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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) have started North-East Startups Training Programme (NEST).
Participants will undergo two weeks free intensive training targeting youths in innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
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The programme is designed to help Nigerian entrepreneurs in the North-East region improve their business ideas through series of coaching, lectures, and boot camps to allow them generate viable and scalable business models.
The Director General, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, while speaking during the opening ceremony, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to sustaining growth in Nigeria’s tech and innovation ecosystem.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new normal and completely changed the way we live, work and do business with one another. Despite its ravaging effects on most sectors of the economy, it has helped in accelerating digital transformation by 3 to 4 years as reported by McKinsey. Therefore, to remain competitive in this new business and economic environment, new strategies and practices are required”, said Abdullahi who was represented by the Acting National Coordinator of the Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), Yakubu Musa.
He said the agency will not relent in working with stakeholders to create an enabling environment for the youths who constitute about 60% of the nation’s population.
NITDA is focused on to continuously encourage young people to innovate and achieve their dreams of managing thriving enterprises, thereby creating jobs and improving the quality of lives of Nigerians, said Abdullahi adding that the new Nigeria Startup Act will strengthen the legal and institutional support for startups.
He noted that to ensure that Nigeria remains competitive in the global digital economy, the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under the leadership of Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, developed the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.
According to the NITDA boss, the rigorous implementation of the NDEPS was highly instrumental to lifting Nigeria out of recession in 2021 and has seen the increasing contribution of the ICT sector to Nigeria’s GDP, with an unprecedented contribution of 18.44% in Q2 2022.
His words: “In line with the NDEPS, we unveiled the NITDA Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021-2024, to help us evolve and be more flexible to remain ahead of the curve in guiding the IT sector, fostering the digitalization of other sectors of the economy for a sustainable digital economy and creation of jobs for the youths. The SRAP is anchored on 7 strategic pillars, one of which is the Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship pillar.
“The Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship pillar is aimed at facilitating the creation and growth of more Innovation Driven Enterprises (IDEs). Indeed, market-creating innovations are key to the prosperity of Nigeria. Therefore, we are partnering and collaborating with relevant ecosystem stakeholders on various initiatives towards achieving the objectives of the pillar; and one of the initiatives is the NEST programme that we are launching today.”
The NITDA boss thanked the Japanese government for leveraging JICA as a tool to impact on Nigerian youths the NEST programme and others such as the Idea Hatch (iHatch) Startup Incubation Programme and the NINJA Acceleration Programme, as well as for consistently supporting NITDA’s efforts to expand the number of Innovation-Driven Enterprises (IDEs) in Nigeria.
“JICA has again proven to be a dependable partner and totally aligned with NITDA’s goal of consolidating Nigeria’s position as the leading entrepreneurial hub in Africa and an emerging global digital talent hub.
“I wish to express our earnest appreciation for JICA’s partnership to strengthen the tech innovation ecosystem and ensure that more IDEs are created to transform and impact Nigeria’s economic fortunes,” said Abdullahi.
He urged the 20 participating startups to take full advantage of the knowledge offered by the programme to transform their businesses and the economy of the North-East.
His words: “You were all selected through a rigorous selection process that saw the assessment of 8,541 applications submitted for the NEST program. As such, let me use this platform to urge you to stay focused and open-minded to fully harness the opportunities provided by this training to enhance your business operations.
“Indeed, the outcome of this programme will provide you with the resources and skills required to move your businesses to higher levels and become active players within the Nigerian, global tech and innovation ecosystem.”
Also, the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria, Matsunaga Kazuyoshi, described the collaboration as value-bringing to the beneficiaries.
