The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • e-payment expert urges MDAs on electronic revenue collection

    Executive Director, Systemspecs, Deremi Atanda has urged Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to embrace the use of technology, especially the electronic or e-payment platform to collect revenue, arguing that the option provides convenience and improved revenue generation to government.

    Atanda who lamented that MDAs were still faced with several challenges on how to implement Federal Government’s electronic payment policy, said there are lots of e-payment options now open for MDAs to collect government funds.

    Speaking during the technical session of the 2015 E-Government Summit, which had Key to Sustainable Development as its theme in Abuja, he said e-payment collection completes the cycle of revenue collection for the government.

    Addressing the topic of how to design and implement electronic payment platform for government revenue collection” Atanda identified six electronic platform options available to MDAs in Nigeria, adding that electronic collection completes the cycle of processing government transaction electronically.

    According to him, the six available electronic platform options are “bank branches, internet banking, point of sales, debit and credit cards, mobile wallet, and micro finance banks.”

    The benefits of these platforms are immense as, according to him, “these options give government revenue collectors 168 hours instead of 35 hours a week. It increased collection channels at almost zero cost and provides reliable and verifiable data for planning.”

    He added that the MDAs, through these options would get “improved service delivery, access to comprehensive and timely reports as well as expanded business opportunities, which would ultimately improve revenue.”

     

  • The man Danbatta

    Born in Danbatta Local Government Council of Kano State, he obtained his BEng, MSc and PhD degrees from the Technical University of Wroclaw in Poland and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology UK respectively. He had served as a lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Technology of Bayero University Kano for 28 years, where he taught courses in telecommunication engineering and electronics and held academic positions of Dean of the Faculty and Head of Department at different times. His main administrative responsibilities, in the university, included Deputy and Acting Dean of Students’ Affairs, Administrator of the Works Department and later, Director of the Centre for Information Technology (CIT). He was also chairman to, or member of, over 60 university committees and task forces.

    In administrative and other responsibilities outside the university, he has served as chairman or member to over 20 committees, prominent among which was the Chairmanship of the Implementation Committee of Kano State University of Science & Technology and subsequently became its pioneer Deputy and Acting Vice-Chancellor when it took off in 2001. Prof. Danbatta has supervised more than 60 PhD, MEng and BEng projects in the diverse areas of telecommunications and has also served as external examiner to seven universities and polytechnics and is an assessor, technical reviewer and editorial member to eight research journals. He is a recipient of 18 distinguished awards and certificates of honour. Prof. Danbatta, who had served two terms of five years as a Member of Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), is also a COREN registered engineer and member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE).

    He has to his credit more than 50 articles in journals, conference proceedings and technical reports. He is also the author of a six-chapter, 167-page book titled Elements of Static Engineering Electromagnetics. He was the Vice President of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), International Centre for Advanced Communications Studies, which was established in the year 2004 by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to build capacity for the Nigerian/African telecom industry in the diverse areas of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

    While at DBI, he developed expertise in ICT implementation, policy and regulation in fields such as regulation of the Telecommunications Sector of the Nigerian Economy; Competition, Interconnection and Price Regulations in a Developing Economy; Issues concerning Authorisation of Telecommunications Services in a Developing Economy; Strategies for ensuring Universal Access and Service to Telecommunications Services; Strategies towards Effective Spectrum Management in a Developing Economy; Issues on Institutional and Legal Framework for Effective Regulation of Telecommunications Services; and New and Emerging Technologies and Impact on Regulation of the Telecommunications Sector of a Developing Economy.

    Prof. Danbatta, who recently served as a member of the Implementation Committee of the Northwest University Kano, is presently the Acting Vice-Chancellor of Kano University of Science and Technology.

  • How to eschew stolen phones in Computer Village

    Computer Village, Ikeja has been described as the final destination of IT product in Africa where customers from within and outside Nigeria purchase quality laptops, phones, electronic accessories and other electronic gadgets. However the sale of stolen phones have dented the image of the ICT village.  Most people end up buying stolen phones during their first visit to the market.

    Business owners in the market blame this on ignorance on the part of visitors.

