Category: Technology

The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Abdullahi Inuwa has won the 2022 ‘Foreign Investment Network (FIN)-Forbes Outstanding Corporate Governance CEO’.

Inuwa was announced as the winner at a virtual award ceremony on Friday, just as NITDA concluded training of over 100 journalists on digital journalism and fact-checking.

Reading the citation, a Global AI Strategist and Innovator, Dalith Steiger described Inuwa as a versatile IT professional, strategist and transformation manager with experience spanning 16 years in private and public sectors.

“A graduate of Computer Science from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Kashifu is a thoroughbred IT professional and the first Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) in Nigeria’s public sector.

“He is also a Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT Sloan – trained strategist and has participated in various Leadership and Management courses in Harvard University, Cambridge University, and IMD Business School, Switzerland, among others.

“Following professional stints at Galaxy Backbone Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and sterling performance as the Technical Assistant to the then DG, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Kashifu as DG of NITDA in August 2019”, Steiger added.

While appreciating FIN and Forbes for the recognition, Inuwa noted that NITDA has worked tirelessly to adhere to the highest standards of corporate governance. 

“We have implemented robust processes and systems to ensure that our operations are transparent, accountable, and in line with our mission and core values”, he emphasised.

President of Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), Chris Isiguzo commended NITDA for commencing the New Year with the training of over 100 journalists in January.

At end of Digital Journalism Workshop and Fact-checking in Port-Harcourt, facilitated by Image Merchants Promotion Ltd (IMPR), Publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, the NUJ boss observed the media industry is facing challenges due to emerging technologies.

“It is painful to observe that some journalists lack adequate knowledge on modern digital tools for media coverage and reportage while others excessively rely on unreliable and fake media platforms as sources of information.

“The dearth of investigative journalism is also obvious where social media influencers claiming to be journalists become armchair reporters and critics by relying on hearsay on the internet to propagate fake news and hate speech.

“We are therefore glad that NITDA is organising workshops on digital journalism and fact-checking to enhance the capacity of journalists to professionally engage and deploy modern tools by broadening their skills in reporting and editing with the right knowledge of ICT”, Isiguzo added.

The training was held in Lagos, Enugu and Rivers States. In 2022, a similar capacity building was organised for journalists in Abuja, Kano, Kwara, Jigawa, Kebbi and other States.

Across the African continent, blockchain technologies have been finding real-world applications and SBI Media Workshop, for its third edition, held in Lagos recently, looked to unlock the potential of the technology which promises to disrupt the Nigerian media landscape.

Going by media reports, financial solutions are the most common uses of blockchain technologies on the continent. According to records in the PositiveBlockchain.io database, more than one third of Africa-related projects have their main focus in financial services. But this does not mean that blockchain cannot be applied to other sectors.

The key features of blockchain technology — distribution, immutability and automation — underpin its capacity to change the media sector by facilitating intellectual property protection, improve economic growth and bring about social progress.

To this end, SBI Media Workshop 2022, attended by over 200 live participants and more than 1000 on digital channels, sought to expand on the potential for blockchain to improve practices and revenue generation for young entrepreneurs.

“The blockchain offers revolutionary opportunities for content creators and media owners and this is the best time to start exploring what’s possible,” said the workshop founder, Rotimi Bankole, who also doubles as the CEO of SBI Media, a nearly 10-year-old multinational media agency.

To provide the insights that should help unlock the vision behind the programme, organisers pulled together industry experts and innovators to teach on key topics.

Speakers at the event include Olubunmi Fabanwo, affiliate program manager for the world’s largest blockchain start-up Binance Africa, who is also a founding partner at Ports Connect. There was also Opeyemi Awoyemi, serial investor and founder of Nigeria’s largest web host Whogohost and the job portal Jobberman, who delivered his presentation via video link from his base in Austin, Texas.

Others were Fisayo Fosudo, tech media entrepreneur and YouTube content creator; Nsikan Benjamin, of Binance West Africa; Tolulope Aderemi, partner at the Lagos law firm Perchstone & Graeys; Emmanuel Ebanehita, of Binance Africa; Chris Ani, CEO, Digital Abundance Holdings; and Ugochukwu Obi, also a partner at Perchstone & Graeys.

