The Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to digital literacy to bridge global talent gap in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector and also place the country among technology driven nations.
Inuwa stated this as a panelist at the just concluded Nigeria-Spanish Business and Trade Forum, in Madrid, Spain.
He said “Nigeria has talented youths and is blessed with one of the youngest populations in the world; By 2050 we will be the third most populous nations in the world; So, we are concerned about Digital Literacy because the world is moving towards digital and knowledge-based economy and there is a global talent gap in ICT” Inuwa explained.
He noted that ICT is the third largest sector in Nigeria and told the forum that so far, the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria which was unveiled and launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 28, 2019, has been phenomenally successful with monumental impact on the Nation’s economy.
The NITDA Boss informed the gathering that efforts to bring the Nigeria Startup Bill to a logical conclusion are currently being intensified.
He expressed optimism that upon getting the legal backing, the Bill will incentivise Nigerians and create a new market in order to encourage more investments and boost the sector’s contribution to the Nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
While commending the Nigerian Government for the change in the Ministry’s mandate and nomenclature from Communications to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in October 2019, Inuwa noted that although telecommunications is the biggest sectors in Africa, Nigeria is the leading market.
He encouraged investors to take advantage of the country’s huge population/demography, resourceful young minds as well as it’s soaring digital economy and invest without fears.
“Africa is a virgin land, we don’t have legacy infrastructure; So, you can easily invest and grow in many sectors”, he stressed.
Inuwa was hopeful that achieving the ambiguous target of a 95% digital literacy by 2030 would go a long way in creating new markets for not just Nigerians but investors, both at home and abroad.
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