    One of them, Christian Obiora said people easily fall prey because most of them go after the purchase of second hand phones which most times are purchased from over-zealous road sellers who do not have addresses.

    “It  will be advisable for customers to always purchase new brand products which can easily be got from shops for which receipts are issued after payment. That way, there is a verifiable way of tracing the seller.

    Mr. Mark Amadi said people fall victim of buying  stolen products because they are often persuaded by roadside sellers who most times sell stolen phones.

    He said: ” The same phone that is being sold for N50,000  in the shop  is the same phone a person on the roadside will sell for  N25,000 and people will buy it. Few days after, the phone develops fault and you come back to that same spot, you won’t see the person who sold the phone. Who is to  blame?”

    He also said most people are fleeced because they don’t come to the right place to get the right product, adding that all people wanted is to get a quality gadget for a cheaper price.

    He said there are benefits of buying from Ikeja Computer Village which include the opportunity to buy a quality product at affordable prices. He warned that one could however end up buying fake product by paying attention to people soliciting patronage  instead walking into a shop and bargain  for the price of whatever you wish to buy.

    He said this is the reason most people come to Computer Village while some people think everyone is a criminal, He said this is the reason most people come to Computer Village while some people think everyone is a criminal, that it is a place for pick-pockets and swindlers. “This is not so because the buyers themselves don’t go to the right place to get quality product they desire. They prefer to patronise impostors whose stock in trade is sellling stolen gadgets or badly used ones which always brings reputational challenge to us,” he said.

     

     

     

  • Glo gives customers Wi-Fi roaming in 42 countries

    Glo gives customers Wi-Fi roaming in 42 countries

    Globacom has unveiled Wi-Fi roaming to give its teeming subscribers seamless internet connectivity when they travel to 42 countries.

    The service gives the telco’s subscribers who travel outside the country access to over 300,000 internet hotspots in 42 countries around the world.

    In a statement, its  Chief Commercial Director, Mr. Ajay Mathur, said subscribers on pre-paid and post-paid platforms will be able to enjoy exceptionally fast WiFi speeds on their mobile devices or tablets in popular locations such as airports, hotels, restaurants, stadiums and coffee shops in the countries where the offer is available.

    “The Glo Wi-Fi roaming plans are like passes which grant our subscribers access to their favorite social media applications, websites or emails on any Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device or tablet. It automatically connects them to thousands of hotspots when they travel,” Mathur said.

    According to Mathur, the service is available in daily and weekly hourly Wi-Fi plans which are affordable, easy to monitor and give the subscriber double validity. The daily pack costs N2,100 for one hour and has a validity period of two days, while the weekly pack costs N9,200 for five hours with a 14-day validity.

    “Whichever pack the subscriber chooses, he is guaranteed the same clear and transparent rate across all available hotspots,” Mathur said. He added that each purchased plan has a period of six months within which the subscriber can use it.

    Some of the benefits the subscribers will be enjoying include internet speed three times faster than 3G, zero roaming charges, absence of contracts to use the service, zero fee for cancellation and round-the-clock customer service.

    The countries w here subscribers can enjoy this service include, France, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Japan, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, Brazil, India, Austria, Belgium, Taiwan, Denmark, Ireland, Netherland and Russia.

    Others are Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Greece, Guadeloupe, Hungary, Israel, Luxemburg and Malta. The rest are Martinique, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Reunion Island, Australia, New Zealand and Grenada

    Mathur explained that subscribers who wish to enjoy the service only have to download the Glo Wi-Fi roaming App which is available on the Android market and Apple Store. Subscription is done via the app and by SMS locally before the customer travels. Subscription abroad would incur roaming charges as the subscriber would need to activate his roaming service to download app or send SMS.

    He also said that the prepaid subscriber would need to load credit on his account to ensure he has enough airtime to cover his desired Wi-Fi plan, while the postpaid customer simply subscribes for the desired plan from the App and the cost associated with the plan will be reflected in his monthly bill.

     

  • Fake phones, laptops: Dealers blame SON, Customs, others

    Fake phones, laptops: Dealers blame SON, Customs, others

    Information technology dealers at Computer Village, Ikeja have decried the inadequacies of regulatory government agencies and greed of dubious importers making sub-standard IT products to thrive in the market.