The concept of blockchain and its use-cases are still being explored and understood by innovators, entrepreneurs and businesses. The unilateral goal now, per the speakers, is to focus more on the other ways that might have been neglected in favour of cryptocurrencies. One of such other use cases is in media business.

Some of the topics discussed include: Blockchain Fundamentals: Why It Matters, The Blockchain: Next Level Platform for African Creators, Opportunities in the Blockchain, Africa’s Blockchain Ecosystem: The Binance Story, Blockchain Technology: A New Game Changer for The Media and Entertainment Industry and more relevant topics.

Bankole said, “there is no doubt that blockchain technologies have great potential to address many of the challenges that the media industry faces. There are key principles that inherently position blockchain as a gamechanger such as its capabilities for decentralization and transparency. Both of which are at the core of addressing many challenges synonymous with the media landscape.”

In choosing the theme and focus for this third edition of SBI Media Workshop, Bankole stated that it was important to take a critical view of blockchain technologies and make informed decisions about what can work in Africa and what cannot work. “We need to be clear about how the technology is applied, and the objective has to be enhancing the media industry and continent’s progress towards an efficient and enriching ecosystem,” said Bankole.

From streamlined royalty payments, peer-to-peer sales and content distribution, usage-based billing models, and immutable ad metrics, these were some of the highlighted use-cases at the SBI Media Workshop for how blockchain technologies will disrupt the media landscape in Africa.

As amplified in the presentation made by Fabanwo, one key area of impact for blockchain technology in the media space is content ownership and intellectual property rights. Proving ownership of content or an asset in the digital space as a way to access resources or exercise rights has become increasingly important. Blockchain technology has the capability to deliver the needed infrastructure to provide digital proof of all such claims.

Therefore, applications of the technology for digital claims are springing up across the globe, with specific promises for the African continent. Blockchain holds great promise for digital rights management. In fact, experts have alluded to a future when copyright infringements and piracy would be made nearly impossible. It might still be a long way off from now, but there are glimpses that assure that it’s possible.

Another key area of disruption in the media space in Africa is advertising and ad metrics, as it is one of the more crucial segments in which blockchain technology can potentially not just solve the issue of mistrust between ad buyers and sellers, but also make these transactions more efficient.

Primarily, there are two components to blockchain use in advertising: audience targeting and verification. The targeting involves anonymized data that is secured using blockchain. The verification process uses the same principles as digital currencies, ensuring that the ad metrics, especially data that says a certain number of people saw an ad is as accurate as possible.

What was emphasized at the one-day workshop with the various sessions and presentations was that problems in the media industry in Africa require localised applications of innovative tech. For substantive progress to be made, solutions that realise transformation are essential, and around, particularly in the United States and Europe, we are seeing such outcomes derived from blockchain technology and its application beyond cryptocurrencies.

By Rahma Oladosu

There is no denying the fact that Nigeria has a competitive advantage to become the global talent factory in the technology sector which has the capacity to earn billions of dollars every year.

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi recently commented on the vacancy of about four million programmers globally. With its huge reservoir, Nigeria can produce a huge number of tech talents that would join the value chain.

Kashifu referenced a PwC report which noted that an average developer or programmer earns between $30,000 and $150,000 per annum. The corporation said if Nigeria can have two million developers working remotely earning about $20,000 each, the country can generate over $40billion annually, an amount that would boost the country’s foreign exchange.

“The digital economy is about innovation, about people, about talent. So, talent is the people component of technology which I think is where Nigeria will have the competitive advantage over any nation in the world,” Kashifu stressed.

It is necessary, due to controversies over the NITDA Bill 2021, to examine the law that empowers the agency – NITDA Act 2007, No. 28, published in the Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette No 99, Vol 94 ,dated October 2007.

The Act says the agency shall: “(a) Create a framework for the planning, research, development, standardisation, application, coordination, monitoring, evaluation and regulation of IT practices, activities and systems in Nigeria… provide access to IT and systems penetration including rural, urban and under-served areas; (b) Provide guidelines to facilitate the establishment and maintenance of appropriate IT and systems application and development for public and private sectors, urban-rural development and the economy; (c) Develop guidelines for electronic governance and monitor the use of electronic data interchange and other forms of transactions as an alternative to paper-based methods in government, commerce, education, private and public sectors, labour, and other fields.

