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NITDA wants Nigeria to tap from African countries doing well in IT

By Adeyemi Adepetun
14 August 2019   |   4:21 am
As part of strategies targeted at improving Nigeria’s competitiveness in Africa’s information and technology (IT) space, the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) has said that the country can tap from African countries doing well in technology.

Director General (NITDA), Pantami. Photo/Twitter/nitdanigeria

As part of strategies targeted at improving Nigeria’s competitiveness in Africa’s information and technology (IT) space, the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) has said that the country can tap from African countries doing well in technology.

NITDA, which stated this in Abuja, during the inauguration of the Local Organising Committees, (LOCs) for e-Nigeria and Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, (GITEX) 2019, said the country can tap expertise from Kenya, Rwanda, Morocco, Ghana, Botswana and host of others.

NITDA’s Chief Executive Officer and Director-General, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, who said this, explained that the management of the agency is discussing with the agency’s Governing Board to consider the proposal of co-opting other African countries to the e-Nigeria conference and make it a continental events.

Pantami disclosed that by the year 2020, the e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibition and Award would metamorphose into African Information Technology Conference and Award with the objective of integrating other African countries to the conference.

“We have a lot to learn from other African countries that are doing extremely well in IT sector. This will create a platform form for peer review between Nigeria and some other selected African countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Morocco, Ghana, Botswana and host of others’, he said.

The e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibitions and Awards is NITDA’s yearly flagship event that brings stakeholders together in the Nigeria IT ecosystem. While the GITEX is the biggest technology show in the Middle East and third biggest technology show in the whole world that creates platform for countries to share knowledge and experience and also provides space for start-ups to meet Venture Capitalists and Angle Investors.

Inaugurating the committees, Pantami challenged them to come up with disruptive ideas that will disrupt the successes recorded in the previous years. “I have directed my colleagues at NITDA to look at disruptive ideas; we have to challenge our successes after 365 days and do what will surpass the achievements recorded last year, I therefore hope these two committees will do intensive and extensive works to see to the successes of these national assignments,” he said.

On e-Nigeria, the DG specifically tasked the LOC to consider it as national assignment and put in their best efforts with the view of ensuring a successful outing at the event.

While briefing the committee members on the theme of this year event-“Leveraging Technology and Indigenous Innovation to Attain Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs),” Pantami advised that members can come up with other suggestions that could address Nigeria’s IT challenges. “Nothing is casted on the stone; if you have a strong conviction that this theme should be amended please do not hesitate to suggest another one to us.”

On GITEX, the NITDA CEO charged the committee members to improve on Nigeria’s presence at the yearly technology and investment gathering of over 200, 000 people from more than 145 countries.

The committee must explore new ways through which the country can leverage the opportunities in GITEX to bring the much desired benefits and goals for participating in GITEX.He urged members drawn from across sectors to think out new ways of bolstering the country’s image globally and seeking investments in the technology sector where Nigeria and her growing number of startups have demonstrated great potentials.

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