    According to the Secretary General of Computer and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria, CAPDAN, Mr. John Oboro, the government is the only agency that has the instrument of enforcement as the association can do just  a little to curb the menace.

    He said: ‘’The man who imported counterfeit smartphones and laptops want to make profit. But it is the duty of the government to checkmate it. The Federal Government has moved a step forward to evolve the MANCAP and the SONCAP certificates. For you to import a product into Nigeria, you have to get the SONCAP certificate. These are not regulations by the ordinary men but by the government’.

    Mr. Oboro further added, ‘’Sub-standard phones and laptops do not fly into the country. They pass through the border and we have the custom officials there who are supposed to monitor and regulate importation’.

    He however, made a clarion call that all hands must be on deck to ensure that computer village is free from all sub- standard products. In his words: Everyone in Nigeria has a contribution to make. We must put our hands together to drive the process together’.

    Corroborating this was Mr. Emeka, a dealer in laptops and electronic accessories who said, ‘’we all know that these products are not produced in Nigeria but they are imported. It is the duty of the custom officials to monitor what comes into the country but some of these officials are very corrupt, they collect bribes and allow counterfeit products into the country’’.

    He added that though some dealers intentionally import fake products, there are also instances of factory error; where original Smartphone develop technical faults a couple of weeks after purchase and customers blames the dealers instead of the manufacturer.

    Speaking on the increase of sub-standard products at Computer Village, a customer who claimed anonymity said, ‘Computer Village is a market where deceit thrives. I bought a smartphone from one of the shops two days ago, but when I got home, I discovered that the phone cannot access the internet. I have been to the shop twice but the issue is yet to be resolved.

    When asked if he would make a report to the police he said, ‘I would rather let sleeping dog lie, because taking the case to the police does not mean I will get an internet enabled phone at the end. I would not want to lose at both ends.

    A computer Engineer who introduced himself as Olaniyi Sodiq described Computer Village, Ikeja as an IT Village where everything goes regardless of the standard. According to him the market offers products of different qualities to suit the varied taste of its customers.

    He said, ‘if you want to get a new branded phone, a used phone, or even swap your used phone for another, it all depends on the choice of the consumer, I go for the original accessories but sub-standard accessories are also available too’. nformation technology dealers at Computer Village, Ikeja have decried the inadequacies of regulatory government agencies and greed of dubious importers making sub-standard IT products to thrive in the market.

    According to the Secretary General of Computer and Allied Product Dealers Association of Nigeria, CAPDAN, Mr. John Oboro, the government is the only agency that has the instrument of enforcement as the association can do just  a little to curb the menace.

    He said: ‘’The man who imported counterfeit smartphones and laptops want to make profit. But it is the duty of the government to checkmate it. The Federal Government has moved a step forward to evolve the MANCAP and the SONCAP certificates. For you to import a product into Nigeria, you have to get the SONCAP certificate. These are not regulations by the ordinary men but by the government’.

    Mr. Oboro further added, ‘’Sub-standard phones and laptops do not fly into the country. They pass through the border and we have the custom officials there who are supposed to monitor and regulate importation’.

    He however, made a clarion call that all hands must be on deck to ensure that computer village is free from all sub- standard products. In his words: Everyone in Nigeria has a contribution to make. We must put our hands together to drive the process together’.

    Corroborating this was Mr. Emeka, a dealer in laptops and electronic accessories who said, ‘’we all know that these products are not produced in Nigeria but they are imported. It is the duty of the custom officials to monitor what comes into the country but some of these officials are very corrupt, they collect bribes and allow counterfeit products into the country’’.

    He added that though some dealers intentionally import fake products, there are also instances of factory error; where original Smartphone develop technical faults a couple of weeks after purchase and customers blames the dealers instead of the manufacturer.

    Speaking on the increase of sub-standard products at Computer Village, a customer who claimed anonymity said, ‘Computer Village is a market where deceit thrives. I bought a smartphone from one of the shops two days ago, but when I got home, I discovered that the phone cannot access the internet. I have been to the shop twice but the issue is yet to be resolved.