NITDA shall: (d) Develop guidelines for the networking of public and private sector establishment; (e) Develop guidelines for the standardisation and certification of IT Escrow Source Code and Object Code Domiciliation, Application and Delivery Systems in Nigeria; (f) Render advisory services in all IT matters to the public and private sectors; (g) Create incentives to promote the use of IT in all spheres of life in Nigeria including the development of guidelines for setting up of IT systems and knowledge parks; (h) Introduce appropriate regulatory policies and incentives to encourage private sector investment in the IT industry; (i) Collaborate with any local or state government, company, firm, or person in any activity intended to facilitate the attainment of the objective of this Act.

In conclusion, the Act empowers NITDA to: (j) Determine critical areas in IT requiring research intervention and development in those areas; (k) Advice the Government on ways of promoting the development of IT in Nigeria including introducing appropriate legislation, to enhance national security and vibrancy of the industry; (l) Accelerate internet and intranet penetration in Nigeria and promote sound Internet Governance by giving effect to the Second Schedule of this Act; and (m) Perform such other duties, which in the opinion of the Agency are necessary or expedient to ensure the efficient performance of the functions of the Agency.”

The above exposes the repeatedly told lie that NITDA is just a development arm of government and not a regulatory outfit. The fact is that the agency is a strong regulator empowered by relevant laws, with milestones in its mandate under the supervision of the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy led by Professor Isa Ali Pantami.

NITDA has been working round the clock to ensure that citizens are up to date on digital economy. It has commenced its one million developers initiative aimed at empowering Nigerians to plug into the global value chain. The programme’s focus is to build talents on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, and data analytics.

The agency’s commitment to training on disruptive technologies is surely going to change the way we live, work and do business, even as it continues to perform exceedingly well on its developmental and regulatory mandate based on the 2007 Act.

NITDA has trained youth, women, journalists among others on digital marketing, digital journalism and other skills to enable them to play active roles in society, create job opportunities and be financially independent. Hundreds of hub managers have been mentored while students and teachers have been trained on modern technological skills. Beyond the training, participants and trainees received tools including laptops and desktops.

Apart from inaugurating the Data Breach Investigation Team in partnership with the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), NITDA merged Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Office of National Contented Development to Office of Nigerian Digital innovation.

The agency registered over 75 Domain names for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), States and Local Governments; Certified Indigenous IT Companies; licensed over 103 Data Protection and Compliance Organisations (DPCOs); licensed 12 indigenous OEMs and issued 172 Certificates for Indigenous IT Contactors and Service Providers promoting local contents.

NITDA established the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT); Digital Transformation Working Group (DTWG) across 100 MDAs to support the Nigeria ICT Innovation Entrepreneurship vision; Nigeria Digital Agriculture Strategy (NDAS 2020-2030), and National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR)

Its Academy facilitated research and training with over 67 active courses, more than 57,774 active students and 54,829 active training sessions. In addition, it established training partnerships with multinational corporations, and National Adopted School for Smart Education (NASSE) to promote digital literacy and skills.

NITDA has gone far in providing key frameworks, guidelines and strategy. Aside developing Public Private Partnership (PPP) regulatory framework for ICT and eGovernment projects, it also developed the Public Service Network (PSnet); Document Management System Guidelines for Federal Public Institutions (FPIs); Government Digital Service Framework (GDSFrame); draft National Outsourcing Strategy 2020-2025.

Others are National BlockChain Adoption Strategy Document; Nigeria Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Startup Policy (NDIESP); Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP), and Government Digital Transformation Performance (Readiness) Assessment Toolkit (GDT/PAT).

These achievements do not take into account several other projects. Nigeria is well in a better position to become a hub of digital excellence over the next few years, and with a population of over 200 million people, training on proper utilisation of digital content would open various doors to youths in desperate search for jobs.

Why NITDA Bill 2021?

The digital economy presents a number of unique challenges and opportunities that may not be adequately addressed by existing regulatory frameworks. For example, the rapid pace of technological change in the digital economy may require NITDA to be more flexible and responsive in its approach.

