Digital technologies have the potential to create $13 trillion in economic value by 2025, a study by McKinsey, has revealed.
The Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA),Mallam Kashif Inuwa Abdullahi disclosed this in Ilorin, Kwara State, North Central Nigeria, at a digital economy sensitisation lecture organised by the Centre For Digital Economy (CDE) of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.
The lecture is themed ,” Digital Economy: The triple Helix model of government, people and institution”.
Represented by Oladejo Olawumi, a director at NITDA, Abdullahi said:
“According to a study by McKinsey, digital technologies have the potential to create $13 trillion in economic value by 2025. The Digital Economy is transforming the way we live, work and interact with each other. It is creating new opportunities for businesses, governments, people and institutions to collaborate and innovate.
“The digital economy is driven by advances in technology such as the internet, mobile devices, and cloud computing. These technologies are making it possible for businesses to reach new markets and customers, and for individuals to access information, goods and services from anywhere in the world.
“Therefore, in order for us to fully reap the potential benefits of the digital economy, we have to aggregate our resources together as government, people and institutions. The triple helix model is an interaction among these three for the purpose of fostering the economic transformation of various sectors of the economy.
” In this case, our Ivory Towers are the main source of impacting knowledge, research and intellectual discussions. The people and industries being the principal vehicle of commercialisation while the government retains its crucial regulatory role.
Government’s role is therefore critical in the development of the digital economy because it must create an environment that is conducive for innovation, investment and growth.”
Abdullahi recalled that in recognition of technology as a catalyst for rapid transformation of the economy, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy had developed the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a digital Nigeria which was unveiled in 2019, in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari .
He added that the rigorous implementation of the NDEPS, by all relevant stakeholders has recorded unprecedented milestones, such as the unprecedented 18.44% contribution of the ICT sector to GDP in Q2 2022.
Critical Role
He said NITDA plays a critical role in the implementation of the NDEPS and is at the forefront of promoting technology, innovation and building Nigeria’s digital economy.
“In building a Digital Economy, NITDA has developed and implemented several projects with the resolve to develop digital skills in educational institutions and rural communities across the country,” he added.
Earlier, the acting Vice Chancellor of KWASU, Prof Shaykh Jimoh, said that the lecture was, “one other way the university is contributing to the growth of her immediate and extended environment, by bringing together key players in the digital economy world to sensitise participants of the diverse ways the digital economy can be jointly harnessed by the government, the people and the institutions to drive the economy and improve the general quality of life of the people.”
Jimoh noted that in the history of the world, digital technologies have advanced more rapidly than any other innovation, so much so that the world has transformed into a digital world where everyone; governments, organisations and individuals, have become dependent on some form of digital support however simple.
He said that the world has become increasingly interconnected, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic was a period the world saw the need and the importance of advancing how things were being done.
“It was a time the digital world came to the rescue of humanity. It allowed scientists who were working on the virus and on patients to carry out experiments and exchange ideas and findings real time with other colleagues.
This ensured the early discovery of a vaccine. It showed us the need to decentralise converging in a place at a time. It showed the world the possibilities of achieving so much with so little. For instance, in education, virtual learning environments and distance learning have opened up programmes to students who would otherwise be excluded,” he added.
