NITDA Collaborates With The NSIA To Empower Young People And Startups In Nigeria

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is to partner with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) to help startups in Nigeria create more jobs and wealth. The Director-General of NITDA, Mallam Inuwa Abdullahi, announced their arrangement with the NSIA after he paid a courtesy visit to the NSIA management with his management team.

During the meeting between the two Federal agencies, they both tabled ideas on how to help the country and its economy with the necessary infrastructure to boost the Federal Government’s digital economy policy. Still, the plans they set out will only be effective if they agreed on a consortium.

The Director-General of NITDA, Mallam Inuwa Abdullahi to, hinted on the fact that information and communication technology has taken full control of various economies all over the world; thence it is very important for massive investment into the technology sector in Nigeria, with adequate infrastructural development in the Information Technology (IT) industry.

Nigeria has a population close to 200 million people with more than 50 percent of them below the age of 60. The Director-General of NITDA also highlighted the necessity of stimulating the Information Technology (IT) industry via content localization, rather than importing from other countries; this helps boost the country’s standard and produce skilled innovators.

The Director-General of NITDA also noted that his management team voluntarily decided to visit the NSIA aiming for a partnership on infrastructural development, especially in investing in local content development.

The Director-General of  NITDA  said that At NITDA, they had “initiated number projects during lockdown to proffer practical solutions to the Nigerian economy in this COVID-19 era. Young innovators were challenged to come up with the technology solution that cushioned the effect of the COVID19.”

Furthermore, the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), an initiative to digitize farming processes has yielded positive results according to the agency. “We have trained and equipped over 140 Nigerians who are already benefiting from the scheme. We are currently working to escalate it to every part of the country. If we work collectively, we can achieve a lot. “

Still, on the same subject, the Managing Director of NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, was thankful to the Director-General of NITDA for making out time to schedule a visit at the NSIA agency, particularly to discuss how to process a partnership between both agencies and the areas that need infrastructural development.

The Managing Director of NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, also said the NITDA visitation is a phenomenon, noting that the collaboration between the two agencies to work towards developing the technology sector and the economic activity of Nigeria is tagged historical since Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is contributing massively to the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Managing Director of NSIA said that “Our mission is to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for all Nigerians’ benefit. We want to create economic stability in the country, and IT is a great way to achieve that”.