Amending the establishing laws would help to ensure that the agency has the necessary powers and resources to carry out its functions thoroughly. These comprise the authority to set standards and guidelines specifically tailored to the needs of the digital economy, investigate and enforce penalties for noncompliance.

Regulating the digital economy in a firm manner will protect the interests of Nigerians and businesses. Digital platforms and services will operate in a transparent environment where personal data and privacy are safeguarded.

Still, there is no overlap between the laws establishing NITDA and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Both agencies play a role in supervising the use of IT, though in different ways. NITDA is responsible for developing and enforcing policies and guidelines related to the use of IT in public and private sectors, while the NCC is responsible for regulating the telecommunications industry.

Furthermore, both authorities investigate and penalise organisations that violate standards and regulations. However, amending NITA laws will guarantee digital economy is used responsibly, help Nigeria make more revenue through forex, and put the country at par with counterparts across the world.

Rahma Oladosu is Staff Writer with Economic Confidential, Abuja.

By Abbas Badmus

The National Assembly Joint Committee on ICT and Cyber Security recently put on hold a public hearing on the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Bill 2021, when it couldn’t form a quorum. Several industry stakeholders and critical onlookers have described the development as an attempt to frustrate the bill.

The postponement was followed by a series of orchestrated, biased and uninformed criticisms of the bill and Professor Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy. Most of the postulations hinged on the misconstrued assumption that the proposed bill would override the independence of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

After studying the draft NITDA Bill 2021 and NCC Act 2003, 2007, I make bold to state that there is absolutely no basis for such reasoning, except the intention of the critics is to pursue a sinister agenda. While the armchair critics tried to hide facts in plain sight, the recurring question they failed to address convincingly is: where is the clash of mandate between NITDA and NCC?

The authority of NCC is derived from the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 (NCA 2003) signed into law on July 8, 2003 by President Olusegun Obasanjo after passage by the National Assembly. The NCA 2003 applies to the provision and use of all telecommunications services and networks in the country.

The laws that guide and enable the operations of the commission include: NCC decree 75 of November 1992, the National Telecoms Policy (NTP) 2000 (a new one under review), Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1990, and Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

The major mandates of NCA 2003 are: facilitate telecom investment and entry into the market; protect the rights/interests of service providers and consumers; manage and monitor telecommunications resources; ensure efficient and qualitative services; advise the Minister on the formulation of policies and other matters.

In a nutshell, one can understand that the key function of NCC is to regulate and oversee the telecom industry in Nigeria.

However, the operations of NITDA, also commissioned by the Obasanjo administration, started in 2001, six years before the 2007 Act came into existence. The agency is authorised to establish standards, guidelines and frameworks for the development, standardisation, and regulation of IT in Nigeria.

NITDA has the responsibility to implement the National IT policy, develop and regulate the sector, collaborate with the private sector and international organisations to actualise the IT vision, create awareness and ensure access to promote IT across all sectors, and ensure Simple, Moral, Accountable, Responsive and Transparent (SMART) governance.

In addition, NITDA is empowered to support local production of IT components to generate foreign earnings, create jobs, serve as a clearing house for IT procurement and services in the public sector, and empower Nigerians to participate in software and IT system development.

NITDA has since pioneered developmental projects for capacity building, provided legal framework for IT, bridge digital divides, boost digital literacy, job creation and national security.

Why NITDA Bill 2021?

On the 23rd of October 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the re-designation of the Federal Ministry of Communications as the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to create a policy organ that would oversee the development of the digital economy in the country.

The ministry then formulated the Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), which focuses on the development of the digital aspects of the economy, thereby creating the need for a review of the regulatory framework.

The National Policy on Information Technology was approved in 2001 with the vision of making Nigeria an IT-capable country by 2005. But we have gone past that. The NDEPS has a new vision of making Nigeria a leading global digital economy. Therefore, NITDA needs a new mandate to refocus for competitiveness in the global $12trillion digital economy.

This mandate would be in line with the current realities in the cyber and technology space. NDEPS requires a more robust approach to regulations, standards setting, and guidelines development with focus on digital and emerging technologies, and NITDA is best suited to implement these.

It is against this backdrop that the agency seeks to repeal and re-enact its law to improve regulation, encourage Nigerians to reap the benefits of the digital economy while promoting indigenous solutions for economic benefits.

