup and Developer Event by the Director-General, NITDA, Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE

INNOVATION AS CATALYST FOR ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL PROSPERITY

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

It is an honour to welcome you to this important event, which is the celebration of the UN Creativity and Innovation Day 2021, organized by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The UN Creativity and Innovation Day is a United Nations day designated to celebrate creativity and innovation and to also raise awareness on the importance of creativity and innovation in problem-solving with respect to advancing the UN’s Global Goals, that is the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

UN recognizes the importance of creativity and innovation to humanity, hence created this Day formally from UN resolution 71/284. This is the fourth UN Creativity and Innovation Day, as the first was celebrated on April 21, 2018.

Innovations, particularly market-creating innovations, have the potential to transform nations and lift them out of poverty. Market-creating innovation pulls infrastructure and investments that can transform the economy and create prosperity. We learned from history how Henry Ford introduced the Ford Model T in the United States and the transformation it brought to America. Likewise, just about twenty years ago, when Mo Ibrahim started Celtel in Africa, people laughed at him that he will fail. Here we are, today, the telecommunications industry is the most vibrant economic sector on the continent. It has transformed societies and provided jobs to millions of citizens by creating new markets and opportunities.

At NITDA, we have identified innovation as a critical tool for implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS). We have taken bold steps to drive our nation’s prosperity by boosting digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

Today, we celebrate this day within the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics premises, one of our initiatives to drive technology and market-creating innovations through the use of emerging technologies.

The National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics is purposely built to drive cutting-edge innovations in emerging technologies through robust research and development programs. Of course, we plan to boost innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs) through innovations, thereby creating many jobs for Nigeria’s teeming youths.

We are re calibrating our activities to focus on strengthening the Innovation ecosystem, promoting the adoption of emerging technologies for sustainable development, digital job creation, and promoting Nigerian content development and adoption.

In line with our goals of strengthening the innovation ecosystem, we drive catalytic programs, like hackathons and innovation challenges that will foster innovation culture. It will also enhance the hubs, where innovative ideas are conceptualized and nurtured. Our programmes are designed to build innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities across Nigeria.

Some of our key initiatives specifically designed to support the innovation ecosystem are Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support (TIES) Scheme, Bridge to MassChallenge Nigeria and MIT-REAP Abuja. Another laudable project we initiated is the Entrepreneurship Mentoring Initiative (EMI), designed to provide mentorship services to Nigerian innovators and entrepreneurs.

Once again, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to this double celebration of NITDA @ 20 and World Creativity and Innovation Day.

UN Creativity and Innovation Day

OPPORTUNITIES OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN THE AREA OF STARTUPS AND OTHER ENTREPRENEURIAL MODELS IN THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR

It is my pleasure to be here with you today, at the Anambra ICT Stakeholders Summit themed Incubating a Technological Revolution. I must commend the Anambra State Government, particularly the Anambra State Information and Communication Technology Agency (ANSICTA), for organizing this event. I am particularly delighted to speak about a very interesting topic, which is the Opportunities of the Technological Revolution in the Area of Startups and other Entrepreneurial Models in the Technology Sector, considering the critical role of startups, particularly innovative startups, in driving disruptions to incubate a technological revolution.

Over the years, the world has witnessed thetrans-formativepower and extent of technological evolution. We have seen how the Global Positioning System (GPS) replaced the use of atlases for navigation, the use of electronic payments as opposed to cash or cheque in settling bills, the use of social media platforms which has changed the way we communicate with family and friends, as well as the use of e-commerce platforms to purchase items as opposed to physical visits to local stores. All these are examples of the technological revolution that has transformed the way we live. Today, technology virtually runs our lives as we cannot seem to function without smartphones, tablets, computers and those favourite applications that we largely depend on in our day-to-day activities. The highly digital life we live, and the development of our technological world have become the new normal. In all these, the contribution of the startup ecosystem cannot be overemphasized.
As a country, Nigeria has had its share of technological disruptions. The disruption has both enhanced the lives of Nigerians and as well caused some frictions between the governments and the governed. Researchers have maintained that technology innovation creates both winners and losers. However, the whole society benefits. In Nigeria for instance, the transportation, banking, telecommunications, entertainment, commerce, hospitality industries among others have experienced some level of disruption. The likes of Bolt are disrupting the existing taxi and car hire services space and creating new market in the transportation industry. Similarly, Jumia, Konga and their likes are using technology to disrupt retail markets, while the likes of hotels.ng andWakanoware not left out in the innovative transformation of the hospitality and aviation sub-sectors. In the financial services industry, our burgeoning fintech companies such as Flutterwave and Paystack are making waves in Nigeria and beyond. All these are pointers to the vast opportunities that can be harnessed by startups to incubate a technological revolution within Nigeria and beyond.
When it comes to startups and entrepreneurship generally, societies with vast challenges/needs present the biggest opportunities. As entrepreneurs build innovative solutions to address societal challenges/needs, they offervalue propositions that often translate to growth and economic prosperity. Startups play a significant role in economic growth by spurring innovation, injecting competition as well as job creation. Additionally, the size of our population offers innovative startups an opportunity of access to a big market by developing solutions tailored at solving identified challenges/needs.
However, other factors that are critical to ensuring that our startups are well equipped to harness the vast available opportunities and drive the needed disruptive digital innovation to set Nigeria on a pedestal to the impending 4thindustrial revolution and economic growth and prosperity are; capital and talent. According to the National Bureau for Statistics, over 50% of Nigeria’s population are below the age 25 years. This is a clear indication of the country’s vast human resource opportunities and therefore calls for concerted efforts of all relevant stakeholders to play their expected roles in ensuring that a critical mass ofdigital skills is built to bridge existing gaps and enable digital innovation and entrepreneurship for job creation and economic prosperity. In similar vein, Nigeria’s burgeoning digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem has attracted significant investments over the years. While we have local and foreign investors, the opportunity still exists for more private sector involvement. According to the Partech Africa 2020 Annual VC Report, venture capital flows into Nigeria moved from about $100m in 2016 to almost a billion dollars in 2019 and more is expected as we continue to create the enabling environment for startups to thrive.
In 2019, the Federal Government launched the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) as a sustainable roadmap to accelerate the development of Digital Economy in Nigeria. The policy is premised on 8 pillars namely: Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy & Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Digital Services Development & Promotion, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society & Emerging Technologies, and Indigenous Content Development and Adoption. These pillars are designed tocatalysethe deliberate development of the digital ecosystem in Nigeria and to deepen the quality of indigenous innovation to solve problems in Nigeria and analogous markets worldwide. So far, the policy has produced focused plans and programs being implemented through various agencies of the Federal Government. These programs include incentives for local development of technology and innovation centres to accelerate growth of indigenous innovation and skills.
Furthermore, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been at the fore in supporting the digital innovation ecosystem in Nigeria. We recently unveiled our Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021-2024, which is targeted at driving programs and initiatives to achieve the objectives of the NDEPS. It is anchored on 7 pillars namely; Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Digital Transformation, Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Cybersecurity, Emerging Technologies and Promotion of Indigenous Content.
The 4thpillar on Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship has a particular focus on implementing programs and initiatives that will strengthen the digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, as well as enable Innovation-Driven Enterprises (IDEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive. Some of the initiatives include; creation of access to public data for innovation and digital economy development, implementation of the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme to support Nigeriantechpreneurs and ensure lower failure rates for startups, implementation of the MIT-REAP to strengthen the IDE ecosystem, a program for the adoption of indigenous innovation for a digital economy to incentivise and provide market access for innovative entrepreneurs amongst others. Over the years, NITDA has supported many start-ups through various programs, which include international exhibitions, hackathons, capacity building programs and acceleration support.
Also, we are working assiduously, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to enable start-ups expand their businesses and harness the opportunities presented by theAfrican Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)agreement.
I would like to reiterate that the NITDA SRAP (2021-2024) is focused on the facilitation of a rapid transformation of the digital economy through elaborate stakeholder collaborations in the implementation of the NDEPS. Therefore, we are open to extensive stakeholder collaborations for theactualizationof the aspirations of SRAP and by extension the NDEPS.
As you continue your deliberations and engagements in today’s event, I want you to have these opportunities and many more that I have not mentioned at the back of your minds. Disruptiveinnovation with the ability to scale quickly and impact on millions of persons is what will put Nigeria on the global map. And these solutions will come from the brilliant minds gathered here today.
Thank you.

