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At a side Bilateral Meeting with the US on ‘connecting the unconnected, banking the unbanked.’ The US Under Secretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez invited the Chairman of the WSIS and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy of Nigeria, Prof Pantami during the ITUPP22. The US Under Secretary was joined by Ambassador Erica J. Barks-Ruggles, CEO of FCC among others. Pantami was joined by the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Professor Sahalu Junaidu, Professor Aminu Ahmad, and Dr Gwandu.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, this week in in Bucharest, Romania, informed global sector leaders of the achievements recorded in Nigeria’s digital economy sector.
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Professor Pantami while addressing Heads of delegation and policy makers at the on-going International Telecommunications Union Plenipotentiary Conference (ITU PP2) noted that “Nigeria’s digital economy is the fastest growing sector in Nigeria’s economy and the only sector that grew by double digits at the peak of the Covid – 19 pandemic.
“Furthermore, the sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the last three years has been unprecedented. In the first quarter of 2020, the sector contributed more than 15% to Nigeria’s GDP, In the second quarter of 2021, the sector contributed 17.90% while the current statistics stands at an unprecedented 18.44%”.
He told his audience that five, out of the seven unicorns in Africa originated from Nigeria and by implication; Nigeria currently contributes over 70% of the entire unicorns in Africa.
Professor Pantami stressed that the establishment of two virtual academies during the pandemic, dedicated to the empowerment of citizens with digital skills, and the various partnerships with global technology giants to train ten million citizens in the next two to three years have played a significant role in the success story of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“The Nigeria Startup Law, which is in its advanced stage, aimed at providing an enabling environment for indigenous innovators, to provide solutions to existing national and global challenges is also a significant achievement in the sector”.
He reiterated that the development of nineteen national policies, all of which are in various stages of implementation, have facilitated the quantum leap recorded by the sector,” the minister said.
These national policies are in the areas of developmental regulation, Infrastructure, digital skills, indigenous content development among others.
He also used the opportunity to commend ITU for its efforts at global digital transformation, noted a statement by his Spokesperson, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman.