NDEPS plans to develop the digital economy through eight pillars: Developmental regulation, Digital literacy and skills, Solid infrastructure, Service infrastructure, Digital service development and promotion, Soft Infrastructure, Digital society and emerging technologies, Indigenous content development and adoption.

With the NITDA Act being one of the key instruments for implementation, the 2021 bill will consolidate its powers over emerging technologies and digital economy development, provide administrative enforcement powers, reduce the number of its board members, and develop additional ICT regulations.

The bill does not conflict nor usurp the roles of any agency. For instance, while NCC’s powers largely concentrate on the telecommunication sector, NITDA’s duties focus on Information Technology.

Federal legislators owe Nigeria a patriotic duty to support the bill which would help the nation tap into the global multi trillion dollar ICT and digital economy. The enormous gains would be felt not only in the tech ecosystem but by Nigerians who leverage on technology to eke a living via mobile and other digital devices.

• Abbas Badmus, a staff writer with TechDigest, writes from Abuja.

As 2023 gets on track, leaders of African countries have been called upon to take digital skills education more seriously so as to build the right kind of workforce to drive development of the continent.

Osita Oparaugo, founder/CEO of GetBundi, who made the call on Tuesday while interacting with journalists in Lagos.

He said lack of digital skills workforce would hurt Africa’s economic development if not addressed immediately.

He asserted that acquiring digital skills is a must for anyone in the 21st century, especially in Africa.

To buttress this point, the GetBundi founder cited a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which found that 230 million jobs across Africa would require some level of digital skills by 2030, translating to a potential for 650 million training opportunities and an estimated $130 billion market.

According to him, preliminary findings of another research on the Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda markets by IFC and the World Bank (through the Digital Development Program Trust Fund) showed that by 2030 some level of digital skills would be required for 50-55 percent of jobs in Kenya, 35-45 percent in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Rwanda, and 20-25 percent in Mozambique.

He said only countries with STEM and digital skills-enabled citizenry can achieve meaningful development in the present world.

Citing Singapore and China which are now flourishing economies as a result of the critical role scientific and technological advancements have played in them, Oparaugo said, “What China and Singapore have achieved in less than 50 years, Africa can also attain using STEM education and STI Skills acquisition, especially when one considers the abundance of human capital and the resilient nature of Africans, especially the youths.”

He said it was to promote digital skills learning across Africa that GetBundi, an educational technology platform designed to deliver high quality, engaging and accessible STEM courses and STI skills, was launched in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, in June 2022.

“Recently, in December 2022, we decided to run some of our GetBundi digital skills courses in Pidgin English to make them more accessible to more Africans given the conclusion of studies by the World Bank, UNESCO and others that using a language of instruction closest to the people matters a lot especially for learning foundational skills,” Oparaugo said.

He said the edtch platform has a vision to up-skill, through its STEM and digital skills centre, 10 million Africans by 2032 and beyond in order to create an inclusive sustainable development driven by technology.

As 2023 gets on track, leaders of African countries have been called upon to take digital skills education more seriously so as to build the right kind of workforce to drive development of the continent.

Osita Oparaugo, founder/CEO of GetBundi, who made the call on Tuesday while interacting with journalists in Lagos. 

aid lack of digital skills workforce would hurt Africa’s economic development if not addressed immediately.

He asserted that acquiring digital skills is a must for anyone in the 21st century, especially in Africa.

To buttress this point, the GetBundi founder cited a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, which found that 230 million jobs across Africa would require some level of digital skills by 2030, translating to a potential for 650 million training opportunities and an estimated $130 billion market. 

According to him, preliminary findings of another research on the Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda markets by IFC and the World Bank (through the Digital Development Program Trust Fund) showed that by 2030 some level of digital skills would be required for 50-55 percent of jobs in Kenya, 35-45 percent in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, and Rwanda, and 20-25 percent in Mozambique.

He said only countries with STEM and digital skills-enabled citizenry can achieve meaningful development in the present world.