Anambra ICT Stakeholders Summit

IOT FOR AGRICULTURE

I am delighted to be part of this MAIDEN IoT FOR AGRICULTURE WEBINAR organized by IoT AFRICA NETWORKS LTD with the theme “Sustainable Food Production and Supply in a Changing Environment with IoT”. This webinar will go a long way in educating the agricultural ecosystem on the need and importance of improving and driving agriculture through the utilization of technologies.

As the world’s population is fore-casted to reach a whopping 9.6 billion by 2050 according to United Nations, the planet’s depreciating weather conditions and climate change, making more difficult to grow traditional crops. Also, there is need to increase food production by about 70% to meet the increasing demand of feeding the world. The role of agriculture must be rethought, keeping in mind that there is one certainty, there must be a move towards sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture refers to the capacity of agriculture over time to contribute to overall welfare by providing sufficient food and other goods and services, in ways that are economically efficient and profitable, socially responsible, and the same time improving environmental quality. I would like to say that this is only achievable if technologies such as IoT among others are employed in improving the agricultural ecosystem.

The Internet of Things (IoT) which simply refers to the ability of physical objects to communicate with the internet has a much-extended reach, moving the world to a new industrial revolution by automating the industrial processes. The technology’s reach has affected every industry, with agriculture being no exception. The Internet of Things (IoT) is assisting the agriculture industry to achieve its sustainable development goals through connected solutions that allow farmers to maximize yield and reduce the use of natural resources. Here are just a few examples of how IoT is making a ‘green’ industry greener can be seen in smart irrigation, the use of drones, smart green houses and data collection.

Smart Irrigation – Through the combination of soil sensors and cloud-based data analytics, farming operations can monitor the moisture in the soil, which allows farmers to determine when – and only when – they should be irrigating. Connected systems automatically start and stop the watering process, which not only conserves valuable resources but prevents over watering, which can be detrimental to yield.
Drones – Surveying crops by foot to gather data about yield, fertilization needs, water levels, and soil conditions is time consuming and sometimes inaccurate. Many in the farming industry have turned to the use of autonomous drones to capture crop images quickly and accurately, automatically sending them to headquarters. This allows farmers to make accurate remediation decisions that prevent small problems from becoming big problems.
Smart Greenhouses – Many in the agriculture industry are utilizing smart greenhouses to limit weather as an obstacle to higher yields and to promote responsible energy consumption. These greenhouses are sometimes equipped with solar-powered IoT sensors, which can help control the environment and monitor water consumption. Sensors can also contribute to energy conservation by monitoring and controlling temperature, humidity, and light levels.
Data Collection – While IoT applications have real-time benefits that address current needs, its greatest advantage is the data IoT-enabled sensors are collecting. By gathering and analyzing IoT-captured insight, farmers have the blueprint for spotting inefficiencies they might not have otherwise seen. Armed with that data, they can fine-tune their operations even further to ensure planting and growing decisions to be even more sustainable each year.

Sustainability in agriculture is an absolute necessity, and IoT is helping farmers to increase yield while preserving the resources required to do so. An example of sustainable agriculture is the Netherlands. It has become an agricultural giant by showing what the future of farming could look like. Netherlands has 41,800 square kilometers and the small country is feeding the world. The Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “twice as much food using half as many resources.” The country is able to achieve the feat because of intensive research and adoption of technologies. The high production per acre testifies to the power of digital and precision agriculture.

For us in Nigeria, about 82 million hectares out of the total land area of 91 million hectares were found to be arable land, but only 42 per cent of this cultivable area is utilized. These are opportunities that must be effectively harnessed through the use of technology to create jobs for the teeming youths who are digital natives. This has prompted us to rethink agriculture differently, by introducing digital technologies and innovations in a strategically through a digital platform that connects ecosystem players to make the journey of business seamless, productive and efficient along the value chain. The ecosystem includes farmers:

Federal, State and Local Governments
Input suppliers and produce off-takers,
Mobile/telecommunications service providers

Banks and investors
FinTech and smart solutions service providers;
Agriculture experts and extension workers among others.

This requires among other things, strategic partnerships and sustainable models that are hinged on “start small and scale exponentially” being implemented through the “National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA)”.

NAVSA is designed to allow every ecosystem player participate based on win-win business models to create far-reaching network effects and offer values that never existed before. The concept of an adopted village implies that a farmer will have to be adopted before having access to all the benefits the platform offers. This means a farmer’s identity has to be verified and known thereby solving problems peculiar to identity. So far, we have adopted 565 farmers across 54 local governments in 3 states and consequently, this has created 1500 jobs. Our target is to have adopted farmers from all over the country.

In line with the NAVSA’s strategy, each adopted farmer is provided with the following:

Smart Device (Tablet);

Seed fund of One Hundred Thousand Naira for enterprise inputs;

Digital Agripreneurship training and skill acquisition;

Connectivity which includes one-year Internet access and closed user group (CUG) Calls for adopted farmers;

NAVSA Platform (Mobile App);

Financial Inclusion through Digital Wallets (Open and close wallets for each adopted farmer, input suppliers and off-takers);

e-Extension services;

Agric. as a Business and Agro Business Models’ Opportunities; and

Continuous reinvestment model

The sustainability of the project is lies on the ability of the system to make it obligatory for farmers to continuously reinvest with their current capital and 25% profit at the end of each season. In addition to this, NAVSA is designed as a performance-based platform. Farmers that perform beyond average overtime, would be recommended to our financial and development partners for loans, grants, and sponsorship. This is an exit strategy for farmers to get agriculture loans, grants and sponsorship. The development partners would see their funds being used judiciously for human and societal development.

