By 
Africa is a fruitful nest for the digital economy and COVID-19 has proven that the continent’s future is in digitisation, Director General, National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has affirmed at the recently held Digital Africa Conference with the theme: ‘Africa’s Post-Pandemic High Tech World.’
“The vision of Digital Africa to ignite passion for Africa’s development through the use of ICT aligns appropriately with our mandate at the National Information Technology Development Agency, which is to develop and regulate Nigeria’s Information Technology sector by setting up the essential regulatory and governance structures that will stimulate the growth of the IT ecosystem and transit the nation to a digital economy, and Africa by extension.”
“You will all agree with me that Africa is truly blessed with great potentials and opportunities. Occasions like this therefore provide us with the opportunity to deliberate and chart a course towards the development and domestication of digital innovation, which will leapfrog the continent’s development and position Africa as a driver of sustainable development,” said Abdullahi to kickstart discussions at the annual event,
The African continent has the potential to be the epi-centre for digital innovation that could rejig a new normal as the world begins the journey for a post COVID-19 economy driven largely by digital tools, the NITDA’s boss said.
Adding: “In the face of COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on business, governance and society, NITDA has been playing its role to ensure the opportunities presented are maximised for optimum benefit for Nigerians.
“We have organised hackathons to discover innovative solutions and give our start-ups an opportunity to scale their ideas. Our Virtual Learning Programme of the NITDA Academy for Research and Training has so far attracted over 25,000 participants with over 22,000 active sessions. Our National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) project aimed at generating five million smart agriculture jobs across the value-chain is witnessing tremendous success.”
According to Abdullahi, who was represented at the event by the Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions, Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented demand for digital technology solutions in a way that has opened a window for new opportunities and possibilities unlocked by digitalization. He said this has significantly raised the value of a digital enabled economy to sustaining any country’s growth in the 21st century.
He further added that the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has championed the development of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS). The Policy is anchored on eight pillars, namely; Development Regulation; Digital Literacy and Skills; Solid Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Promotion, Soft Infrastructure, Digital Society and Emerging Technologies; and Indigenous Content Development and Adoption.
These outlined strategies are to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy providing quality life and digital economies for all.
Abdullahi averred that part of the activities of NITDA, as one of the implementing arm of the ministry, is aimed at fast-tracking the realisation of the objectives of NDEPS.
The emerging opportunities for jobs and new careers in digital economy are inestimable as can be seen in Nigeria’s fledgling data protection industry.
His words: “Data protection efforts have created over 2,860 new job roles. We have done so much more in the areas of developmental regulations, digital literacy, job creation, deployment of ICT infrastructure, IT projects clearance process, implementation of Public Key Infrastructure amongst others.”
“It is therefore imperative at this time for Africa to step up in its drive towards digitization by developing and leveraging on new innovations and technology solutions that will drive the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the continent.”