Read Also: GetBundi introduces pidgin courses to fast-track digital skills learning

Citing Singapore and China which are now flourishing economies as a result of the critical role scientific and technological advancements have played in them, Oparaugo said, “What China and Singapore have achieved in less than 50 years, Africa can also attain using STEM education and STI Skills acquisition, especially when one considers the abundance of human capital and the resilient nature of Africans, especially the youths.”

He said it was to promote digital skills learning across Africa that GetBundi, an educational technology platform designed to deliver high quality, engaging and accessible STEM courses and STI skills, was launched in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, in June 2022.

“Recently, in December 2022, we decided to run some of our GetBundi digital skills courses in Pidgin English to make them more accessible to more Africans given the conclusion of studies by the World Bank, UNESCO and others that using a language of instruction closest to the people matters a lot especially for learning foundational skills,” Oparaugo said.

He said the edtch platform has a vision to up-skill, through its STEM and digital skills centre, 10 million Africans by 2032 and beyond in order to create an inclusive sustainable development driven by technology.

A complete misunderstanding of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) 2021 bill has stirred controversy in the media and panic in the industry leading to a series of malicious media warfare.

The proposed bill, expected to repeal the Act of 2007, aims to establish a regulatory framework for the growth of Nigeria’s IT sector and digital economy. Nothing more. But the move to legally position NITDA to tap into a potential $12trillion global market share has come under baseless attacks by enemies of progress and selfish people convenient with purported $70billion market share.

To understand the draft, we must put the country’s interests before personal gain, else we would be oblivious to its benefits now and in the future. Let me clarify that the proposed bill is in favour of the tech space and not the ‘leaders of regulatory agencies’.

The proposed law in simple terms is to construct an efficient, unbiased, and independent regulatory regime in order to establish a regulatory framework for the growth of Nigeria’s information technology (IT) sector and the digital economy.

It is not just oriented on the promotion and execution of laws that encourage access to digital services, investments in the market, and native content. The adoption of cutting-edge technology, innovation, and preserving citizens’ rights and the nation’s interests are also included in the goals of the bill.

Read Also: More knocks for NITDA Bill of usurpation

With significant expansion of technological platforms used by businesses and governments to deliver services, the purview of ICT has increased over time. This, it is essential to maintain the NITDA Act current with the state of Nigeria’s digital economy given that it is over 16 years old. We cannot keep using the same Act of 2007 at this age and time.

Technology is all about looking far beyond the immediate future. In the tech space, it is believed that the present is the past. For a better and working digital country, the National Assembly should not be misled by the clamour of those who are more concerned with their own interests than with the digital economy.

The key objective of the bill is to monitor and licence IT and digital economy services in Nigeria. It includes positive provisions that aim to improve the digital economy, regulate the sector for the advancement of the country, as well as to bring it up to speed with the rest of the technologically advanced nations.

NITDA has continually worked to connect its goals with other stakeholders in government and businesses driven by innovation, consumers of innovation, tech startups, investors, organisations that fund academic research, civil society groups, and others. The agency is a regulatory body that cannot be altered.

For those suggesting NITDA’s role in the entire ICT sector be restricted, I take it to indicate that they are either out of touch with reality or are deliberate about truncating Nigeria’s economic progress. The ICT sector is moving at an accelerated pace and; therefore, the country must be well positioned legally to tap into its $12trillion share.

In other words, without a legal framework, it is easy to stop NITDA in its attempt to tap into this huge potential. This is what the opponents of the bill seem to be out to achieve. This is the crux of the matter and federal lawmakers must be wary.

As ICT evolves globally, yielding enormous benefits in terms of economic growth and development, best practices demand that the nation’s IT regulator evolve in equal measure via capacity and legal framework. Otherwise, the sector will be marred, ruining all the hard work devoted to bringing it to current status. Nigerians will be the victims.

I am not advocating that NITDA be granted authority to oversee institutions like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) nor the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). However, for a broad policy to thrive, there is the need for direction. I believe the final result won’t be all that divisive if all stakeholders join hands to ensure the success of the amendment bill.

Fom Gyem, an author, and Network of Advocates for Digital Reporting (NADIR) member, writes from Abuja.

Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has launched the Senseable Lagos Lab, the first MIT Senseable City research facility in Africa at Isimi Lagos, Epe.