Furthermore, we intend to start piloting the deployment and integration of smart technologies such as IoT, GIS technologies and geospatial analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Big data analytics, blockchain among other emerging technologies to promote smart agriculture solutions that address different challenges on NAVSA platform base on sustainable business models. Also, we would be introducing modern greenhouses, farm automation, precision agriculture among others. These solutions will be targeted at high performing farmers.

I would like to commend and express my appreciation to the organizers of this webinar. It is our hope that this webinar will enlighten the agricultural ecosystem on the need and importance of improving and driving agriculture through the utilization of technologies.

Webinar By Iot Africa Networks Ltd

THE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON NIGERIAN YOUTH

Brief about NITDA

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as you may be aware is an Agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications & Digital Economy. We are charged with the responsibility of developing and regulating the Information Technology sector in Nigeria. Following NITDA’s vision of “being the prime catalyst for transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-based economy”, NITDA continues to “develop and regulate IT for sustainable National Development”, as well as increase the integration of ICTs across all sectors and under-served communities in a manner that supports the key objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan and targets set by the Federal Government.

You may also be aware that NITDA is implementing a Road map that is aimed at transforming Nigeria into a knowledge-based society. The 7 key pillars of our Road map are IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Local Content Development and Cyber security. We have rolled out several policies and regulations in that regard.

What are the opportunities for young people during and post covid19 in NITDA?

We have rolled out several initiatives in order to ensure that technology continues to enable business continuity. You may have followed some of our initiatives like the:

Tech4covid19 initiative to measure the impact of covid-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups.

Virtual Startup Clinic – where we gathered Startups, mostly young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, Industry specialist, business consultants and hub operators with the goal of solving problems and challenges they were facing.

Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge – where we held an online innovation challenge to meet the challenges our society is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

NITDA Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme – a scheme to support startups and hubs across the country.

Most importantly we are working assiduously with relevant stakeholders towards ensuring the tech ecosystem is insulated from negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are there learning tools, programs or innovative opportunities for young people in NITDA, preparing them for the Digital work place post COVID19?

We have carried out several initiatives to address capacity building and other challenges associated with young people pre and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. So apart from on-site trainings & engagements (pre-covid) that we have had with youths and the provision of ICT facilities to prepare them for the future work environment and create ICT jobs across the country, we also setup and launched the NITDA Academy for example – a platform for virtual learning where young Nigerians can have access to a wide range of educational courses and tools online. We have also created awareness to showcase the technology trends to watch out for in a post COVID-19 era. So through this platform, they can learn AI, Advance Robotics, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, etc. This gives them the requisite skills to work from anywhere and for any organization or to even set-up their own businesses.

What are NITDA’s Strategy in cushioning the Impact of Covid-19 on technology and innovation value chain as it affects young people in ICT businesses?

We have carried out an assessment to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the digital technologies and innovations ecosystem in order to ensure maximum recovery post COVID-19. We have worked in identifying and showcasing innovative technology that will contain the pandemic, cushion the effects of the pandemic, create awareness on measures to prevent the spread, engage stakeholders in discussion as well as point Nigerians to educative tools to engage with during the lockdown period.

We see the opportunities in contactless payments, 3D printing, Online Shopping and Robot/Drone deliveries etc. and encourage young innovators to take-up the challenge of innovating in these areas and many more. Don’t forget I initially mentioned our Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme for startups and hubs. Not to also forget that we have a dedicated office for innovation and entrepreneurship (OIIE) and another one for supporting and promoting local content (ONC).

Most importantly, our digital first economic policy & strategy take into cognizance imperative considerations that envisions to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy, thereby providing opportunities for sustainable & quality life for all. We have overtime, built strong partnerships with various stakeholders and together, we have contributed immensely to ICT advocacy and use in Nigeria, and we aim to build a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship are used to create value and prosperity for all.

THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE IS TECH

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

I am very happy to be here with you today at the Envestlab unfold 2021 to discuss this interesting topic- the present and the future is tech. This is interesting for me as the Chief Information Technology Officer of the country because it will open up conversations that will shape our thinking towards a sustainable world. Enveslab has been at the forefront of connecting startups, investors, students, and entrepreneurs with the aim of building an advanced startup community. This will not only help us to maximize our socioeconomic opportunities today as a people but also create a platform for preparing for the tech-driven future.

Believe me, today’s modern conveniences are easy to take for granted, but it is important to look back on just how far we have come. According to history, the electronic computer made its first appearance in Nigeria in 1963, in connection with the analysis of the 1962/63 national census data. A decade later the total computer population in the country stood at 20-25, with about six (6) owned by multinational companies. By 1977 the total number of installations had grown to around 70.

Before GPS, we used atlases to get us around; before e-mail or texting, we wrote letters; before Wi-Fi, we used a phone line to connect to the internet; before Interswitch, we would use cash or a check to pay bills; before Skype and WhatAapp, we cared about the cost of long-distance calls; before Jumia, we had to go to a local store; before social media, you worked hard to maintain relationships.

As we entered 2019, we saw technology keeping pace in every field. Technology is transforming the way we learn, work, play and live. Today, technology runs our lives. We really cannot seem to function without smartphones, tablets, computers and those favorite applications that are our lives depend on. In a very short amount of time, technology has exploded in the market and now, many people cannot imagine a life without it.

From the moment you wake up, to the moment you go back to sleep, technology is everywhere. The highly digital life we live and the development of our technological world have become the new normal. According to The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), almost 50% of the world’s population uses the internet, leading to over 3.5 billion daily searches on Google and more than 570 new websites being launched each minute.

We have had our share of technological disruptions as a country. The disruption has both enhanced the lives of Nigerians and as well caused some frictions between the governments and the governed. Researchers have maintained that technology innovation creates both winners and losers. However, the whole society benefits. In Nigeria for instance, transportation, telecommunications, entertainment, commerce, hospitality industries among others have experienced some level of disruption.

Uber and Taxify (Bolt) platforms have come to disrupt the transportation business across the globe. Their adoption in major Nigerian cities like Abuja and Lagos is disrupting the existing taxi and car hire services. Uber as a global platform and Bolt with more indigenous affiliations are creating a new market in the transportation industry. In the last one and a half-decade, the disruption caused by the deployment of telecommunication/mobile technologies is increasingly impacting the country’s socioeconomic growth. GSM lines displaced Landlines. For instance, the web, mobile apps and smart phones are disrupting the traditional way of banking with the introduction of online and mobile banking methods. The likes of Jumia and Konga are using web technologies to disrupt retail markets. Aviation and hospitality sub-sectors of the economy are not left out with platforms such as hotels.ng and Wakanow disrupting this niche market while Blockchain is making waves to disrupt the way the FinTech market works. This is just a little of what is happening in Nigeria’s digital space.