    When asked if he would make a report to the police he said, ‘I would rather let sleeping dog lie, because taking the case to the police does not mean I will get an internet enabled phone at the end. I would not want to lose at both ends.

    A computer Engineer who introduced himself as Olaniyi Sodiq described Computer Village, Ikeja as an IT Village where everything goes regardless of the standard. According to him the market offers products of different qualities to suit the varied taste of its customers.

    He said, ‘if you want to get a new branded phone, a used phone, or even swap your used phone for another, it all depends on the choice of the consumer, I go for the original accessories but sub-standard accessories are also available too’.

  • ‘Why rich Nigerians should invest in technopreneurs’

    Managing Director/CEO of InfoGraphics Nigeria, Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, has appealed to rich Nigerians to start investing in tech start-ups, adding that there is no basis to fear about return on investment (RoI).

    According to him, most studies have shown that rapid growth start-ups generate the most new jobs in an economy and require the highest amount of equity risk capital. He quoted Craig Mullett from the Branison Group as stating that a 2005 study of 37 countries showed that out of various sources of funding including debt, private equity, venture capital and angel investor capital, “only angel investor capital significantly positively influenced the propensity to be entrepreneurs”.

    Mba-Uzoukwu who is also the vice chairman, Demo Africa 2015 edition, said while all successful entrepreneurial hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Tel Aiv, Bangalore and Warsaw all have developed angel investor networks, which incubated start-ups rely on for financing, contacts and strategy advice, rich Nigerians are slow in stepping up to create the platforms and enterprises of tomorrow.

    He said: “Interestingly Nigeria HNIs (high networth individuals) appear unaware of, disbelieving of, and/or uninterested in the latent potential of local technopreneurs despite the relatively low entry barriers to investors and a burgeoning start-up community. We recognise that the tech industry is still in early stage of development.

    “We must be intentional and aggressively so in looking inwards if we are to find sustainable and uniquely suited solutions to the challenges facing our country in the context of a 21st century global economy. Demo Africa is a great step and a new class of indigenous Nigerian investors must rise up and be counted because technology offers the most realistic stairway to a brighter future for Africa.”

    He said Demo Africa connects African startups to the global ecosystem, adding that the initiative “is the place where the most innovative companies from African countries get a platform to launch their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed.”

    A successful entrepreneur with proven capability, Mba-Uzoukwu, explained that several options are available to potential investors under engagement models, which range from business angels to venture capital and private equity, for funding technology startups.

    “Whether it is purely a financial investment or a business decision to diversify business portfolio or an eagerness to join the next big game-changer, it seems pretty obvious that every savvy investor should have a technology company in his portfolio.  Local investors who shun technology businesses today will definitely see the earliest pickings taken by their Western counterparts at ridiculously low valuations despite the apparent high risk,” he warned.

    While describing technology as the fourth wave that should not be missed if Africa would hope for economic transformation, he said Konga and Paga are signposts of things to come with Nigerian entrepreneurs requiring an infusion of foreign blood in order to scale in the absence of local HNI interest.

    He explained that investing in start-ups would soon be an investment option from banks to corporate organisations and individual investors. “By simple logic, if you have cash and have already made investments in real-estate, shares, other financial instruments, gold and possibly your own enterprise too, what can you do with any residual cash that you have? Invest in a start-up stands out as a good option – given that Nigeria is now a fertile ground for ideas and innovation, and being an entrepreneur is cool. And if you are wondering if any have been successful, just look at Interswitch, Hotelsng, M-Tech, IrokoTV, and Jobberman.”

    According to him, the technology start-up industry has never been more vibrant with ideas and willingness to tread the uncharted waters and a burning desire to bring change to the communities in which they exist.  “There is a smoldering fire in the eyes of Nigerian youths that view technology as a means of self-expression, actualisation and a driver for creating the Nigeria of their dreams,” he said.

    He said Nigerian youths are “socially-committed, deeply convicted and determined to see the fullest expression of their values and ideas in the markets they have in focus. They want the double-impact – to make it big and to make it happen. High net worth Nigerians should support them. Look around you – there will be an entrepreneur near you and that is the exciting thing about Nigeria. Therefore, if you don’t have the next big idea or experience or inclination to start your own venture, you can play a part in the start-up community by funding them.”