The initiative, which is sponsored by Nigeria’s leading residential real estate company, LandWey Investment Ltd, in partnership with the team members of MIT Senseable City Lab and the Lagos State Government, was officially launched at the maiden edition of the Lagos Future City Week organised by LandWey.

Speaking at the epoch-making ceremony, Governor Sanwo-Olu who was represented by his Special Adviser on SDGs and Investment, Solape Hammond, said: “I wholeheartedly commend Landwey Investment for attracting this partnership. The Senseable Lagos Lab launch is a very exciting project for us as it follows our climate adaptation and sustainable resilience plan for Lagos. We have identified many projects which will help us address this including; waste management, flood risk, green building and some other challenges. Thus, it is exciting to see the fruition of this partnership as it would help us address some if not all of these challenges.”

While commenting on what the partnership means for education, Hammond said: “We have recently established the University of Science and Technology which will focus on churning out those graduates who will be providing solutions through science and technology. This makes it an apt time to have this partnership as Lagos is well equipped with several universities for the Senseable City Lab and Isimi Tech Valley to work with across the state.” She remarked.

At the event, the Co-Founder and Director, MIT Senseable City Labs, Carlo Ratti, walked the audience through the vision of the research initiative focusing on some of the global solutions developed by the facility through its meticulous research.

“We are elated about this partnership as it is our first ever in Africa. Building sustainable cities around the world has helped us realize the peculiarity of each city. Each one has its own distinct problem; to which we use data to provide solutions. We are curious to possibly discover Lagos’ environmental challenges and equally excited to proffer solutions using data,” Ratti noted.

With an overall goal of anticipating future trends, the Senseable Lagos Lab will bring together researchers from many academic disciplines to conduct real time work on groundbreaking ideas and innovative real-world demonstrations in Lagos state. Work from MIT Senseable City Lab has been exhibited in leading venues including the Venice Biennale, the Design Museum Barcelona, the Canadian Centre for Architecture and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Among many awards are TIME Magazine’s Best Invention of the Year in 2007 (Digital water Pavilion) and 2014 (Copenhagen Wheel).

Committed to promoting the adoption of sustainable living in Nigeria and by extension, Africa, the relationship between Isimi Tech Valley and MIT Senseable City Lab hopes to provide data-led long-term solutions to the ever-growing Megacity which will in turn encourage more investment.

To build an economic boom for more than 1.3 billion Africans, Africa Startup League has announced an innovative competition for young entrepreneurs across the continent.

The competition, which commences February 8, 2023, is open to innovators, entrepreneurs, micro-enterprises and early-stage start-ups.

With the funding prize of $1 million, the contest is open to innovators, entrepreneurs, micro-enterprises and early-stage start-ups.

The competition, which takes up to six months, will enable innovators and entrepreneurs to showcase their innovative products.

Speaking on the competition, Mr. Aly Ramji, the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Web3Africa and key partner in the Africa Startup League, said: “Rather than being left to fend for themselves, Africa’s tech startups would benefit from networks that connect founders, tech hubs, universities and government bodies to assist in the identification of business opportunities, overcoming skill shortages and attraction of the required talent.

“The Africa Startup League gives young business people in Africa the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and innovations, while facilitating a more effective strategy for addressing Africa’s challenges and increasing the size and viability of their own companies.

“The hope is that the ASL (Africa Startup League) will create an enabling environment for young African entrepreneurs to take part in this unique competition because the startup ecosystem in Africa is not well linked.

“Founders often do not have access to the support, guidance, openings and information sharing that are essential to their continued existence.”

Read Also: Wole Oduwole, Ayo Bankole others for ‘Startup Nightmare’ in Lagos

Judges chosen from various fields across Africa, as well as people across the Web3Africa community, will vote on the best startups, which will be evaluated based on criteria such as innovation and impact to the larger African communities.

The aim of the initiative is to create a matchmaking of sorts, allowing startups to acquire the initial seed-funding, mentoring and training to scale their businesses.

At the same time, one of the key goals is for Africans to see the opportunities ahead of them and compete in a challenge that can produce solutions to pressing needs in African communities.

The Africa Startup League is a critical humanity node ecosystem infrastructure component and key decentralized gross domestic product of Africa (DGDPA) accelerant.