It is hard to imagine life before technology. What if you had to get through a day without the internet? What about going on a road trip without Google Maps? Or shopping from a distant supermarket without Jumia, Konga and many e-Commerce platforms we have today? Or even taking a cab within cities without Uber or Taxify? That all probably sounds nearly impossible these days. This clearly shows that technology is spurring digital innovation and creating both winners and losers, but society and the economy as a whole are benefiting. The ICT sector bailed Nigeria out of a COVID-induced recession that was predicted to crush the Nigerian spirit. The significant impact or indicator is the fact that the digital economy sector is contributing immensely to the economy. It contributed 17.83% to GDP in Q2 of 2020 which surpassed that of Oil and Gas that contributed 9.07%.

In all these, the contribution of the startup ecosystem cannot be over-emphasized. According to a Technet report, in 2019, Nigeria attracted 50.5% of the $1.34B African tech startups raised, which is equivalent to $ 663.24m. This is a clear indication of the vast potentials of the burgeoning Nigerian startup ecosystem. Nigeria is certainly on a promising path. Already, it is Africa’s largest technology market by Internet users and mobile subscriptions, and it boasts the highest tech-startup density on the continent. Lagos is fast becoming a tech hub, with more than 400 startups valued at a total of more than $2 billion.

Technology is driving innovation and empowering organizations in their digital transformation journey. It is helping companies transform their operations and business models. External partnerships can open new markets for platforms and products, and also help companies overcome traditional barriers of expansion and scale with the help of core competencies that each partner possesses.

Industries need to take advantage of recent technologies to reach global markets and to make services available to a broad range of users. The startup ecosystem must therefore rise up to the occasion. We must build capacity for today’s needs and realities while we prepare for the future.

All technologies are born out of purpose and to create value. Each new upgrade creates something better than what was previously used. And on and on it goes. With the lightning speed of technological evolution, it is no doubt that the future will be reshaped with new and emerging technologies such as Cloud services, mobile technologies, Artificial Intelligence and Machine/Deep Learning, Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Intelligent Robotics, Extended Reality XR (Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Mixed Reality), 5G, 3D or Digital Manufacturing and Prototyping, Robotics/Cobots, Drones, nanotechnology, virtual assistants etc.

Every day, people around the world come up with new ways to make the future brighter. And even more mind-boggling? In 2019 ITU confirmed that over 90% of the world’s data has been created in just the last couple of years. With data growing faster than ever before, the future of technology is even more interesting than what is happening now. We are just at the beginning of a revolution that will touch every business and every life on this planet. It predicted that by 2020, at least a third of all data will pass through the cloud, and within five years, there will be over 50 billion smart connected devices in the world.

It has also been predicted that by the end of the year 2021, 31 new billion IoT devices will be installed around the world; the number of connected devices in 2021 will hit 46 billion; by 2030, this figure is expected to jump to 125 billion; the smart home market will grow by $54 billion by 2022; by 2025, the IoT data volume will be 79.4 zettabytes; the number of networked device ownership worldwide will be 3.6 per person in 2023.

At the rate at which data and our ability to analyze it are growing, businesses of all sizes will be forced to modify how they operate. Businesses that digitally transform, will be able to offer customers a seamless and frictionless experience, and as a result, claim a greater share of profit in their sectors.

In all these, the question the policymakers and the startup ecosystem must ask is how are we preparing for the future that will be dominated by technology? We are all stakeholders and must work together to ensure that Nigeria is fully ready and takes its rightful place in a future that will be largely driven by digital technologies.

As the apex IT Agency for the country, we are working towards promoting the digital economy in Nigeria and creating an enabling environment for the startup ecosystem to thrive. The Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on digital economy agenda which is championed by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy under the leadership of my boss and my mentor, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, FNCS, FBSC, FIIM. The digital economy agenda led to the unveiling and launch of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, on the 28th of November, 2019. This is a great milestone in the shift from a resource or physical-based economy to a digital economy driven by digital technologies and innovations.

In line with the NITDA mandates and to align with the strategic objectives of the NDEPS, we recently launched the NITDA Strategic Road map and Action Plan (SRAP) 2020 – 2024, which is aimed at ensuring that the objectives of the NDEPS are fully achieved to proactively facilitate the development of Nigeria into a sustainable digital economy. The NITDA SRAP is anchored on 7 strategic pillars namely: Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy and Skills, Digital Transformation, Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Cybersecurity, Emerging Technologies and Promotion of Indigenous Content.

Specific to innovation and entrepreneurship is the 4th pillar – Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The pillar will enable innovation-driven enterprises and micro, small and medium enterprises to thrive. Indeed, market-creating innovations are key to the prosperity of Nigeria. In this regard, NITDA has come up with initiatives that are targeted at strengthening the digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

We are working on a funding framework to catalyse seed funding for digital innovation at all levels and provide an institutionalized funding for IDEs/startups.

Other initiatives include; Creation of access to public data for innovation and digital economy development, implementation of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme to support Nigerian techpreneurs and ensure lower failure rates of startups, implementation of the MIT REAP to strengthen the IDE ecosystem, creation of a sustainable communication platform between government and the startup ecosystem to drive trust for easier access to open data for innovation, a One-Stop Shop (OSS) to assist tech investors, and a program for the adoption of indigenous innovation for a digital economy to incentivize and provide market access for innovative entrepreneurs.

NITDA has implemented some aspects of the Tech4COVID-19 Committee such as IDs for innovators during the lock down and a hackathon to support government agencies responding to the pandemic, other efforts such as hub and start-up support through the TIES Scheme mention is underway, the challenge with bureaucratic requirements due to public service rules. These are some of our initiatives to position the Nigerian startup ecosystem for global competitiveness and the future.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the NITDA SRAP is focused on the facilitation of a rapid transformation of the digital economy through elaborate stakeholder collaborations in the implementation of the NDEPS. All the seven pillars of the road map and their objectives require extensive collaborations for their actualization. Therefore, we look forward to working with you as an important stakeholder in actualizing the aspirations of the SRAP and largely the NDEPS. It is essential that we work together to harness the vast opportunities as we journey into the future. The whole startup community in the country and particularly, the Kano startup ecosystem is a major stakeholder in this journey of the future. I wish you a successful deliberation.

Thank you for your kind attention and God bless.

INCUBATING A TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

May Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon you all.

I would like to appreciate the Anambra State Information and Communication Technology Agency (ANSICTA) for organizing a stakeholder forum of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector with the theme:

“Incubating a Technological Revolution” in Anambra state. It is my pleasure to talk on the topic “Opportunities of Technological Revolution of Start-Ups and Other Entrepreneurial Models in the Technology Sector”

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) was established in 2001 to implement the National Policy on Information Technology. Later, an act of parliament was passed in 2007 which further empowers NITDA to regulate the IT sector in general. Section 6 of the NITDA Act empowers it to develop and regulate technology application and innovation in Nigeria. The Federal Government of Nigeria through NITDA has initiated several policies and programs to facilitate and guide the development of the ICT sector.