     

  • Alibaba agrees £4.4b tie-up with Chinese electronics giant Suning

    Alibaba agrees £4.4b tie-up with Chinese electronics giant Suning

    Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is to pay 28.3 billion yuan (£3bn) for a near-20 per cent stake in consumer electronics retailer Suning, the two companies have announced.

    At the same time the Chinese shopping chain will invest up to 14bn yuan for just over 1pc of Alibaba, the companies said, bringing the total value of the deal to nearly £4.4bn.

    It will make Alibaba the second-largest shareholder in Suning, the statement said, adding the two firms would embark on a “strategic collaboration” that would “bring benefits to hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers” and marked “a milestone that signals the further integration of digital and offline retail”.

    Suning is one of China’s biggest consumer electronics retailers, while Alibaba’s Tmall.com site is believed to command more than half the Chinese market for business-to-consumer transactions. Its Taobao platform holds more than 90 per cent of the country’s consumer-to-consumer market.

    Alibaba made its name – and its fortune – by enabling transactions online, challenging traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers. But as the market matures it is developing its operations in areas such as payments and logistics, creating potential synergies with former rivals.

    Suning, headquartered in the eastern city of Nanjing, operates 1,600 stores in more than 280 cities nationwide, the statement said, and also has its own e-commerce business.

    Alibaba’s founder and executive chairman Jack Ma said: “Over the past two decades, e-commerce has become an inextricable part of the lives of Chinese consumers, and this new alliance brings forth a new commerce model that fully integrates online and offline.”

    The two companies will also work together on logistics and suggested that “in the near future” customers could receive orders as quickly as two hours after they were placed.

    Suning chairman Zhang Jindong said it would “help transform China’s manufacturing industry and broaden the global horizons of Chinese brands”.

    The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions by Alibaba as Ma tries to diversify. The New York-listed company faces domestic competition from Internet giants Baidu and Tencent, and remains relatively little known outside China.

  • Why analogue phones are fading away

    Analogue phones, which used to be the only option for all phone users some years back, are now fading off. Despite their durability, life span, cheap price and long lasting components which is durable for the Nigerian society, these types of phones seem to be few in market.

    According to information gathered at the Lagos Computer Village, analogue phones are no more in the market because they are not being purchased and are therefore not imported into the country.

    The Secretary, Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN), an umbrella body representing Information Communication Technology vendors in the Computer Village Ikeja, Mr John Oboro, noted that some of the reasons analogue phones are fading away was due to the change in the face of technology and the opportunities around the change.

    According to him, the introduction of smart phones gives more money than the analogue phones. “You cannot expect the man who wants to make more profit to remain in the old ways of doing things because these smart phones give more money than those analogue phones. Smart phones have more advantages. The madness for new phones, for new technologies cannot help us remember whether there is one phone they call, Nokia 3310 or Nokia 105. A lot of things you can do on the computer system can now be done on the phone, so you should not expect people to go back.”

    He added that due to development, the time we are in now, dictates what happens. “What we rather have now is China phones which are not so durable but people will rather buy them, though the money they would have used to buy one genuine phone, would have been used to buy five China phones,” he said.

    Mrs Ronke Ayo-Ibine, in charge of Dr Phones shop at the Computer Village added that those producing the analogue phones are no longer doing so because no one is using them, therefore, no one is buying.

    She noted that the demand for phone is higher now than those days of analogue because more people now use phones even children who cannot maintain nor pay the bills.

    Another trader who identified himself as Obina, spoke on behalf of the manager of Zip shop, a phone store, noted that smart phones has increased competition, saying that there are lots of brands now unlike some years back when analogue was just within the range of Nokia, Motorola, Sajem and a few others.

    “Then, people had to buy what they see because they have no choice, but today, we have so many brands and there is competition. Some people can even go for the cheaper ones”.

    He added that with smart phones, there is more profit on the path of the sellers somehow, but it does not pay always because of the competition, though Smart phones have brought a better and easy life because a lot can be done via the phone.