It is worth noting that Nigeria is the 14th youngest country on earth, having a population with an average age of 18.2 years, and about 44% of the population below 15 years of age, according to the World Bank. This population, if properly utilized will create an unrivalled market in the continent, and certainly a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa.

At NITDA we believe Innovation and entrepreneurship is a strong catalytic force for economic growth, wealth creation, and sustainable development. Thus, creating a vibrant and thriving tech and innovation ecosystem for our teeming youths is critical to the future of our country as the next frontier for opportunities. NITDA has been playing a vital role in creating policies and initiatives that support the development of technology startups and creating a viable enabling environment for the ecosystem players (i.e., incubators, accelerators, and capacity building centres) in the country. NITDA, through the “Business incubation” approach it employs, supports and nurtures tech-driven startups in the country. In this approach, the incubators provide the startup businesses with a set of facilities (such as physical space, shared services, business and legal advice, and financial inputs) to facilitate the development of business ideas into established businesses that can survive in a competitive business environment.

To widen and further support the startup ecosystem in Nigeria for inclusive development, NITDA has initiated the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme to encourage more innovation-driven startup ventures to be formed, with an emphasis on indigenous technologies. We believe this initiative will cultivate and enrich the entrepreneurial culture and ecosystem in Nigeria. The program is designed to facilitate access to functional support networks for technology startups, capacity building programs for technology hub managers, providing technical skills and internship programs for young and qualified Nigerians who want to upskill. It will also provide access to industry experience and internship opportunities for candidates who have gone through the technical skills programme.

Furthermore, we have also engaged MIT’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT-REAP), which is a tested and proven innovation ecosystem stakeholder model, targeted at the development and strengthening of Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurial (IDE) ecosystem in Nigeria.

Finally, we believe our deliberation today on incubating a technological revolution will drive the development of digital space and bring the benefits of growth and expansion to Anambra state and Nigeria economy.

Thank you very much for listening.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Envestlab’s Unfold 2021 Dangote Business School

Thursday 19Th June 2021

THE WORLD WIDE WEB: CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE NEW AFRICAN DIGITAL ECONOMY

I am highly delighted to attend this important event to mark the World Wide Web day. This year’s celebration organized by the Centre for Cyber Awareness and Development with the theme: The World Wide Web: Creating Opportunities for the New African Digital Economy” is apt and timely. It is in important events like this, that we can reflect on how Nigeria and Africa at large have used the Web to create opportunities for the citizenry.

Since the invention of the web wide web technology three decades ago by Tim Berner Lee, it has revolutionized our ways of life. The world wide web is one of the ways people access the information stored on the internet. Its positive impact to humanity is invaluable. These impacts range from Governance, Agriculture, Job Creation and Businesses, Healthcare, Education just to mention a few.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Let’s just imagine our life today without the web!

The opportunities created by the web in driving digital economy are enormous, According to International Finance Corporation (IFC) report, the African digital economy future is valued at 180 billion USD. Realizing the importance of this opportunity, the Digital Economy Initiative for Africa (DE4A) aimed to ensure that all businesses and governments in Africa are digitally enable by 2030.

The web is the backbone of the Digital Economy, it has changed our business models and products. And it serves as a pathway to the opportunities in Digital economy through connectivity, data, and digital platforms.

Connectivity ensures that value is created and captured, it also ensures coverage to global access of product and services, 24 hours/day-7 days a week in the digital economy.

Through the web, the digital data continue to drive the evolution of the digital economy. The web provides access to massive volumes of data which is used for analysis on virtually every aspect of our lives.

Another important contribution of the web in driving the digital economy is the development of digital platforms. The digital platforms provide the mechanisms for bringing together a set of parties to interact online and also forms a new core business model. A lot of business, social and personal activities are happening on various digital platforms, these leaves tons of digital footprints that provides huge amount data used for analytics. The power of platforms is reflected in the fact that seven of the world’s top eight companies by market capitalization use platform-based business models.

By leveraging the world wide web, a lot of digital economy potentials lies ahead for Africa, these potentials will increase growth and productivity. Utilizing the web will:

Reduce the cost of production and distribution of goods and services

Improve management efficiency and communication with stakeholders

Increase competition and broaden markets

Provide options for customers

Improves marketing and pricing

As the apex IT regulator in Nigeria mandated with the regulation and development of information technology, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) plays a crucial role in our aspiration to attainment of a digital Nigeria. The Agency through its strategies has come up with numerous regulations and initiatives to ensure that opportunities are created and utilized to achieve a digital economy. Some of these initiatives are

Encouraging free domain registration for public institutions through Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA).

Facilitating Digital Literacy Training and Awareness, Digital content creation and indigenous language translation.

Effective digitization of Government services (e-Government) as well as other e-services.

Deployment of IT intervention projects that facilitate Digital Literacy and Skills development.

Development of Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) and Nigerian e-Govt Interoperability framework (Ne-GIF).

Funding capacity building & Innovation initiatives to facilitate digital jobs creation.

Establishment of National Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR)

I want to say a special thank you to Centre for Cyber Awareness and Development (CECAD) for organizing this celebration. We hope the celebration will provide an avenue to appreciate the impact of the WWW to growth in different aspect of our digital lives and further explore the technology to create more opportunities in our pursuit of achieving a digital Nigeria and Africa at large.

Thank you for your kind attention.

World Wide Web Day Organized By Centre For Cyber Awareness And Development(Cecad)

9th August 2021

LEVERAGING ON TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION FOR ENTERPRISE PRODUCTIVITY

May Peace, Mercy, and Blessings be upon you all.

It is with great honor to be with you in this remarkable occasion as well as have the opportunity to deliver a Keynote Address on Leveraging on Technology and Innovation for Enterprise Productivity. This topic is apt and timely, considering that innovation and entrepreneurship are crucial for long-term economic gains and prosperity.

From time immemorial, man has been known to disrupt activities to survive and create effective ways of achieving efficiency. As time passes and with the evolution of the human mind, we have come to leverage on technology as an enabler for disruption and creation of prosperity.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been credited with a huge contribution to the growth of developed economies in the world. In the same vein, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has played an instrumental role in these economies. SMEs provide cornerstones on which economic growth and stability of any country solidly depends on.

According to a World Bank report on SME finances, SMEs account for most businesses globally and are key contributors to job creation and global economic development, especially in developing countries. About 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide are represented by SMEs. The report further estimates that 600 million jobs will be needed by 2030 to absorb the growing global workforce, which makes SMEs development a critical priority for many governments around the world. Furthermore, a PwC report revealed that in Nigeria, SMEs contribute 48% of the national GDP, account for 96% of businesses and 84% of employment. SMEs are therefore key contributors to employment, economic and export growth to the Nigerian economy.

ICT has proven time and again that it is an excellent enabler, of great benefits to different sectors in all facets of life and has broken down barriers to reach millions of people every day. When appropriately and effectively deployed, technology can have a significant impact on productivity across the enterprise. Furthermore, productivity fuels innovation and growth.

Generally, productivity defines some relationship between the input (resources used) and output (what is produced) of an enterprise. However, the European Productivity Council defines productivity as “an attitude of the mind. It is a mentality of progress, of the constant improvement of that which exists; it is the certainty of being able to do better than yesterday and continuously. It is constant adaptation of economic and social life to changing conditions. It is continual effort to apply new techniques and methods. It is the faith in human progress”. To increase enterprise productivity, strategies to increase the output/contribution of each unit of input/resources must be developed. Therefore, for businesses to leverage technology and innovation as enablers for growth and competitiveness, there is the need for creating an effective digital strategy and setting clear goals to identify technology needs amongst other considerations.

The importance of enterprise productivity could vary from business to business but may include increasing revenue, reducing operational costs, accelerating time to market, enhancing innovation, improving customer experience, raising overall efficiency and improving employee experience. In all these, technology can play a very significant role to achieving success.

Interestingly, the “Work-From-Home” (WFH) imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased productivity as observed in a September 2020 survey conducted by US-based Enterprise Technology Research (ETR). The survey covered about 1,200 Chief Information Officers (CIOs) across different industries around the world. About 48.6% of the respondents indicated that productivity has improved since workers began working remotely as against the 28.7% of respondents that indicated a decline in productivity. This a clear indication of leveraging the power of technology and innovation to enhance opportunities and resources for collaboration, via seamless interconnection of individuals anytime and anywhere to leverage their collective expertise to enhance productivity and remain competitive in a global marketplace.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been at the forefront of supporting SMEs in adopting technology. The Agency had in recent times through one of its subsidiaries, provided different forms of support to over 200 small innovative businesses (also known as startups), that leverage on technology as a tool for entrepreneurship.

In an effort to build on the successes of our programmes, we in NITDA are adopting a more strategic approach in our operations. You may be aware that, as part of our 20th Anniversary celebration, we launched and unveiled a four-year Strategic Road map and Action Plan (SRAP 2021 – 2024). One of the pillars of this road map, Pillar 4 – Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has initiatives targeted at identifying and prioritizing areas of support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in addition to strengthening the Innovation-Driven Enterprises (IDEs) ecosystem – through the implementation of the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (REAP).

Furthermore, as part of the effort by the Federal Government of Nigeria to grow the nation’s economy through digital technologies, NITDA, under the supervision of Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, has presented the Nigeria Digital Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Start-up Policy (NDIESP). The policy is developed in line with the requirements of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS). This policy comprises of five priority thrusts namely: Advancing Human Capital, Unlocking Access to Capital, Enabling Infrastructure, Boosting Demand, and Promoting Innovative Entrepreneurship. The primary objective of the policy is the digital transformation of our economy with the potential of boosting economic growth and diversification.

As the nation exited from recession, NDIESP proposes that digital innovation and entrepreneurship would help fast-track the recovery of other traditional economic sectors by supporting the provision and adoption of indigenous and tailor-made solutions for nationwide implementation. This will be achieved through automation, smart processes, and other ICT solutions. This is a task that requires all hands to be on deck and key stakeholders in government, innovation-driven enterprises, consumers of innovation, technology start-ups, innovation hubs and labs, investors, academia, funding agencies, civil society organizations, service providers, etc have to collaborate and ensure that this is achieved.

As an Agency that is focused on developmental regulation – issuing regulations that will positively impact the society and not stifle innovation or growth, we are keen on collaborating with relevant stakeholders to co-create regulations that will enable SMEs leverage digital technologies to contribute meaningfully towards economic prosperity. I therefore urge the SMEs here to lean towards optimization of these services by thinking outside the box and take advantage of the limitless possibilities that digital technologies provide. In doing so, they will enhance their contributions to nation building and facilitate the realization of Nigeria of our dreams – transforming Nigeria into a leading digital economy, providing quality life and digital economies for all.

I look forward to encountering more positive disruptions that will be further inspired and birthed from this event.

I thank you for your attention and God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

8Th Edition Of Business 360 Clinics By Abuja Enterprise Agency (Aea)

Wednesday, August 25Th, 2021

HARNESSING THE GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES OF THE DIGITAL SECTOR & BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP

The Nigerian digital sector is one of the top contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), about 17.83% in Q2 2020, and equally one of the vibrant and fastest growing sectors in the country. According to a report of the Startup Genome, Nigeria has about 6,500 digital innovation registered businesses worth over USD2 billion. A 2019 report by the Center for Global Development (CGD) commenting. On Nigeria’s digital entrepreneurship landscape indicates that large firms deliver services in healthcare, agriculture, and finance while smaller firms also provide e-Commerce platforms and other retail-related services. Additionally, a Q1 2020 statistics on Nigeria by LinkedIn covering 4 million active Nigerians on the platform, 49 thousand companies and 28 thousand standardized skills, indicates that an industry breakdown of Nigerians on the platform showed Corporate Services, Finance, Education and Software & IT Services as the four top-most sectors employing Nigerians registered on the platform. This data, while not fully representative of Nigerian employment landscape, is significantly relevant to understanding the opportunities in the services sector in Nigeria.

Despite the economic growth potential and availability of opportunities in the space, the Nigerian digital ecosystem has its peculiar challenges, not unlike any other digital tech ecosystem across the world. One of the challenges hampering the Nigerian digital tech ecosystem is not the lack of talents, but mainly a shortfall of the digital skill sets required for gainful employment and building a globally competitive ecosystem to adequately harness the opportunities provided by the sector. Available statistics indicates an annual estimated enrolment population of about 2 million into 308 degree-awarding institutions (174 universities and 134 polytechnics) in Nigeria and about 600 thousand graduates annually with less than 2% having useful digital skills. Furthermore, despite the economic contribution potentials of the software industry as evidenced in other climes across the world, Nigeria currently has an estimated 85 thousand (about 0.24% of non-agricultural labor force) only of the estimated 700 thousand professional software developers across the African continent as highlighted by the 2020 e-economy Africa report. The report further indicated Lagos, Abuja and Benin City as the top locations for developers. About 77% of the developer population gained their skills via informal education channels as indicated by the report. These clearly highlight the existing skills gap and the need for concerted efforts to upscale capacity development for digital skills in Nigeria.

To address the challenges, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) was launched to reposition and rapidly develop the Nigerian economy by harnessing the many opportunities and growth potentials provided by the digital technology sector. The NDEPS is anchored on 8 pillars namely: Developmental Regulation, Digital Literacy & Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Digital Services Development & Promotion, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society & Emerging Technologies, and Indigenous Content Development and Adoption. The 8 pillars of NDEPS are designed and targeted at addressing the identified gaps in harnessing the vast potentials and opportunities available in the digital technology sector, for job creation and inclusive economic growth.