    He added that despite the issues around the smart phones, in terms of battery drops, people still prefer them because of the varieties of work they  can do.

     

  • Group urges Buhari to adopt data-based information sharing

    Group urges Buhari to adopt data-based information sharing

    The Institute of Information Management (IIM) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari  to adopt data-based information sharing in his administration saying this would help to ensure transparency and prevent fraudulent acts in governance because information would now be everywhere and accessible by all.

    Speaking during the annual lecture, induction and investiture ceremony of the Institute  at the University of Lagos main auditorium, its President, Oyedokun Oyewole noted that government needed to pay attention to information management, saying this is reinforced by the demand by Nigerians on the need for good governance and delivery of campaign promises made by the government.

    He added that the success of the new administration will critically depend on good information management, stressing that bringing good practice, standards and systematic governance to the management of data and information ought to be a national priority.

    Dr Oyewole said there is need for the new government to endorse effective information management which will ensure transparency, accountability, good governance and access to information.

    “This would be an essential aspect of the resources and infrastructure required for economic recovery and promotion of business integrity in government and the society at large with a resultant increase in economic value,” he said.

    He stressed that government should ensure that all its agencies are held accountable for service delivery, by accessing what needs to be done in preparation to make plans and decide what choices and risks that will shape those plans.

    Lagos State governor, Akinwumi Ambode who was represented by Director- General, Lagos State Financial Systems Management Bureau, Mr. Abdulahmed Mustapha, spoke on Ambode’s continuous commitment to selfless service for the social economic transformation of the state. He called on Lagosians for corporation and support of his determination to improve the lives of all.

    Mr. Mustapha added that the government was always interested in the use of ICT to govern the people of the state relative to the population and the number of staffs.

    He said the administration has adopted ICT in several ways including e-building permit, procurement processes and security measures, adding that the process is still ongoing. “We will no longer employ any individual that is not a commuter literate, because all processes in the administration will be done via systems. We as a government have also put it on ourselves to quip our youths with skills that will make them compete favourably anywhere in the world. We also want to work with the Lagos State University to add to the school curriculum ICT skills that would be useful for the graduates,” he said.

     

     

  • Chams to insurers: deploy IT tools to deepen penetration

    The founding Managing Director, Chams Plc, Sir ‘Demola Aladekomo, has urged insurers to explore the use of information technology (IT) tools to deepen penetration and fully optimise the huge potential of the sector in the country.

    He said with IT tools deployment, insurance would be seen, felt and sold like commodity which it actually is. It would be sold everywhere, he argued.

    He said: “There is a need for insurance companies and its professional bodies to leverage this (IT) platform by partnering with relevant companies and agencies in the technology sector to create and provide specialised services which would help update their internal and external operations.”

    With the swift accessibility of information and automation of business processes made possible by technology, Aladekomo urged insurance companies to take advantage of IT tools such as mobile phones, automated teller machines (ATMs), Point of Sale Terminal (PoS), online retail websites and kiosks to offer real-time services and products to members of the public for market penetration to expand their businesses to new frontiers.

    Speaking as guest speaker in Abuja during Insurance Industry 2015 Mega Conference, he listed ways through which risk-bearing companies can effectively leverage on IT tools to promote their products and services in the market considering the massive adoption of technology tools in the country.

    Represented at the conference by the Managing Director, Chams Access Limited, Funke AlomoOluwa, who delivered a paper titled Information Technology as a Strategy for Market Penetration and Expansion, Aladekomo urged insurance companies to develop vibrant digital marketing strategies and become more visible on social media platforms by interacting with their followers and the entire online community to sensitise them on the need to pick up an insurance plan.

    Aladekomo, who is the former president, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and Chair,  Smart City Resort Plc, said insurance companies could maximise the use of IT in building an efficient data base, conducting data analytics and recovery of lost items via systematic tracking.

    Smart City Resort Plc is the holdng company for the SmartCity Innovation Hub. The SmartCity Innovaton Hub is an A-grade technology development infrastructure promoted by the NCS, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Federal Ministry of Communications Technology.

    The project is a bold move to bring together technology, government and society in ways that promote the culture of innovation and the competitiveness between allied businesses and knowledge-based institutions.