In view of the relatively low digital literacy in Nigeria – as suggested by available data on technology adoption, financial inclusion and broadband penetration in rural areas – and the necessity of human capital to the development of a vibrant digital economy, pillar 2 – Digital Literacy & Skills of the NDEPS is targeted at building a critical mass of digital literacy and cutting edge digital skills to close identified gaps, adequately prepare Nigeria for the impending Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIR) and enable Nigerians harness digital technologies for employment and wealth creation.

Additionally, pillar 5 – Digital Services Development and Promotion is focused on developing a vibrant and competitive digital ecosystem that supports and engenders innovation in Innovative Driven Enterprises (IDEs) and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). A 2019 report by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) showed that 96% of all the business activities in Nigeria are conducted by MSMEs, with 90% falling under the micro category. As such, pillar 5 of the NDEPS will integrate innovation into the MSME structure to create digital-driven SMEs as a bridge to developing a pool of IDEs to provide job creation opportunities for Nigerians.

Furthermore, pillar 7 – Digital Society and Emerging Technologies focuses on ensuring that Nigeria attains the 7 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are most relevant to the digital economy, namely: poverty eradication; good health and well-being; quality education; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reducing inequality; and sustainable cities and communities. The pillar will explore the use of emerging technologies to address national challenges and create a digital innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem that will stimulate the development of innovative new ventures.

Pillar 8 – Indigenous Content Development and Adoption of the NDEPS focuses on promoting and adopting indigenous content to enable Nigeria benefit from the global technology market. The target here is to make Nigeria a global outsourcing hub for digital jobs. Deliberate strategies will be implemented to ensure that digital jobs are outsourced to economically disadvantaged areas to improve their economic conditions.

As the agency of government mandated to regulate the digital technology space, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has designed some strategic interventions and programs to address some of the challenges bedeviling the digital tech ecosystem, create opportunities for the citizens and ensure steady growth of the tech ecosystem in Nigeria. The NITDA Academy for Research and Training (NART), an online education platform, was launched to bridge the widening digital skills gap, increase employability of Nigerians, reduce the unemployment rate as well as promote an inclusive ICT driven society in line with the NDEPS. Over 30 thousand Nigerians have so far been trained in various digital skills on the NART platform. NITDA has also inaugurated a 10-member Advisory Committee on the impact of COVID-19 on the technology and innovation ecosystem (TECH4COVID-19) to advise the Nigerian government on measures to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on the technology ecosystem. The committee has since submitted its recommendations on suitable strategies to address the challenges identified in four key areas: Business Continuity, Funding, Policy and Hubs. The recommendations of the TECH4COVID-19 Committee are currently being implemented to support and sustain the digital tech ecosystem considering the ravaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, NITDA designed the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme as a capacity building program for Hub Managers, technology startups and young Nigerians to ensure massive creation of digital entrepreneurs, spur digital job creation and economic growth in Nigeria. The TIES scheme mainly covers; Hub Upskilling (Hub Managers Training), Technical Skills (Software Development), Incubation (Entrepreneurial Skills) and Internship. These are some of the strategic interventions of NITDA aimed at bridging the skills gap and enabling Nigerians harness the many opportunities available in the digital tech sector.

In a research on the Nigerian software ecosystem indicated that the Nigerian software market is estimated at around USD6 billion if developed to its full potential. The research further highlighted that enterprise software vendors will greatly benefit from the growing investments in modern IT infrastructure by government and large businesses in Nigeria. Additionally, language and time zone offer Nigeria a greater advantage as a potential outsourcing hub for lucrative markets around the world. Therefore, IT Enabled Services – Business Process Outsourcing (ITES-BPO) has the potential to create huge economic growth and job opportunities for Nigerians. It is in consideration of this fact, that a draft National Outsourcing Strategy was developed by NITDA. The strategy aims to deliver One (1) million jobs in Nigeria by 2025 and is anchored on 7 critical pillars: Infrastructure; Skill and Human Capital Development; Branding and Promotion; Finance and Incentives; Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Trust, Privacy and Security; and Multi Stakeholder Governance.

Finally, as we continuously design and implement strategies, as well as consolidate stakeholders’ efforts to fully achieve the objectives of the NDEPS for a Digital Nigeria, we anticipate an upsurge in opportunities and upskilling of digital capacities in Nigeria. Therefore, we look forward to the recommendations from the session that will assist in consolidating the gains recorded so far.

Jobberman Digital Sector Roundtable

HANDS ON THE TECH WHEELS IN A DIGITAL ECONOMY

Brief about NITDA

You may also be aware that NITDA is implementing the Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS) that is aimed at significantly transforming the Nigerian IT Sector. NITDA has achieved a lot in that regards through the implementation of a road map for the development of the Nigerian IT sector which consist of 7 pillars that are in alignment with the 8 pillars of the Digital Economy Policy & Strategy: The 7 key pillars of our Road map are IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Local Content Development and Cyber security. We have rolled out several policies and regulations in that regard.

STEM

When we talk about STEM skills, we’re talking about the individual skills needed to do science, mathematics, and engineering, and those needed to use technology effectively. STEM requires hands-on, active participation to effectively solve problems. STEM requires the ability to look at and propose solutions to a problem through multiple approaches, including ones that are highly creative or “out-of-the-box.” In STEM, mistakes and failed attempts are positive experiences, offering opportunities for deeper learning.

What has NITDA been doing?

First is IT Regulation – Regulation of the IT sector is the primary responsibility of NITDA. Our greatest impact is in the area of creating the appropriate regulations and guidelines for the use of Information Technology in the country with the aim of promoting (not stifling) growth and development in the sector.

We have equally rolled out several initiatives in order to ensure that technology continues to enable innovation and entrepreneurship while addressing challenges of the society. Apart from different IT project interventions that we have carried out across the country to bridge the digital divide and provide access to the underserved population, you may have followed some of our other initiatives like the:

Tech4covid19 initiative to measure the impact of covid-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups – The committee we set-up has come up with Plan to ensure we retain about 100,000 ICT Jobs, and create additional 30,000 in Post COVID-19 Era.

Startup Clinic (Virtual/Physical) – we gathered Startups, mostly young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, Industry specialist, business consultants and hub operators with the goal of solving problems and challenges they were facing. We held several startup clinics in the past and two virtual startup clinics during the COVID pandemic.

Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge – we held an online innovation challenge to meet the challenges our society is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5 startups with highly innovative ideas were selected for the final challenge and 3 of them were selected for further incubation. A support of 1 million Naira, 750,000 Naira and 500,000 naira were won by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners respectively.

NITDA Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme – a scheme to support startups and hubs across the country. With over 120 hubs in Nigeria, we are finalizing plans to ensure rapid intervention is provided for hubs and startups based on competence and carefully selected criteria.

We are continuing with our SMART Agric Project where we engage farmers and focuses on using precision/smart farming to ensure significant improvement in crop yield, quality of farm produce, efficiency and productivity; increased profit margin, harvest forecast, sales of farm produce and eco-friendly agriculture practice. So far 15 farmers have been engaged to pilot the project over 15 acres of land.

Most importantly we are working assiduously with relevant stakeholders towards ensuring the tech ecosystem is insulated from negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are there learning tools, programs or innovative opportunities for young people in STEM?

We have carried out several initiatives to address capacity building and other challenges associated with young people pre and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. On-site training & engagements in STEM (pre-covid) for youths was held in all the Geopolitical zones training about 600 youth across the country.

We also provided ICT facilities (laptops and tablet PCs) to support various youth programmes all in an effort to prepare them for the future work environment and create ICT jobs across the country.

Furthermore, we setup and launched the NITDA Academy – a platform for virtual learning where thousands of young Nigerians can have access to a wide range of educational courses and tools online.

As you may be aware, Digital Learning Technologies is fast becoming a global phenomenon, and as distribution and platforms grow internationally, the market is projected to rise at 17.0% per-annum, to $USD252bn in 2020.

We have also created awareness to showcase the technology trends to watch out for in a post COVID-19 era. So through this platform, youth can learn AI, Advance Robotics, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, etc. We have already provided training for some instructors and Hub Managers from all the geo-political zones in the country. This gives our young people the requisite skills to work from anywhere and for any organization or to even set-up their own businesses.

What are NITDA’s Strategy in cushioning the Impact of Covid-19 on STEM education?

We have carried out an assessment to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the digital technologies and innovations ecosystem in order to ensure maximum recovery post COVID-19. We have worked in identifying and showcasing innovative technologies that will contain the pandemic, cushion the effects of the pandemic, create awareness on measures to prevent the spread and so on. I have initially mentioned the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge. We have seen startups innovative ideas and products like ventilators, digital disinfection chambers, Contact Tracing Applications and remote diagnosis of patients, and many more presented during the challenge.

Engagement with Stakeholders – We engage stakeholders in discussion as well as point Nigerians to educative tools to engage with during the lockdown period. We participate in mediums like this webinar one to advocate strongly for the use of IT in all spheres of life. We have a strong online and social media presence and we encourage not only the youth but everyone to follow our activities. You can also follow us on traditional media where we run our weekly programme – NITDA Impact on NTA. As many of you may be aware, our doors are open to receive further suggestions as well on how to navigate & manage this pandemic.

Technology Trends – We see the opportunities in technology trends like contactless payments, 3D printing, Online Shopping along with Robot/Drone deliveries and so on. We encourage young innovators to take-up the challenge of innovating in these areas and many more. Don’t forget I initially mentioned our Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme for startups and hubs. Do not also forget that we have a dedicated office for innovation and entrepreneurship (OiiE) and another one for supporting and promoting local content (ONC).

Digital First Strategy – Most importantly, our recently launched digital first economic policy & strategy (NDEPS) take into cognizance imperative considerations that envisions to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy, thereby providing opportunities for sustainable & quality life for all. Pillar 2 of the Digital Economy Policy & Strategy for instance, reiterates our emphasis on Digital Literacy & Skills which will see to the massive training of Nigerians from all works of life on digital skills. Similarly Pillar 8 on Indigenous Content Development and Adoption sets a policy framework that gives preference to digitally skilled Nigerians for government funded projects.

Partnerships – We have overtime, built strong partnerships with various stakeholders in public & private sectors and together, we have contributed immensely to ICT advocacy and use in Nigeria, and we aim to build a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship are used to create value and prosperity for all.

With these few points, I wish you all a successful summit and look forward to the positive outcomes of the summit that will support the growth of Nigeria’s Digital Economy and IT Sector. Thank you!!!

The Social and Economic Impact of Covid-19 on Nigerian Youth

AREAS OF DISCUSSION WITH THE DG NITDA

Brief about NITDA

What are the opportunities for young people during and post covid19 in NITDA?

We have rolled out several initiatives in order to ensure that technology continues to enable business continuity. You may have followed some of our initiatives like the:

Tech4covid19 initiative to measure the impact of covid-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups – The committee we set-up has come up with Plan to ensure we retain about 100,000 ICT Jobs, and create additional 30,000 in Post COVID-19 Era.

Virtual Startup Clinic – where we gathered Startups, mostly young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, Industry specialist, business consultants and hub operators with the goal of solving problems and challenges they were facing. We held two virtual startup clinics within a time frame of 1 month.

Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge – where we held an online innovation challenge to meet the challenges our society is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5 startups with highly innovative ideas were selected for the final challenge and 3 of them were selected for further incubation. A support of 1 million Naira, 750,000 Naira and 500,000 naira were won by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners respectively.

NITDA Technology Innovation & Entrepreneurship Support Scheme – a scheme to support startups and hubs across the country. With over 120 hubs in Nigeria, we are finalizing plans to ensure rapid intervention is provided for hubs and startups based on competence and carefully selected criteria.

We are continuing with our SMART Agric Project where we engage farmers and focuses on using precision/smart farming to ensure significant improvement in crop yield, quality of farm produce, efficiency and productivity; increased profit margin, harvest forecast, sales of farm produce and eco-friendly agriculture practice. So far 15 farmers have been engaged to pilot the project over 15 acres of land.

Most importantly we are working assiduously with relevant stakeholders towards ensuring the tech ecosystem is insulated from negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are there learning tools, programs or innovative opportunities for young people in NITDA, preparing them for the Digital work place post COVID19?

We have carried out several initiatives to address capacity building and other challenges associated with young people pre and during the COVID-19 Pandemic. On-site trainings & engagements (pre-covid) for youths was held in all the Geopolitical zones training about 600 youth across the country.

We also provided ICT facilities (laptops and tablet PCs) to support various youth programmes all in an effort to prepare them for the future work environment and create ICT jobs across the country.

Furthermore, we setup and launched the NITDA Academy – a platform for virtual learning where thousands of young Nigerians can have access to a wide range of educational courses and tools online.

What are NITDA’s Strategy in cushioning the Impact of Covid-19 on technology and innovation value chain as it affects young people in ICT businesses?

We have carried out an assessment to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the digital technologies and innovations ecosystem in order to ensure maximum recovery post COVID-19. We have worked in identifying and showcasing innovative technologies that will contain the pandemic, cushion the effects of the pandemic, create awareness on measures to prevent the spread and so on. I have initially mentioned the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge. We have seen startups innovative ideas and products like ventilators, digital disinfection chambers, Contact Tracing Applications and remote diagnosis of patients, and many more presented during the challenge.

Digital First Strategy – Most importantly, our recently launched digital first economic policy & strategy take into cognizance imperative considerations that envisions to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy, thereby providing opportunities for sustainable & quality life for all. Pillar 2 of the Digital Economy Policy & Strategy for instance, reiterates our emphasis on Digital Literacy & Skills which will see to the massive training of Nigerians from all works of life on digital skills. Similarly Pillar 8 on Indigenous Content Development and Adoption sets a policy framework that gives preference to digitally skilled Nigerians for government funded projects.

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